i have nearly finished a slightly modified version of my admiral peck class mk iii space/air superiority fighter "HellHound"
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=839d5a9990089b8bfbace48d228f8fc3&prevstart=0. i armed it with a bigger weapon under the nose ( a gatling laser, this may sound strange but the principle as explained in my description makes sense(i hope)) . i also tested to see what it would look like in a standard grey rather than a squadron leader red. i have almost finished( could argue just done) so am unlikely to make many changes before i finish it completely but i would like to know what you think.
http://britishstarfleet.blogspot.co.uk/p/admiral-peck-class-spaceair-superiority_29.html
the blog page is at this address, you can follow the links to download it.
Attachment not found.
enjoy the image as well.
note to self: must start some totally new designs.
UPDATE: see the most recent post for my animation
Posts
the control panel for the mk iv fighter, i can almost manage to remember what each switch does!
a diagram of which switch does what.
Why are you displaying your power output in watts? Is that the power of the reactors? What is the force out of the exhaust? Watt is a rate of energy transfer. Your thrust would be in Newtons.
Now to correct for your boosters, you will want to angle the thrust from them and the mains such that the thrust vector is through your fighters Center of Mass (CoM). You will loose some of your forward thrust as a result, but it will keep you on a straight line, just remember that that straight line, depending on the amount of thrust the engines put out, might not be along the nose, but could result in your fighter flying with a nose high or nose low attitude relative to its direction of travel.
started on the calculation
4.8x10^17 sin(alpha)= 8x10^17 sin(theta)
so lets set a low value for (theta) the angle down from the forward backward line at which the boosters are pointing
8x10^17 sin 5= 4.8x10^17 sin (alpha)
then
(alpha)= arcsin((8x10^17 sin 5)/(4.8x10^17))= 8.35 degrees
so when the boosters are pointed down by 5 degrees the main engines must be pointed up by 8.35 degrees(assuming the centre of mass is midway between them).
i will refine this for where the centre of mass actually is.
just thought of a problem with that, the fighter is designed to fly most of the time without using the boosters therefore the centre of mass should be somewhere between the neptune engines, as they are a distance of 0 away from this point on the z axis it means that it is probably impossible to run the thrusters without somehow "unbalancing the fighter".
Okay that statement right there will make every pilot out there hate your guts. Pilots, as a general rule, will almost always refuse to let go of the controls, and forcing them to switch hands while in a manuever will result in death basically, or so they will will insist. My buddy Pete used to say it like this this: YOur left is your thinking hand, it controls the throttle, you think with that. Your right is your action hand, it reacts to what is going on around you, and keeps that stick in hand because you don't dare let it go or else the plane gets away from you.
Also in combat you are constantly adjusting the throttle and stick, so you want to keep your hands on them at all times, that is why HOTAS (Hand On Throttle And Stick) was such a major improvement in 4th gen fighters, it allowed pilots to do almost everything they needed without having to reach up and touch other controls while in combat.
As for your thrust figures, I would really have to look at those more to give you better insight. A diagram of a side view with all the relavant numbers would help in that regard. i.e. Distances, locations of the CG/CoM, thrust figures etc. I could then easily figure out your thrust angles and numbers from there, but I need the thrust as a measure of force (newtons), not energy (watts).
Attachment not found. the fighter supported by the "thrust" of the fusion ramjet engines.
I came across this remarkably simple idea when reading some of the articles on http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/landing.php i came across this passage
by Robert Heinlein
i have now come to the conclusion that the best way to ensure the thrust vector is through the centre of mass is to move the centre of mass by shifting a very dense( like 1kg/cm^3 density) liquid of some kind between a number of small tanks in the wings of my fighter. this can allow the centre of mass to be shifted from a point which allows the Titan neptune fusion ramjet engines to power the craft without creating turning forces to another point higher up which will allow the Titan triton ramjet boosters to provide thrust of ratio 4 : 2.4 with the neptune engines still with no spinning problems. this can also counterbalance any lightweight cargo placed in the rear or pods under the wings or a pilot of "non standard" mass by shifting the liquid around to compensate for the extra masses, this process should be performed whilst hovering on the ion columns shortly after take off. switches on the control panel allow the moving of liquid along the x,y and z axes and another switch can be used to set certain arrangements of liquid, to counterbalance certain masses, to an onboard memory. for example:
this neccessary centre of mass will need to be shifted to another marked( on the display) point when the boosters are used.
i have included a diagram of the new control layout here
Attachment not found.
and a quick sketch of what the tanks would look like, tanks are in green connecting pipes and pumps are not shown( each tank will be subdivided by baffles to prevent sloshing)
Attachment not found.
Attachment not found.
problem solved( isn't it)!
also see a 3d view here.Attachment not found.
video will be posted soon
Attachment not found.
i animated this with blender, sorry if it runs too quickly.
i hope you like it, what do you think of it( fighter/animation).
(and if someone posts some nice comments here i will send them ( by means i have yet to arrange) an "exclusive" obj/3ds file of a mk iii fighter(grey colour scheme))
if this last bit counts as spam PM me and i will remove it.
rent top gun, les chevaliers du ciel, iron eagle and the like, and copy the camera work.
this will lighten your scenes, thus giving you better means to check you animation.
cameras should move slightly. only then we'll understand what's happening, how fast is the plane, if it rolled, turned, climbed, etc
in response to L2K, perhaps that would help. the more i think about it the more i think i should render it again at a third of the speed it plays at in that clip. maybe this will make the events clearer even if it does make the action somewhat slower.
i have posted a short animation of a tour around the mk iii version of this fighter( only difference is that the mk iv carries the gatling laser under the nose) which shows all the features of the design with this post. i hope you enjoy it, thanks.