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BobCat E735 - Vanilla Atmo mining hauler

The Bobcat E735 is an experimental build by Endeavor Ltd. What makes the BobCat special is its movable arm from -90 to 90 °. The BobCat comes with a stabilizer gyro that holds it in place while you dig out your base or while you dig for ores. Since the update this can be done automatically through timers. Hence, the mode of operation is that the 2 big and 3 additional atmospheric thrusters generate the downward thrust while all other engines are only there for directional movements. Due to the focus on the strong downward engines the whole machine allows a compact build while still being able to lift around 40 tons of material.
The only downside noticed in the testing phase so far was that the drills should not be loaded more than half their capacity or the engine for the arm will have problems to overcome the torque to move the arm. Unfortunately there is no stronger rotor on the marked yet. Therefore, potential testers should keep in mind that if you want to move the drill-arm, the drills should not be more loaded than half their storage capacity.
To keep this medium range hauler running we have installed 3 batteries that can be run between 40 and 80 minutes depending on how well you preserve the energy and on what load you are flying and at what altitude you are working. With a full charge and fully loaded you have a flight time of around 30 minutes. Therefore, the BobCat is supposed to be used in proximity to a base or station. Despite all drawbacks the BobCat has shown so far extremely versatile and some miners have already grown fond of the BobCat.some even call it the Lucky Cat or the One armed bandit.

• This build is using Automatic LCDs 2 script. It is used to keep the drills easier in check. You probably dont need to download it but here is the link anyway.
  
• This build is not projector ready. If you want to use it in survival and build it with a projector better use the set up Projector ready version.
  
• Remember that SE ist still in Beta and bugs still persist. I take no responsibility for bugs that might decrease the performance or usability of the build.
  
• Please give some feedback if you dislike the build, so that i can take a note for the next one or improve the build.
  
• This build might change in the futur slightly for improvment sakes.

• Shipmass
  Mass empty is around 32000 kg (32 t)
  
  
• Thrusters
  Downwards: 2 Big + 3 Small (can be toggled)
  Left & Right: 2 each direction
  Forward & Backward: 2 each direction
  
  Downward thrust at optimum is 1056 kN. This value decreases with heigt. At 80% efficency this will give you 844 kN thrust. This means you should be able to load around 80000kg (80 t), so you have still arround 40 to 30 kn for thrust at 80%. The higher you go the more this will go down. So be aware when mining in mountain regions!
  
  
• Energy and flight time
  Comes with 3 Batteries - flight time depends on usage and what components have energy. If you level the BobCat perfectly and nothing is loaded you can hover at a spot for 2 hours. Under load and constand thrusting your time goes down to around 40 minutes. As you normally tend to go back and forth between location and the loading station you can reload your BobCat in between while taking a short break or swapping to another BobCat.
  
  
• Storage
  2 Med Containers + 2 Drills + 1 Connector
  
  For realistic settings 18000L Max (48,6 t) -> Optimum arround 14665L (39,596 t) .
  If you play with extended inventory multiply with the inventory factor 3x or 10x accordingly. At arround 38 t load (x1) you will need the additional thrusters.
  
  
• Rotor arm
  Has by default a torque of 448kNm. At this value you have difficulty to turn the rotor at arround 70-80% load of the drills. However, since the update the torque can be set higher. The arm can be moved all the way from +90 to -90 degress, depending on the upper and lower bounds you set.
  
  
• Extas
  2 Drills, Cameras for most directions, Ore detector, Antenna, Remote control, 2 Front lights, 2 Back lights blinking red, A tone block for making awsome sound while flying , 3 Timer Blocks, 1 Prog. Block, Alot of vents that do nothing.

• You can adjust the energy to the 3 gyros to get the flight feeling that you want. Howerver be aware that the BobCat is not very agile...because it is all about the feeling of flying heavy machinery!
  
  
• Use the swapping gyro in override mode and the stabilizer gyro off while flying.
  
  
• Use the swapping gyro either in overide or normal mode and the stabilizer gyro on while mining. To improve turning rate the swapping gyro should be in normal mode or optional you can change into the flyight setting.
  
  
• While you ought to stay leveled the BobCat can tilt well up to 15-20°.
  
  
• You can use the rotor lock to adjust the arm's tilt and reverse direction for up and down movment of the drill. But keep in mind to turn it off when docking or landing.
  
  
• You can use the timerblocks to make the arm move automatically up and down.
  
  
• If you want to be able to keep the arm moving make sure to not load the drills more than 1/2 to 2/3 off their capacity.
  
  
• Since the update it is possible to set the torque of the rotor higher than before to overcome the turning problem.
  
  
• If you drill with the arm down you dont have to bear the limit of the drills. However if you fill both drills you probably will have to activate the 3 extra thrusters.
  
  
• Most of the commands are set up already. On tab 1 you find flight preperation. On tab 2 you find arm control and cameras. On tab 3 you can use timer blocks to automatically change arm direction after set timer. On tab 4 you find docking shortcuts.
  
  
• Important: Never ever undock the connector or the landing gear while the rotor is locked. Also locking the landing gear while the rotor is locked might not be advisable even so it works most of the time.

• Rotorlock bug: It is possible that the rotor explodes when you undock from a connector. Possible solution is to test if rotor was locked. Therefore I advise you to not lock the rotor when you are docking or undocking from a connector. Same is true for the disengaging of the landing gear while the rotor is locked.
  
• Connector reload bug: There seems to be a new bug that i havnt encountered before and might be true for other builds as well. When you connect to a base by connector and safe the game to come back later the ship will not correctly hold position anymore but drift down at 0.87 m/s. Only solution i have found so far is either landing or flying up and save and reload the game.