Editing Vessel aerodynamics
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− | + | [[Category:Addon tutorials]] | |
In Orbiter, the aerodynamics of a vessel can be defined in two ways: | In Orbiter, the aerodynamics of a vessel can be defined in two ways: | ||
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The first option is the simple way and often good enough for most vessels, but it has a few limitations: | The first option is the simple way and often good enough for most vessels, but it has a few limitations: | ||
− | * You can't model | + | * You can't model lift. As any real vehicle can create a little lift, thats not always desired. |
* Your aerodynamics are symmetric (up/down moving vehicles have no special attributes) | * Your aerodynamics are symmetric (up/down moving vehicles have no special attributes) | ||
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;M:Mach number. The speed of your vehicle in multiples of the speed of sound. | ;M:Mach number. The speed of your vehicle in multiples of the speed of sound. | ||
;Re:Reynolds number. This value tells you more about the atmosphere surrounding you. | ;Re:Reynolds number. This value tells you more about the atmosphere surrounding you. | ||
− | ;cl:lift coefficient. | + | ;cl:lift coefficient. here you return how much lift your vessel will create for this airfoil. |
;cm:moment coefficient. This return value defines, in which direction and how strong your vessel will rotate. | ;cm:moment coefficient. This return value defines, in which direction and how strong your vessel will rotate. | ||
;cd:drag coefficient. Here you can tell orbiter, how much drag your vessel now creates. | ;cd:drag coefficient. Here you can tell orbiter, how much drag your vessel now creates. | ||
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===subsonic flight=== | ===subsonic flight=== | ||
− | I don't think I have to explain much to you here, so I will just limit this to the important details. You are subsonic when you have no local supersonic flow on your vessel (this means: The air always moves slower than mach 1, regardless of where you measure it). | + | I don't think I have to explain much to you here, so I will just limit this to the important details. You are subsonic, when you have no local supersonic flow on your vessel (this means: The air always moves slower than mach 1, regardless of where you measure it). |
===transonic flight=== | ===transonic flight=== | ||
− | When you become faster, then at some points (sharp edges, top side of the wings, control surfaces) the local airspeed will become faster than Mach 1. This creates shockwaves around your craft. | + | When you become faster, then at some points (sharp edges, top side of the wings, control surfaces) the local airspeed will become faster than Mach 1. This creates shockwaves around your craft. aircraft start experiencing vibrations first. The appearing shockwaves have two important effects: |
* Drag raises quickly | * Drag raises quickly | ||
− | * | + | * lift drops. |
The lift drops because you have less wing surface with laminar flow, while the raise in drag just comes from the fact, that the incoming air can no longer flow around your vessel at this point. Because the loss of lift happens mostly on the forward egdes of the wings, the center of pressure will move backward - your nose will drop unless you trim your vessel. | The lift drops because you have less wing surface with laminar flow, while the raise in drag just comes from the fact, that the incoming air can no longer flow around your vessel at this point. Because the loss of lift happens mostly on the forward egdes of the wings, the center of pressure will move backward - your nose will drop unless you trim your vessel. | ||
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The aerodynamics of your vessel get more and more away from flow and more to the mechanical interaction between the spacecraft hull and individual molecules. | The aerodynamics of your vessel get more and more away from flow and more to the mechanical interaction between the spacecraft hull and individual molecules. | ||
− | At true hypersonic flight, you would have no interaction between air molecules. You get this kind of situation at high mach numbers and thin | + | At true hypersonic flight, you would have no interaction between air molecules. You get this kind of situation at high mach numbers and thin athmosphere - just like satellites and spacecraft like it. |
Most of the lifetime of your vessels will be in this region of flight, so its always a good idea, to pay attention to it. | Most of the lifetime of your vessels will be in this region of flight, so its always a good idea, to pay attention to it. | ||
At hypersonic flight, the drag will slowly start to raise again, while lift even starts dropping a bit more. | At hypersonic flight, the drag will slowly start to raise again, while lift even starts dropping a bit more. | ||
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