Greetings CMDRs!
After a few days of theory crafting exploration loadouts on the Orca I now have a few discoveries to share. I'm sure some of this is common knowledge but it's nice to have down on paper for myself to learn, and who knows it might be interesting to read. And no, this PSA is by no museful or this build or build is by no means feasible.
The ExplOrca
FINDINGS:
Maximum possible jump range: 76.40 LY. Coriolis shows only 76.24 LY but its math is prone to fault. This is calculated with smallest possible Core Modules, all with lightweight/stripped down, and using strictly massless Optional Internals. No engine boost (saved a whole 0.15 LY on that), no Planetary Vehicle Hangar, Heat Sink Launcher, Shield Generator, or Repair Limpet Controller. Any hull damage you take stays until your next dock. It also runs hot so good luck. However you can still slot AFMUs, a Fuel Scoop, Detailed Surface Scanner, Cargo Racks, Docking Computer, and Supercruise assist since they're all massless, so you've got that at least.
Lightest possible Power Plant: 2D Power Plant, Overcharged + Stripped Down. This is physically the lightest PP you can equip so this goes without saying. This also said, using a 2A Power Plant will decrease your idle temp by ~8% (20% idle down from 28%) while only decreasing your jump range by 0.07 LY down to 76.33 LY, meaning there really is no reason to use it over a 2A.
Lightest possible Thrusters: 4D Thrusters, Clean Tuning/Dirty Tuning + Stripped Down. 3A Thrusters simply do not have the maximum mass to reach minimum specs. Clean and Dirty Tuning both have the same mass so it doesn't matter which one is used, though Clean Tuning use less power and produce less heat than Dirty, meaning if you don't mind moving a bit slower when out of Supercruise (you already don't have boost), Clean is the choice for staying cold (if 28% idle is cold) and optimizing power (hah).
WHAT THIS MEANS:
Orca has a bit of wiggle room for power distribution since the smallest module is a toss up between an overcharged and thermal spread, meaning lowering the Fuel Scoop size has no strict benefit towards power. You can always swap it out for a LUX passenger cabin and lose ~5LY jump range if you want to pretend to live in style. Still hoping they add walkable internals to cabins and ship internals. You can theoretically run a 2D Power Plant with a 3D Shield Generator too, though I don't recommend it as this will cause your ship to actively overheat while your FSD is charging.
Haha orca go brrr
