For a long range stock autopilot I personally tend to use a probe part facing vertically upwards and then SAS - Radial Outwards. It does require a bit of reconfiguring of the control surfaces and it requires a well designed aircraft, but it does wonders for long range navigation.
I did that on my Eve drone plane - my first drone plane. It oscilated in the roll axis, but it kept it flying, which saved the mission when I misinterpreted where the relays would be. It was flying a few hundred meters above a sea when the signal cut out. Just by switching between forward and up control points I was able to keep it in the air, turn (thanks to the oscillation), and even land, all with limited probe control. :) ~~rock in roll~~
I've often wondered about the SAS Settings, pilot only vs whatever, I never realized that ksp just recentered all inputs whenever a pilot input happens, that explains that constant nose dive and squirrellyness on many of my craft that fly cleanly on kos control.
Something I wish was possible would be linking the SAS controls to an action group similar to manual inputs. This would let the active trim be truly automatic because SAS would control it for you.
Saw this video while I was out of town for Thanksgiving and was excited to get back home and give it a try, and my god this makes flying spaceplanes feel so much better using keyboard/mouse, especially on re-entry. This is what I've always assumed the already in-game trim controls were supposed to do, just thought it'd always been user error that they don't work like this (with SAS active, I mean). Really, really appreciate this tip! Quick question: do you continue to use these "active trim" controls the entire time that you're flying? Or do you take off, set them so SAS shows as level, and then start using the normal pitch up/down controls?
@@lt_duckweed I didn't word it very well, but I was really asking whether you use the active trim controls as a total replacement for the normal controls while in-flight, or whether you're still using WASD to change pitch and then changing the active trim again to get SAS stabilized
Ahh, I see what you are saying. On ascent I use pitch very sparingly aside from the initial flare at takeoff along with a little bit of pitch down periodically while I'm accelerating up to supersonic at sea level. Once I reach a bit past the speed of sound my craft can maintain flight holding prograde, so I lock it in and don't touch pitch again. I don't really use yaw at all, and use roll normally. So for the most part I'm flying using q/e for roll and h/n for trim. To manage my overall vertical speed, I perform a few barrel rolls during ascent to divert my lift vector temporarily and reduce vertical speed.
@@lt_duckweed Thanks! And I never would have thought to barrel roll to slow down vertical ascent, gonna give that a shot. Have you ever tried a joystick for plane flight? I've been debating getting one, since KSP2 is around the corner. Googling sounds like those who have used them have really liked it
If a control surface is deployed, should i be able to move it with control input? I'm deploying some canards and am unable to pitch when they are deployed
So I used to use this trick on the same control surfaces I use actively, but that stopped working with the last major update. (Now, if a control surface is deployed, it can't be also moved by control input.) I don't know if a mod accidentally enabled this feature or if it truly was the update that broke it, but I've been missing being able to do this.. So now I'm curious if you're using any mods, and how come it is working for you still. Oo
I've been using this trick for so long without realizing this wasn't just common knowledge. It really is a life saver for efficient flying
For a long range stock autopilot I personally tend to use a probe part facing vertically upwards and then SAS - Radial Outwards. It does require a bit of reconfiguring of the control surfaces and it requires a well designed aircraft, but it does wonders for long range navigation.
I did that on my Eve drone plane - my first drone plane. It oscilated in the roll axis, but it kept it flying, which saved the mission when I misinterpreted where the relays would be. It was flying a few hundred meters above a sea when the signal cut out. Just by switching between forward and up control points I was able to keep it in the air, turn (thanks to the oscillation), and even land, all with limited probe control. :)
~~rock in roll~~
I've often wondered about the SAS Settings, pilot only vs whatever, I never realized that ksp just recentered all inputs whenever a pilot input happens, that explains that constant nose dive and squirrellyness on many of my craft that fly cleanly on kos control.
Trim has always been a bit of black magic to me
Something I wish was possible would be linking the SAS controls to an action group similar to manual inputs. This would let the active trim be truly automatic because SAS would control it for you.
My trick for controlling planes is to forget that they exist and spend as little time in atmospheres as possible
Ive been using this for ages o.0
That's really interesting! I always wondered why the nose dive occured. :)
Thanks for another awesome video! I'll be sure to try it next time I make a plane)
Very neat
😲🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Thanks for the useful tip!
Great work
I wanted to know if you'd do a video on robotics next? I think it would be a good video to do.
I am so mad I never knew this
Saw this video while I was out of town for Thanksgiving and was excited to get back home and give it a try, and my god this makes flying spaceplanes feel so much better using keyboard/mouse, especially on re-entry. This is what I've always assumed the already in-game trim controls were supposed to do, just thought it'd always been user error that they don't work like this (with SAS active, I mean). Really, really appreciate this tip! Quick question: do you continue to use these "active trim" controls the entire time that you're flying? Or do you take off, set them so SAS shows as level, and then start using the normal pitch up/down controls?
I use it the whole time! I just adjust it periodically throughout the flight.
@@lt_duckweed I didn't word it very well, but I was really asking whether you use the active trim controls as a total replacement for the normal controls while in-flight, or whether you're still using WASD to change pitch and then changing the active trim again to get SAS stabilized
Ahh, I see what you are saying. On ascent I use pitch very sparingly aside from the initial flare at takeoff along with a little bit of pitch down periodically while I'm accelerating up to supersonic at sea level. Once I reach a bit past the speed of sound my craft can maintain flight holding prograde, so I lock it in and don't touch pitch again. I don't really use yaw at all, and use roll normally. So for the most part I'm flying using q/e for roll and h/n for trim. To manage my overall vertical speed, I perform a few barrel rolls during ascent to divert my lift vector temporarily and reduce vertical speed.
@@lt_duckweed Thanks! And I never would have thought to barrel roll to slow down vertical ascent, gonna give that a shot.
Have you ever tried a joystick for plane flight? I've been debating getting one, since KSP2 is around the corner. Googling sounds like those who have used them have really liked it
I've thought about it, but never bothered going through with it. It does sound like it would be quite cool.
If a control surface is deployed, should i be able to move it with control input? I'm deploying some canards and am unable to pitch when they are deployed
neat
How do you build that plane in the first and last bit? if you don’t mind me asking.
So I used to use this trick on the same control surfaces I use actively, but that stopped working with the last major update. (Now, if a control surface is deployed, it can't be also moved by control input.) I don't know if a mod accidentally enabled this feature or if it truly was the update that broke it, but I've been missing being able to do this..
So now I'm curious if you're using any mods, and how come it is working for you still. Oo