YAY!

Gryphon Mk.II Version now available.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/workshop/filedetails/?id=1754405903

The new update rendered them completely useless, you now have to use antennae to transmit info.

Hello Elf!

First of all, it is looking awesome and I am very excited for your future builds. All doe, I am still figuering out, how to attach the harness's. Could you help me on that?

Yay new puppy! Get some rest, this all can wait :D

Thanks, Atlas. Apologies for the delay. My wife is away for the week, we've got a new puppy and I've got to rebuild a deck in the backyard. I really could use a nap right now but the puppy is wacking my leg with his ball. God help me. :)

If you need any BETA testing you know where to call lol

Oh cool! cant wait for Mk2! I'll hold on this project if thats the case :D

Looking forward to the MK2 Gryphon. Btw, the outside row rails in the cargo bay would benefit from some elongating, just pointing that out 'cause it probably is a 30-second fix

/thumbsup Looking forward to seeing it:) Just as a headsup that I'm working on a MK2 version of the Gryphon right now that is basically the MK1 with some new instrumentation, new camera features and some additional radio options. Hope to have it on the Workshop shortly. Anything that you build for the MK1 rails and hookups will still work in the MK2 and it will fly the same. I opted for a new version as I didn't want to screw anyone up who may be used to the controls on the MK1. Once the MK2 is out they can then give it a try and choose to move up if they wish. I may also look at putting an external hardpoint for fuel pods.

Thats how it works now? Great... Any who... I'm still working on my porta-fuel tank and it should be done soon. :D

Yup... thanks for the note, Atlas. :) Just noticed that. I tried a quick solution to drop an "Alway On" local to the accessories and point it to the connector. It solved the problem of sticking but the controls on the harness no longer work. Looks like I need to factor in a radio.

Just a heads up that after the recent update the small connector to small connector accessories that are in the back of the helicopter no longer want to stick to each other, I discovered this in other helicopters with attachments too.

Ok, ElfBossHog. I'm not much of a builder myself so I think this might be a good place to begin. :)

Hi AtlasEight. There are currently no external hardpoints to attach fuel pods. However in the cargo bay there is Fluid connector that will accept both a Fuel and Water hookup (two filters are connected to a T). The beds are on rails so they can be moved or removed. I had planned on building a fuel tank with a pump that is mounted on rails and slides in to the fluid connector and electrical connector in the cargo bay. Just haven't had time to do so.

Hello Agent, sorry for the late response. Been swamped with work and Spring projects. Nice work on the module. Storage with the rails and a heater unit. I expect it would be useful to drop off at an Arctic location as a survival hub. In regards to other projects to build you could consider additional fuel tanks on rails that would attach to the internal fluid connector. I will require a pump onboard the tank to push the fuel in. That actually is the answer to AtlasEight's question as well...

Any current way to add a higher fuel capacity?

What should I build next? @ElfBossHogg

Thanks, Agent. Hopefully I can try it out tonight and see what she does. :)

Whoops, forgot it @ElfBossHogg, here it is: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1723833781

I was able to see the creation on a subscriber creations list on mobile. It seems illogical to not have that list on the main desktop app.

Hey Agent, I can't see your workshop as you'rer set to private. Can you send a link to the module? Looking forward to seeing it.

The first Module has been uploaded to my workshop. Hope you like it!

Oh, ok. I meant modules in general (Equipment Airdrops, small carts like your medical beds, but for cargo, refloatation devices, etc , you get the point), but that's a good idea, i'll try.

One item of note when trying to use the external fluid hookup in the cargo bay. Right now I don't seem to be getting enough draw pressure to pull anything from an attached tank. The setup is the one fluid connector goes to a T with each end attached to a fluid filter: one for water, one for jet fuel; the water branch goes to the water tank, the fuel branch to a split that can go to either fuel tank. You may need to add a small pump to your module.

Good point, Agent. Makes sense. I haven't done any testing yet but I'd be interested to see how hydrostatic pressure is factored for a hose starting above water (i.e. is the inlet pressure actually higher the further it is under the water even though it starts off above water?). I'm actually quite impressed how the developers appear to have factored in a number of physics principles that people may not be overly conscience of (ex. regressing helicopter blades having lower lift when the helicopter is moving forward).

In regards to your question about building extra modules. Absolutely feel free to go ahead. I have no misgivings about anyone pulling apart, enhancing or reusing anything I build.

Actually, now that i think about it, the length of the hose is the cause of the issue and that is how it should be. The pump has a maximum force limit. It's main "opponent" is gravity and longer (full) hose means more water, which means more mass, which means more weight force for the pump to counteract (cuz w = m * g [for the forgetful ones]). Therefore it achieves a lower top pumping "speed". Also, when you lower your alt you get higher pumping "speeds" because you either get higher hydrostatic pressure on the port of the hose (If you don't retract the hose) or you just have less water to push up (If you do retract it). --Nerd Stuff Done--

And regarding the water tanks you added, can I build some extra modules for the chopper?

Something I find about the pump is that it is sensitive to Altitude. For a fast fill if you drop the chopper to 5 m above sea level it fills up quite fast. It appears that it may work something similar to how depth effects your ability to dump water but in reverse.

