Flight Question Advice needed for landing an XR5

[alevinval]

Hi to everyone. Well, I got a serious problem de-orbiting this plane ( still haven't tryed with XR2 ). The thing is I succesful de-orbit DG-IV landing in 100km range.

So basically, setting up Basesync and Aerobrake to land Wideawake, seems just to work for DG-IV.

With XR5 I just pass over Wideawake and it's like I land 3000 km away.

Here's what i've done:

• Setting up the distance near 0 ( also tryed on other values, like 11.000k and the result is the same, landing 3.000k away ): Closest pass mode.
  
• I tryed various slope, 0.8, 1.2, 2 ( same result, 3km away )
  
• I tryed direct mode and equatorial.
  
• I also tryed different anticipation angle, from 2, 3 to 20.
  
• I even burned in different places from the de-orbit burn indicator, anticipating to it, passing it, just on it.

I really don't know what else I can do. I watched tutorials, I deorbited DG4 succesfully few times. But hey, XR5 it's just too much for me.

My eyes are bleeding because I've been trying it like 5 hours non stop, now I left it, 3:25 am.

Any experienced pilot that can give me a idea of what i'm doing that bad? Help please.

---------- Post added at 01:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:25 AM ----------

Sorry, auto answering me:

I can't remember where I saw that the de-orbit burn is all about setting dV to 0. Now I just ignored dV and tryed to match the landing point with aerobrake on the mini map. Finally I landed perfectly.

Well, lesson learned.

 

[Tommy]

You'll want a larger anticipation angle. Ant is the angular distance you will travel after crossing the re-entry interface (120k alt by default), and an XR-5 will travel quite a ways. Set the Ant to at least 60 degrees.

With the XR-5, it's actually easiest to de-orbit opposite (180 degrees) from the target, burn until your PeA is about 45k, and use AerobrakeMFD to manage the decent so that you end up on target. You'll "bounce" a bit doing this - but you won't burn up.

 

[Scav]

Yes . . . yes. DGIV holds a decent amount of lift through hypersonic flight, but tends to drop like a homesick rock once airspeed drops below Mach 1.

XR5, on the other hand, is a huge spaceplane, and it has a LOT of lifting body. She will hold a shallow glide angle for quite some distance in subsonic flight, and will even be responsive for the pre-flare and touchdown below 300 knots indicated airspeed (+/- 120 M/sec). This ability to make lift out of thin air will also affect the way she shoots the reentry.

I agree with Tommy on the anticipation angle -- even going as high as eighty degrees won't be cause for alarm; I prefer to hold that angle because I like to come in (nearly) empty of fuel while using an un-powered descent, and I want to hold at least two to three thousand knots of reserve energy for my turn to final and descent to landing.

I would recommend trying her out at either Canaveral or Habana spaceport, though: Wideawake is a bit like trying to land on an aircraft carrier. With the former two bases, you've got land to help guide you in (depending, of course, on your orbital inclination).

At any rate, with anything new, it all depends on spending some time with this bird, and getting a feel for how she flies. I know you will get this; just keep an open mind and you'll do fine.

I can't remember where I saw that the de-orbit burn is all about setting dV to 0. Now I just ignored dV and tryed to match the landing point with aerobrake on the mini map. Finally I landed perfectly.

Yup. There ya go!

 

[coffeene]

I always manage to bounce when landing the XR5, also noticed I never "burn", IE: no burn effects. Maybe I land it wrong...:shrug:

Have yet to deorbit in the right place. I once "bounced" one whole orbit to get back to where I wanted to land, and still missed it.

 

[Tommy]

The XR-5 produces a shipload of lift, so when you enter with a low mass it will bounce if you use a conservative re-entry profile.

If you are light (little to no payload and fuel), you will want to de-orbit later and use a more aggressive profile - AoA's of 50 to 60 degrees aren't uncommon.

As to "right way" or "wrong way", any landing you can walk away from has been done the "right way"!