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Stinger
The Knights of Chaos
General
Joined: 30-Apr-2002 00:00
Posts: 1833
Location: United States
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 Posted: 05-Jan-2015 12:37 Post subject: Question about small DropShips. |
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So I have been working on a small drop shuttle. it is high speed and meant for the social elite, business, dignitaries and what not some would be used as civilian shuttles but for the most part it is highly specialized and weights in at 125 tons (moves 8/12).
So here is my problem. it requires 3 crew members. 1 officer and 2 crew. What bothers me though is it should be able to move quick enough from the drop point to the planet that, it moves twice as fast as most of the other shuttles. so my question is why does it require 3 crew and what do they do? and two of the crew members be replaces with an intricate high powered computer system?
So I am coming here to chat with my friends and get an honest opinion. is the idea crazy or would it be feasible to do that. I figure that the crew replacement computers would weight in at 5 tons but offer a much bigger living space for the pilot.
So anyway thoughts the year would be set around 3080 near the end of the jihad war. let me know what you all think.
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Stinger
If it's "creepy" to use the Internet, military satellites, and robot aircraft to find a house full of gorgeous young models so I can drop in on them unexpected, then FINE, I'm "creepy". Howard Wolowitz. BBT.
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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2755
Location: United States
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| Posted: 05-Jan-2015 15:27 Post subject: Question about small DropShips. |
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Think about a modern passenger plane.
Just about everything, from take-off to landing, could be done by the autopilot.
But it takes an actual human being to rub brain cells together and figure out if something's wrong and - if so - how to fix it. Plus, we also have humans as failsafes in case the computer conks out and vice versa, just like what happened in the Gimli Glider incident (wherein a fouled component didn't provide the pilots with key information telling them that the plane was taking off with only half the fuel needed, leading to the crew having to glide the plane into a landing at a decommissioned military base).
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"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat." -Edgar Allen Poe"I knew there was something special about you, but I never realized you were really a cat." Wolfwood to a random cat (Trigun)
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Vagabond
Mercenary
Mr. Referee
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 5791
Location: United States
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| Posted: 05-Jan-2015 22:14 Post subject: Question about small DropShips. |
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I see the crew as pilot/captain, co-pilot, and engineer. And as Kraken said, you'll need people on site to fix any issues that might arise. And even at twice the speed (G load aside), you're still days out from any jump point... crew rotation.
The only issue I see is that as a passenger carrier, being able to pull 4g's will mean little as most civies can only handle 1g. I made a fast shuttle once that used an escape pod as a Battle Armor insertion vehicle. Cruise towards target at 1g, flip when close to target and accelerate a 4g's while skimming the atmosphere, and drop pod.
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one must work hard to cultivate the mind and body. and one must always cultivate the mind.
//^(^_^)^\\
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Stinger
The Knights of Chaos
General
Joined: 30-Apr-2002 00:00
Posts: 1833
Location: United States
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| Posted: 06-Jan-2015 11:16 Post subject: Question about small DropShips. |
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Yeah, i had planned on using it as a plot device for a book but I just don't see it as a viable option. I figured that one of the computers could be the "copilot" allowing the single pilot to plot the course and then sleep during the long journey. It was the third crew member that was bugging me.
So thank you guys. As always the opinions are valuable.
Now a little foreshadowing because this brings me to my next post.
_________________
Stinger
If it's "creepy" to use the Internet, military satellites, and robot aircraft to find a house full of gorgeous young models so I can drop in on them unexpected, then FINE, I'm "creepy". Howard Wolowitz. BBT.
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AlayneLeung
Lyran Alliance
Staff Sergeant
Joined: 03-Jan-2015 18:40
Posts: 133
Location: United States
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| Posted: 09-Jan-2015 17:30 Post subject: Question about small DropShips. |
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i think HMAero allows a person to specify specific crew quantities, so feel free to turn on level 3 rules (if necessary) to do this. the additional crew personnel required are usually for officers, weapons, and maintenance. one person can pilot a spacecraft, though it's nice to have additional copiloting persons for assistance like when going through asteroid fields just in case some asteroids are moving. i'd allow for a computer to "autocopilot" a space vehicle.
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"Okay friendlies, you're not paid to be exclusively a 'MechWarrior', vehicle/spacecraft crewer, fighter pilot, or infantry trooper. You're just paid to follow my orders!" So says me to my personnel.
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