In regards to the water tanks I just have one and its mount dead centre under the rotor. Adding any more could mean pushing it to the sides or back/front which may through the balance off. I found that I had more then enough water to deal with a single source fire and could put out about 4 fires on the Rig before having to get more. With that in mind I'm a hesitant to throw on another tank. However I had played with rigging up some optional water tanks that were mounted on the rails in the cargo bay. That's why I put the electrical and Fuel/Water Connector in the bay. I may revisit that.

Maybe slap on some more water tanks? From my personal experience, the water is not sufficient. I find myself refilling the water tanks a bit too much; the pump is quite slow too and that doesn't help.

It's possible. Adding the Microcontrollers to the tanks and gaining fuel space is a nice bonus. I could create some "dummy" microcontrollers that don't do anything but occupy the same space on the Port sides. Something to consider.

Is there enough space for some logic that will balance the two tanks? If yes, it would be a tremendous improvement. Anyway, thanks for the explanation.

In terms of the fuel tanks, yes, they are slightly different in size. It is a result of the SB tank having a few more Microcontrollers facing in to it. They occupy less space and hence the tank is bigger. When I started off with just blocks they were both exactly the same size.

In terms of the Cross Connect it appears to be working as per design. The Cross connect is just a single valve between the fluid inputs in to the Engines that when open connects them together. When It is closed each engine should "sip" from it's own tank only. When open they will draw from both tanks.

Hi AgentShot, the Port Jet having a higher consumption rate is something I've noticed and I can't fully explain it but I have a theory...

Both Jets are entirely symmetrical (i.e. same PID values for maintaining Combustion RPS, same hookups) and ideally should work the same. Where I think the imbalance is happening is that the output to the rotors is a single channel and I combine the power of both Jets together by using a T connector. The RPS going to the main Rotor (combined Jets) drives the Required Combustion RPS which are individually calculated using PIDs for each jet. What I think is happening is that the Port Jet Combustion RPS calculations are happening before the SB Jet. As a result the Port Jet may be ramping up faster. The SB calculations then determine it doesn't have to run as hard as the Port may have already upped the RPS on the Main Rotor. This is all just speculation but would seem to make sense.

Hi YoJo715, I understand your concern and I'll see what I can do. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of free time at this point. I was planning on creating some videos and dumping them in to short GIFs.

It seems like the Port Jet has a higher fuel consumption rate and the cross connect function doesn't do anything afaik. Also the Port F. tank has a slightly smaller capacity.

Hey ElfBossHogg, You description (IDK if it was just me) but i found it hard to figure out were some of the buttons are, I couldn't find the button to switch modes. it took me a long time till i finally found it. so plz make the description more user friendly. (specifically the button whereabouts)

Hello Jen, I'm not quite sure what you mean by by your question.

haw do you get a hele

Thanks for the comments, Fallangst_26 and Mr Panther. :)

The only attachment I added myself was a strecher.

this thing is awesome, this is really well made!

Thanks for the comments , Azzy and Haught. :) At first glance the controls may be a bit overwhelming but I tried to group them in such a way that made sense. I'm planning on creating a some guide (with some videos) when time allows. If anyone ever has any questions or suggestions I'm always open.

Same Here AzzymythAurora.

Never seen a heli that confused me till I looked at the controls and made me want to use it for hours, I love it.

Thanks for the comment, Haugthondawg100. Glad you like it. :)

Hi Mattbrraap, I've got it in the plans to implement Flight Plan similar to how the HERMES plane works. I just need to work things a bit different to determine destination speeds at waypoints... and find space in the cockpit for extra buttons. :) In the HERMES there's a complete Navigator's Station.

The system on the GRYPHON is based off the HERMES where I have a variable available per memory slot where you can set bits to represent a condition for the WP. I'm thinking it's a matter of defining that a bit set on a WP will indicate it is only a node in a path. The chopper would then continue on to the next point after it reaches the current WP. Just like the HERMES you need to specific a "Last Leg" bit to tell the vehicle that after the next WP it will turn off AP. Just need to find the time to do it. Spring has sprung and lots of stuff on my "honey do" list. :)

Best heli I've ever seen, also the first one with a harness controls and Water Cannon, I like the sliding rails, I cant wait to see what comes next!

There needs to be a mechanism to switch the autopilot into "flight plan" mode. Currently you can add multiple waypoints, but when it gets to the first waypoint the heli stops and the AP disengages. It should either automatically advance to the next waypoint as you get close (in the case where there are multiple waypoints programmed), or there should be a separate switch to differentiate between "fly entire flight plan" and "fly to current waypoint slot and stop"

Hi Malin, they may be ok where they are as I find secured items tend to sit out from the wall. But I'll take it in to consideration and see what happens. Thanks.

That autohover for the gyro isn't perfect but it does a pretty good job. It's suited to keeping a vessel stable in flight but not necessarily in place. It does wander a bit when you come to a stop. I've run some missions where I've set over of a ship and used the hoist only to find the helicopter had moved a few metres and I'm lowering in to the sea.

I'd like to build something that corrects for those movements in all directions... that's where the heavy math comes in. GPS X/Y/Z hold tied to movement in three directions with pitch, yaw and roll changes... may have to find my old Applied Math books from University and reacquaint myself with Matrix mathematics.