Exploration Question for Explorers and Fuel Scooping

[roboteconomist]

I scoop only when I need to get to the other side of the star, which seems to average out okay, but I generally don't let my tank dip below 50% empty. I also spend a lot of time at the limits of the stellar plane, so your mileage may vary. I will admit that I am not pro enough to scoop with my cockpit turned away from the star. I've ended in the exclusion zone while my nose is in the system map way too many times.

If you engineer your (class D) thrusters and (class A) power plant for low emissions -- a G1 mod is usually sufficient -- you should be able to regularly jump at heat level of 60-65% without overheating. That has held true for both my 'conda and my AspX.

 

[-VR- pipestein]

No, star below your nose. If I can see the star itself then I've pitched down too far and need to pull up a bit. I've scooped by that rule so long that scooping with it beside or above just feels weird.

This is the method I use most as well. All you need to really see is the exclusion zone line keep that at the bottom of your view and not the star, if you see the star pull your nose up. Iain666 is right you skip off the star and don't have to slow down. Doing it any other way and I will screw it up since I have been doing it this way for so long.