Oolite Bulletins

Hi there,

I am running a Boa Class Carrier with all the equipment I can buy for money and some OXP. I tried several times to scoop fuel on different suns, but never recieved the starting msg mentioned in the wiki, nor does I really scoop fuel (fuel is not increasing). Cargo scooping is working fine.

Where is my mistake?

Greetings
Xandros

Hi xandros and welcome. You need to be very close to the sun to scoop fuel - so close, that your cabin temperature will rise.

El Viejo wrote:

Hi xandros and welcome. You need to be very close to the sun to scoop fuel - so close, that your cabin temperature will rise.

Hi El Viejo, thank you for the warm welcome. And congratulations... what a cool adaptation of the original elite.

I tried what you said: I run into the sun with "J"-speed until my ct starts to rise (even further on until it was yellow). Then I turned to the horizon but nothing happends.
Any more advices? Any button to activate the scooping?

I presume you have external heat shielding. It can vary from sun to sun - your altitude bar will drop very low sometimes, and the cabin temperature can get quite high. You could try using injectors - but take care, as scooping can be risky. No, no button to activate.

xandros wrote:

I tried what you said: I run into the sun with "J"-speed until my ct starts to rise (even further on until it was yellow). Then I turned to the horizon but nothing happends.
Any more advices? Any button to activate the scooping?

You're probably still not getting close enough. The fuel scoop zone varies in size depending on the star, but it's always narrower than the zone where the star will mass-lock you.

Just keep flying straight at it until you get mass-locked, then continue flying straight at (use the remains of your fuel on injectors, if you're in a hurry). Eventually you'll start scooping fuel, and that's the point to pull up and aim at/a little above the horizon.

If you get so close you hit red alert status from altitude or cabin temperature, and you've still not started scooping, then there may be something wrong.

El Viejo wrote:

I presume you have external heat shielding. It can vary from sun to sun - your altitude bar will drop very low sometimes, and the cabin temperature can get quite high. You could try using injectors - but take care, as scooping can be risky. No, no button to activate.

well, I try again....
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh now.... uh, I have to go really down. Thank you! It is working.

For all Newbies.... go really into the corona of the star - right in the middle of the star until scooping starts. UNTIL YOU REALLY GOT SCARED!

<grins> Cool... well, hot actually. Next time you sunskim, take a look at an external view of your ship.

And maybe take a trumble or two with you

I have developed the following fuel scooping procedure:
1. fly towards sun such that top edge of sun is just below top of screen
2. set up target witchspace system
3. when mass locked, use injectors to head towards sun until altitude bar drops to about 50%
4. keep injectors on and move sun edge towards middle of screen
5. scoops should be working and filling fuel
6. when nearly full and cabin temp starts to rise, angle away from sun at 90 degrees
7. witchspace out of there

That's only slightly different than my own technique. I do, however, have a slight precision advantage by virtue of using the Numerical HUD.

1) Fly directly towards the centre of the sun.
2) Set up target witchspace system.
3) Depending on the size of the sun, mass-lock will occur at approx 20-40% of stellar radius.
4) If close to 20%, just wait (if in the mood), otherwise engage injectors to close to scooping distance.
5) When distance reaches 14.5% of stellar radius, scoops will activate. If using, disengage injectors and..
6) Pitch up until edge of stellar disc is below centre of screen.
7) When full, rotate 180 degrees, engage witchspace drive.

With a small sun, I can be gone before the cabin temperature rises even one degree.. (I do love my digital instruments!)

I tend to use a similar technique, except I level off as soon as the scoops activate, and maintain injection.

As soon as I have enough fuel for the jump I hit H, keeping injectors on until full (scooping is quicker with injectors!).

External heat shields mean I don't have to worry too much about CT. And injecting while scooping means you get it over with faster anyway.

If you like, you can try my very simple technique: as soon as you're mass-locked, engage injectors and don't let go. Skimming goes much faster on injector speed.

As soon as your tanks are nearing fullness, fly away from the sun (still using injectors). When your tanks are full, you can still use the injectors and they'll remain full, because at injector speed they're filled much faster than fuel is used. Once you notice a slight drop in the tanks, you're out of the skimming zone with still 6.9LY worth of fuel.

Then it's your choice: either jump out, or fly away from the sun on normal speed until you're out of mass-lock, or continue to inject until you're out of mass-lock.

All in all: a very easy and very quick procedure.