OHM BaseLandAutopilot (fourth BETA)

[OrbitHangar]

Author: topper0710

The Base land autopilot is an autopilot for landing DG-Like vessels on lunarbases.

The Module is developed and tested for the standart DG, Dan’s DGIV and schimz DGEx, and in the latest version the Douglas E. Beachys XR-2 Ravenstar.


But it can even work with similar "Deltaglider like" vessels on lunarlike moons or planets.

New in this version:
beta 4.1  :
dll corrected... (was compiled for debug mode...)

beta 4   : 
   - Mode for landing using retro engine for reduceing horizontal speed
   - Improved landing profile
   - Source Code included and released under the terms of the LGPL: http://www.gnu.org  /licenses/lgpl.txt
    See attache
beta 3.1: Debugstring removed
beta 3   : - Severeal bugs fixed.





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[OrbitHangar]

Legacy Reviews

Legacy Add-on Reviews from Orbit Hangar Mods


Review by clavius
Pros: One of the most accurate autopilots I've seen
Cons: See Below
Review:
This is one of the most accurate autopilot MFD's I've seen, it can even be used for Mars bases! However, in the DGIV, you have to use the inbuilt autopilot for the final pad landing.

 

[Mantis]

I'm not sure if this is related to Orbiter 2010 but I can't get it to work. When I try to land the stock DG or the DGIV at Brighton Beach, I invariably end up slamming into the groun tail first about 10 km or so North or South of the base. Has anyone else run into this?

 

[kevinvr]

I'm not sure if this is related to Orbiter 2010 but I can't get it to work. When I try to land the stock DG or the DGIV at Brighton Beach, I invariably end up slamming into the groun tail first about 10 km or so North or South of the base. Has anyone else run into this?

I have seen this before, but using a different mfd... can't remember which one.. You need to make sure that your hover doors are open in the DGIV otherwise it tries to land on it's butt:lol:. Hope this helps.

 

[Hasso]

Hello Mantis;

Keep in mind that its name is "first beta" please.

Just set up a flightpath that will pass over Brighton Beach at around 10km. IMFD baseapproach may be a big help for that.

And kevinvr is right: Baseland wants the vessel in landing-configuration when it starts working. So it helps to be in retrograde wings level orientation with hover doors open at handsoff-point.

 

[Mantis]

Hello Mantis;

Keep in mind that its name is "first beta" please.

Just set up a flightpath that will pass over Brighton Beach at around 10km. IMFD baseapproach may be a big help for that.

And kevinvr is right: Baseland wants the vessel in landing-configuration when it starts working. So it helps to be in retrograde wings level orientation with hover doors open at handsoff-point.

Thanks. I'll give it a shot and see what happens.

:tiphat:

 

[IgnoreThisBarrel]

This new beta is just awesome. Before I was having the same problem as mantis, but now it works nearly perfectly!

 

[JonnyBGoode]

I used it to land a DG on the Moon and Europa, and it worked like a champ. :thumbup:

 

[Topper]

This new beta is just awesome. Before I was having the same problem as mantis, but now it works nearly perfectly!

nearly ?? ^^

 

[IgnoreThisBarrel]

nearly ?? ^^

I, being the lazy bum I am, don't like to have to manually get my orbit below 20km

Although in all seriousness, I think when the burn starts should be determined by a vessel's height

One other suggestion, to make it usable by non-DG type vessels, I think there should be add an option so that you can decide what engines to use for the main "de-orbit" burn. This would be useful for lunar lander style vessels.

 

[Wishbone]

Isn't that what LOLA does already?

 

[Topper]

Hi IgnoreThisBarrel,

I, being the lazy bum I am, don't like to have to manually get my orbit below 20km .

This is a job witch can be done so easy that the pilot can do it himself.:lol: No, seriously i think each job witch can be easily done by the pilot should be done by the pilot.

But for me, I'm not able to land a delta glider with so less fuel like the autopilot can do it. I only need support by an autopilot if there are things witch can be done significantly better by the autopilot. And i think a lunar landing is one part of such things but of course, it is funny to do it manually, but only if you have enough fuel
But with the amazing Base-sync MFD it is really easy to align the base with your flightpath and set the altitude right.

But of course, that's only my mind.

