That's right - and the important question: how many cup holders does it have??
Packing the Air/Raft
- Thread starter kilemall
- Start date
That's right - and the important question: how many cup holders does it have??
I want to see the stats on the fuzzy dice hanging from the rear-view mirror, and how TL stage effects can improve them.
BlackBat242
SOC-14 1K
No - the most important question is (for a Brit): does it have a boiler vessel?
the British perfected brewing tea inside an armored vehicle
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
MRE Chemical Heater Boiling
Ok, I know this is only 16 seconds long... but it shows water boiling because of a chemical reaction in a self heating MRE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn5K6Z1bjK8
Ok, I know this is only 16 seconds long... but it shows water boiling because of a chemical reaction in a self heating MRE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn5K6Z1bjK8
Dump the contents of the heater-pack into a half-empty water bottle, close the cap, and stand back as hilarity ensues!
(Ok, it just balloons and pops with an impressive "bang!" Bonus points for breaking a chemical light-stick open and dumping it in too, so the spattered liquid glows...)
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Emergency rocket propulsion:
1. Glue coke bottle to hull.
2. Drop mint into it.
3. Proooooooooooooooofeeeeeeet!!!!.
1. Glue coke bottle to hull.
2. Drop mint into it.
3. Proooooooooooooooofeeeeeeet!!!!.
Side note on Air/Rafts that probably ought to be on the thread about taking Air/Rafts to and from orbit:
Air/Rafts probably have rockets facing forward and sideways for emergency braking/collision avoidance as standard equipment. While I assume that in an atmosphere you could go nose-up to increase drag or bank to generate some lateral lift, they're designed for the full range of atmospheres -- at least the ones built for export or for use on starships are, anyhow, and in vacc there's no air to generate drag. 0.1G of horizontal acceleration means they can't slow down quickly or swerve. So, they need braking rockets except at moderate to high TL where they have reactionless thrusters instead of only lifters.
In-flight deconfliction would be negotiated automatically between the vehicles (or by pre-programmed rules) and one or the other Air/Raft would drop maybe 100m (terrain permitting) to avoid the other, because they can't climb quickly. Terrain/obstacle avoidance, or avoiding someone actively attempting to collide, would trigger the anti-collision or braking rockets.
There's probably also a terrain-avoidance system built into the controls.
I don't expect the anticollision rockets have much of a burn time, but I suppose if hotwired they could do a few dice of damage at point-blank range if someone happens to be in the way. This mod is, of course, illegal in most jurisdictions -- and you could probably do as much damage by ramming whatever you were trying to burn.
Air/Rafts probably have rockets facing forward and sideways for emergency braking/collision avoidance as standard equipment. While I assume that in an atmosphere you could go nose-up to increase drag or bank to generate some lateral lift, they're designed for the full range of atmospheres -- at least the ones built for export or for use on starships are, anyhow, and in vacc there's no air to generate drag. 0.1G of horizontal acceleration means they can't slow down quickly or swerve. So, they need braking rockets except at moderate to high TL where they have reactionless thrusters instead of only lifters.
In-flight deconfliction would be negotiated automatically between the vehicles (or by pre-programmed rules) and one or the other Air/Raft would drop maybe 100m (terrain permitting) to avoid the other, because they can't climb quickly. Terrain/obstacle avoidance, or avoiding someone actively attempting to collide, would trigger the anti-collision or braking rockets.
There's probably also a terrain-avoidance system built into the controls.
I don't expect the anticollision rockets have much of a burn time, but I suppose if hotwired they could do a few dice of damage at point-blank range if someone happens to be in the way. This mod is, of course, illegal in most jurisdictions -- and you could probably do as much damage by ramming whatever you were trying to burn.
