[Spaceships] Calculating Climb Rate

Anthony · 05-02-2017, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

I need to get past the point of atmosphere being trace to be able to freely accelerate past maximum airspeed.

That's... spaceships simplifying things (maximum airspeed with altitude is a smooth curve, not a sudden change).

I don't think this will really be much of a factor, it doesn't seem to require more than a few percent climb rate (particularly in comparison to other problems with how spaceships computes things, such as max atmospheric flight speed being totally wrong).

vicky_molokh · 05-02-2017, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony

That's... spaceships simplifying things (maximum airspeed with altitude is a smooth curve, not a sudden change).

I don't think this will really be much of a factor, it doesn't seem to require more than a few percent climb rate (particularly in comparison to other problems with how spaceships computes things, such as max atmospheric flight speed being totally wrong).

Well yeah, that's making things playable.

A brute-force wingless vertical climb seems to be able to handle it in a matter of 1-6 minutes or so depending on thrust. But I remember accounts that for aircraft, reaching their typical altitude can take quite a while. So I'm curious how much longer it would take, thus curious about climb rate.

Anaraxes · 05-02-2017, 04:26 PM

The aircraft's thrust has to counter drag to keep the plane in the air. Excess thrust can be used to climb. Divide that by the weight of the plane. ((T - D) / W).

The complexity really kicks in if you want an accurate answer to pop out of the calculations. For real aircraft, "thrust" isn't a constant you find on a spec sheet. It varies with the speed of the plane and with altitude (and other atmosphere conditions like temperature and humidity). Drag also varies with altitude, and with speed, especially once you start talking transonic and supersonic speeds. The way prop planes change with these factors varies from turboprops which vary from jets (and presumably from other high-tech sources of thrust in Spaceships).

You could also look at it from the point of view of energy. Subtract drag from the power output of the engine, and then use that power to add potential energy in the form of altitude. But again, drag and how much power you need to counter it while maintaining lift is going to vary how much excess power you have to work with.

05-02-2017, 04:26 PM	#3
Anaraxes Join Date: Sep 2007	Re: [Spaceships] Calculating Climb Rate The aircraft's thrust has to counter drag to keep the plane in the air. Excess thrust can be used to climb. Divide that by the weight of the plane. ((T - D) / W). The complexity really kicks in if you want an accurate answer to pop out of the calculations. For real aircraft, "thrust" isn't a constant you find on a spec sheet. It varies with the speed of the plane and with altitude (and other atmosphere conditions like temperature and humidity). Drag also varies with altitude, and with speed, especially once you start talking transonic and supersonic speeds. The way prop planes change with these factors varies from turboprops which vary from jets (and presumably from other high-tech sources of thrust in Spaceships). You could also look at it from the point of view of energy. Subtract drag from the power output of the engine, and then use that power to add potential energy in the form of altitude. But again, drag and how much power you need to counter it while maintaining lift is going to vary how much excess power you have to work with.