Although in all seriousness, I think when the burn starts should be determined by a vessel's height

If i understand you right, of course the altitude of the vessel will be reduced during the burn. But there is no negative downward acceleration (pitch << 0), only by the moons gravity, thats the most efficent way. And for the current "beta2" version, also a base altitudes of 100km can be handled, but in such cases the fuel efficiency of the maneuver is not good.

One other suggestion, to make it usable by non-DG type vessels, I think there should be add an option so that you can decide what engines to use for the main "de-orbit" burn. This would be useful for lunar lander style vessels.

I was thinking about this suggestion many times and of course it is possible, but I've wanted to create a landing autopilot for delta glider like vessels. And in this case, the main engines are the most powerful one and the most efficient one. I think it's better to have a different program for this different job to reduce the complexity of these tools.

 

[JonnyBGoode]

Isn't that what LOLA does already?

LOLA doesn't work in 2010 P1.

---------- Post added 10-20-10 at 12:34 AM ---------- Previous post was 10-19-10 at 02:01 PM ----------

I wonder if Base Land works with the Arrow? I know the Arrow has it's own Auto-Land feature, but last time I used it, it didn't work too well...

 

[Cairan]

No matter how often I use this tool, I am scared to death for my passenger beyond imaginable ways to express it... Watching it work from Brighton Beach control tower's view is SCARY!!!

 

[Spacethingy]

Flippin' marvelous. This is excellent and extremely useful! Watching the DG land itself at Brighton Beach is awesome.

Cairan might have a point though...

I am scared to death for my passenger beyond imaginable ways to express it...

I suppose we haven't got time for slow landings... :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

EDIT:

I wonder if Base Land works with the Arrow?

I'm currently organising the space funeral of 8 Arrow crew members whose Arrow was splattered over a 200 km^2 area around the UMMU Demo base...

This seems strange, as the MFD can cope perfectly with the XR5 - just keep the APU on or the autopilot can't run!

 

[jambooger]

That was fun. It landed my XR2 no problem. A Very unconventional landing but touched down safely. I prefer a manual landing but this is GREAT for those lazy days. Its a keeper, Thanks Topper.

 

[dumbo2007]

Perfect landing and awesome work :thumbup:....though watching it fall like a stone towards launch pad 1 at BB was scary for sure :blink:

 

[Goth]

I only need support by an autopilot if there are things witch can be done significantly better by the autopilot.

So true.

 

[Topper]

any hard bugs?

Hi,

i think the "betaphase" was long enogh and there are no bug reports until now.

So if there are no objections in the next days, this beta version would be the first release...

 

[mhadjiosif]

Suggestion

I LOVE this MFD! I don't know if you're still working on this project, but if you are, I do have one suggestion for a minor change. Currently, your MFD will not work with add on vessels that do not implement retractable landing gear. In those vessels, when you get close to the surface, the MFD autopilot aborts, returns control of the ship to you, and displays a message that the landing gear is not down, and to extend the landing gear and press confirm. In vessels with fixed landing gear (or landing treads), the autopilot refuses to reengage. I suggest adding a feature which lets the pilot override the autopilot's landing gear check. Maybe in the form of an MFD button that toggles a landing gear check override option on and off. That way, prior to engaging the autopilot, the pilot can toggle the landing gear check override option on, and then during descent on autopilot the system would skip the landing gear check.

But other than this minor issue, I LOVE this MFD!!!!

---------- Post added 03-25-12 at 04:25 AM ---------- Previous post was 03-24-12 at 07:29 PM ----------

If at all possible, I'd love to get a look at the complete source code for this add-on. Topper0710, would it be possible for you to send me a copy of your BaseLandAutopilot (third Beta)'s source code? I think I'd be able to learn a lot about writing these kinds of add-ons by looking at your code (I've done several tutorials for creating add ons, as well looking at the source code samples that come with the Orbitersdk, and they've taught me a lot, but I think getting a look at this code would still be extremely helpful to me). I'd also like to try and create a version of this autopilot that can handle vessels without retractable landing gear, as well as a version that can handle landing on planets with atmospheres. Of course, anything I end up creating would include credit for your original version, and would only be released with your approval. I'd really appreciate getting a copy of your source code, if at all possible. Thanks.