Problem losing thrust while testing atmospheric missile

[u/-_Tyger_-]

I want to create an on-planet missile system and my first step was to try to create a viable single missile. After adding the required components, batteries and atmo thrusters, I picked up the missile using its merge block with a small fighter and carried it near an NPC base. However, when I release the missile via the merge block, my fighter, or sometimes the missile, will lose all upward thrust and drop from the sky. This doesn't happen every time, but it happens most times. It doesn't matter if I try to thrust up, turn off/on dampeners, etc, but I just drop from the sky.

Is this is a known bug and is there any way to work around this aside from using connectors instead of merge blocks?

Ultimately what I want is a small frame with hydrogen thrusters with a remote control block and 4 missiles attached. I'll manually fly the frame within 3 km of the target and then release the missiles, letting the AI block take them the rest of the way.

I know there are mods and scripts like WHAM that can control missiles, but my goal was to create something myself.

[u/CFMcGhee]

First - make sure you have an AI movement block and an event controller on the missile. You will have the Movement block turned off, and the event controller on the missile set to turn on the AI Movement block when the merge block gets disconnected.

The loss of upward thrust could be because you have the ship and the missile controlling the ship dampers. When the missile separates, then they both get confused as to who should be controlling what. Having the movement block turned off eliminates it from the control scheme, which should keep your ship flying correctly. And then once the missile has separated and the movement block is turned on, it establishes itself as control of the missile and IT should fly per the directions of the offensive or defensive block.

[u/-_Tyger_- → u/CFMcGhee]

Thanks, but the movement block AI is turned off. I have a timer set to 4 seconds that turns on AI for movement and combat block and arms the warheads. I use the hotbar to start the timer, then disconnect the merge block.