In-atmosphere speed of 90-100 kph is basically freeway speed, 28 meters per second. Figure cruise to zero in about a half minute and 434 meters at 0.1 g without some sort of air-braking system. Mark-1 eyeball is enough to avoid most collisions but, people being people, some sort of system that provides more effective deceleration is probably a good idea even in atmosphere because this thing flies like a blimp and people are pretty bad at guessing stopping distances at these low levels of deceleration. There's not enough power in the drive to help much. (The air-raft masses roughly 10 times the mass of a Cessna-152 but has comparable engine power after the power needed for lift is deducted.)
Figure some sort of a rocket on either side in a rotating mount so it could be used to brake or rotated downward to boost over the top of an obstacle. 100 kg each gives about 8 tons thrust from Hard Times. Fuel burn rate varies from about 35 to 60 liters per second depending on fuel and you need about a 3-second burn to go from cruise to stop in a range comparable to a modern vehicle on the highway (with the same sensation). Fuel weight adds up quick: half a metric ton gives you a 4-burn liquid system for routine acceleration and deceleration rather than an emergency system, 100 kg gives you a one-shot emergency solid fuel braking rocket, if I'm doing this right. LHyd would be lighter but I suspect they're missing the oxidizer in the LHyd liquid rocket fuel weight equation.
Straybow
SOC-14 1K
No, the 60 cm depth means you'd have to be wearing a big pack of some sort to be comfortable. Most crew seating assumes stowing the pack elsewhere and hook-up to onboard life support, if that is necessary.
Combat armor is really another case as well, probably handled by removing the standard seats and subbing in something designed for it. Unless you think the seats aren't removable?
"Removable" is relative.
Are we talking "pull a lever and the seat comes out" removable, or "crawl into foot-well with an Alien wrench*, remove four bolts and disconnect three electrical connectors" removable? This will probably vary by manufacturer and market.
And you need to store the removed seats (and their replacements) somewhere.
*Typo: It's an Allen wrench.
Are we talking "pull a lever and the seat comes out" removable, or "crawl into foot-well with an Alien wrench*, remove four bolts and disconnect three electrical connectors" removable? This will probably vary by manufacturer and market.
And you need to store the removed seats (and their replacements) somewhere.
*Typo: It's an Allen wrench.
I guess it depends on where you got it from.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Recommended retail price and actual size of the chassis.
If it's a beach buggy variant sourced from IKEA, then break out those Allen keys.
If it's a beach buggy variant sourced from IKEA, then break out those Allen keys.
Why are air/rafts open but are still capable of going into vacuum?
And why are they allowed to be open at the speeds they're capable of? Because god that would be uncomfortable in an atmosphere as well.
I mean I hope there are versions made that are enclosed and air-tight when needed. Because that's kind of dangerous.
And why are they allowed to be open at the speeds they're capable of? Because god that would be uncomfortable in an atmosphere as well.
I mean I hope there are versions made that are enclosed and air-tight when needed. Because that's kind of dangerous.
There are enclosed versions, and "the speeds they're capable of", CT 100 kph cruise, or 62.5 mph U.S., would make them feel rather like modern convertibles - if you can deal with looking over the side and seeing a thousand foot drop. :devil:.
As for being open, it's worth noting that the lunar rover was open. Maybe it's easier to get into and out of an open vehicle when you're in a vacc suit.
It also simplifies working out fields of fire for Air/Raft passengers using small-arms.
Yes, they can go really, really fast in a vacuum (or above the atmosphere). Canon says they can reach orbit (and presumably orbital velocity), but it takes a while to get there. Getting back down (and slowing down enough to do it safely) also takes a while.
I believe it took the planetary size in hours to reach or descend from orbit
Yep. And, if you do the math for what the actual flight path would be, it's close enough that when you figure in having to get into position for the correct orbital inclination and the time when your rendezvous target is in the right position, it works out.
BlackBat242
SOC-14 1K
Almost like someone might have worked out the math before writing that entry!
Could be, could be...
Doesn't this depend on Tech level? I'm thinking 1-2 at TL9, to several dozen at TL F. Anything over TL C has cupholders that can keep a drink hot or cold. TL E+ has cupholders that keep a drink both hot and cold.
