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Tag Archive: Dhumla
Jan 25 2019
Operations Summary – Week of 1/21/19
Jan 25 2019
Dhumla Ground Trial 2
Jan 25 2019
Dhumla Ground Trial 1
Jan 03 2019
Progeny Mk1-B Airlaunch Flight Analysis
A little over a year and a half after the idea was first put forward by Captain Jebediah and after months of preparation, at the end of last month we finally were able to launch a rocket off an aircraft while in flight. It was a great accomplishment and the main goal was achieved: to prove that such an operation can be carried out without excessive danger to the crew of the aircraft (in this case Flight Officers Tedman and Aldeny) or the rocket itself in being able to complete its own mission. We’ll review the process leading up to the launch before covering the launch flight itself.
Launch Preparation
Once it was confirmed that the rocket could be properly placed atop the aircraft, the first mission began with the simple goal of making sure the Deuce could takeoff and fly normally with the extra weight on the tail and its aerodynamic effects. Both concerns turned out to be minimal, at best – the piggyback was giving the aircraft no trouble whatsoever and it was able to reach an altitude of 7km ASL before climbing became too difficult to continue. That determined the release altitude, and Flight had no problems with going for a release of the rocket on this first test mission given how well-behaved the aircraft was. The release went exactly as planned – the decoupler placed forward of the rocket’s center of mass kicked it back and upright from a flight level position before it fell behind the aircraft, nowhere near striking the tail, which was another concern.
Feb 07 2018
Deuce Enters Service and Genesis Begins Work on K-3X Project
The Deuce is set to begin regular service this week after completing a maintenance checkout and fitting of an external camera. Although it performed well throughout its flight trials and recent PR tour last month there are still two small issues that engineers would like to address with a minor design refresh – power and pitch control. The current engines in use for the Deuce are extremely well-used and proven airship engines to give the development team one less issue to worry about when considering the dangers of testing a new aircraft. However it was shown during high-G maneuvers that the fuel can be pulled back from the engines, causing them to stall. They are also powerful enough to fly the Deuce with just one engine active but still give a small margin for performance. A new propeller engine is being specially designed for use in aircraft and will be tested on the Deuce. The second problem, pitch control, will be addressed by trying to add some positive angle of incidence to the entire tail section to have a built-in increase in pitch without having to increase the deflection or sensitivity of the elevator controls. Whether this leads to a more stable craft will depend on simulations and actual testing but that is the plan. Otherwise, a fuel tank in the tail like the Civvie could allow pilots to better control the aircraft’s center of mass at the expense of some cargo capacity. These changes will be made for an entirely new Deuce that has been ordered and will be built over the next two months.
The next project for Genesis has also begun development, focusing on providing fast cargo delivery capabilities. The K-3X will be a universal design that can be built to order at various sizes to suit the needs of the buyer and will be capable of flying in and out of all 4 airports currently on Kerbin. A deal is being worked out between C7 Aerospace and KSC to use this facility as an airport servicing Umbarg. We expect further news on the project towards the end of Q1 2018.