Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Cnidaros]

Kolechia Revision Phase, Early Autumn 1915

Revision: Let the equilibrium live

It's hard to fly a plane without propellors, so the gear will be adjusted to he a more straightforward linkage between the propellor shaft cam and the breech block, resulting in a more robust firing action while also improving the reliability. This is accomplished by running a second axle back from the cam connection point to be closer the the type-11, reducing the need for long geartrains. This should drastically reduce the complexity of the gearing.

Efficacy: 2

The use of an axle to replace the existing linkage between propeller shaft and breech block is simple and reduces the complexity of the synchronisation gear somewhat. Unfortunately, issues with jamming the gun and with the overall effectiveness of preventing bullet-to-propeller meetings still persist. More effort is required to make the synchronisation gear useful in the field.

Structural Wing Reinforcement

The Equilibrium is a monoplane, but it's wings are build as if it were a biplane. The result is a fragile thing, prone to snapping it's wing at full deflection or when damaged. An extra reinforcement spar in the wing can keep the entire thing together.

Efficacy: 4

Further examination of the Equilibrium’s wings reveals that it is a slightly enlarged copy of the wings on the Feather. Extra reinforcement spars have been put in to compensate for the lack of cross-bracing to another wing, and the Equilibrium no longer tears its own wings off in a roll. With this change, it proves to be both faster and more manoeuvrable than a Feather-1914 biplane. The engineer responsible for the wholesale copying of wing design has been reassigned to blueprint-filing duty.


It is now the Production & Deployment Phase, Late Summer 1915. You have 12 production points remaining.

Spoiler: Projects (click to show/hide)

Equilibrium Fighter Monoplane | 3/19 progress | 2 PP per die | Rushed 0 times | 2 PP invested

Spoiler: Designs and Technology (click to show/hide)

Planes:
-Feather-1914 Scout Plane: A unarmed, single seater biplane. High stability makes it easy to fly, but also woefully inadequate for anything other than scouting. Lightweight wooden fuselage combined with a five-cylinder rotary engine gives it good speed in the air. Now comes with ailerons for improved roll capability. Cost 3/1
-Equilibrium Fighter Monoplane: A single-seater monoplane with a 7-cylinder rotary engine and correspondingly good speed. It’s armed with a Type 11 LMG firing forward through the propeller arc with the aid of a rudimentary synchronisation gear, which reduces the fire rate and occasionally jams the gun. The synchronisation gear prevents the blades from being shot off immediately, instead delaying it to ‘about one-third of a belt later’. Cost 5/2.
Balloons
-Hykib Observation Balloon: A single-pilot hydrogen balloon designed for aerial observation. Its elongated and finned shape helps it remain stable even in high winds. The basket has an inbuilt telephone to relay messages from the pilot to the ground, and what can charitably be described as a very rudimentary parachute. Painted a glorious red throughout. Cost 2/1
Equipment
Lvoc Camera: A glass plate medium camera with a 150mm focal length, coincidentally about the size and shape of a 150mm artillery shell. Requires manual changing of the plate for each photograph taken and is moderately durable. Cost 1
Type 11 machinegun: An air-cooled light machine gun firing 7.65x53 mm Argentine rounds at 600 RPM. Sometimes overheats after prolonged use. Cost 1
Artillery Spotter Equipment: A set of good binoculars with range markings and a Kolechian ‘comtant’, a combination of compass and sextant for taking precise bearings. Questions of whether a sextant is really necessary for doing so are met with offended looks. Cost 1 PP for 2 squadrons.
Pilots:
-Coordinated: Strength in numbers! Kolechian pilots work well together and are better coordinated in combat.
-Uniforms: Red with silver accents. Pilots are issued a thick, flowing red cape which flutters gloriously in the wind, inspiring the men on the ground.
Technology:
-Basic biplane design
-Basic/Intermediate monoplane design
-Basic/Intermediate balloon design
-Wooden frame construction
-Basic control surfaces: wing warping, elevator and rudder and ailerons.
-Foster mount technology
-Very rudimentary synchronisation gear
Resources:
-1 Pilot Training Institute: Teaches new pilots what each lever does. When to pull each lever is up to the student.
-1 Developmental Airfield: Designs new planes and other air-related equipment. Produces five dice worth of progress every turn.
-14 production points base

Spoiler: Squadrons (click to show/hide)

Squadron 1 | Feather-1914-NA Scout Plane | Lvoc Camera | Aerial Reconnaissance | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to photograph enemy defenses around Derboise

Squadron 2 | Feather-1914 Scout Plane | Lvoc Camera, Type 11 LMG | Air Superiority | Rookie | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to secure air superiority over Derboise

Squadron 3 | Feather-1914 Scout Plane | Lvoc Camera, Type 11 LMG | Aerial Reconnaissance/Anti-Balloon | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to photograph enemy frontline and shoot down enemy balloons along the Dreidansk-Demisonne Road

Observer 1 | Hykib Observation Balloon | No Equipment | Artillery Spotting | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to artillery spotting outside Derboise

Observer 2 | Hykib Observation Balloon | No Equipment | Artillery Spotting | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to artillery spotting outside Derboise

Spoiler: Statistics (click to show/hide)

Prestige: Very Little
Status: Auxiliary Service
Army Relations: Lukewarm
Navy Relations: Neutral

Production Points: 12
Total Maintenance: 5

[Doomblade187]

So, we do have to use all our dice to finish the plane with confidence. But we need that rev still, and we may still get it done with 4.

[10ebbor10]

There's no reason to finish the plane next turn.

Remember, it cost 2PP per dice. Unless, we get a lot of extra PP next turn, it's impossible to both afford the new plane and develop it.

[Taricus]

If we don't get it done with four dice, that's fine, since we'd still need the revision.

That being said, that sort of scenario means we need to fill the air with more aircraft.

[Rockeater]

Question to the GM, if we take down one of our squads, what happend to the pilots?

[Nirur Torir]

Plan: Split our Forces

Create Squadron 4: Feather-1914 + Type 11 LMG
Create Squadron 5: Feather-1914

Squadron 2's pilots are re-assigned to squadron 5.

Squadron 3: Aerial Reconnaissance/Superiority around Derboise.
Squadron 2: Aerial Superiority around Derboise.
Squadron 1: Aerial Reconnaissance along Dreidansk-Demisonne Road.
Squadron 4: Aerial Superiority along Dreidansk-Demisonne Road.
Squadron 5: Official Acrobatic Squadron.
Observer 1: Artillery Spotting for Derboise.
Observer 2: Artillery Spotting along Dreidansk-Demisonne

[Taricus]

I think we need to start splitting our LMG Feathers and our Camera feathers. Would mean we could get a lot more recon work done whilst still fielding a lot of fighters and the like.

[Kashyyk]

I'd prefer to deploy squadron 1 as the acrobatic squadron. They're our most experienced and will thus give us the biggest bonus.

[Rockeater]

I'd prefer to deploy squadron 1 as the acrobatic squadron. They're our most experienced and will thus give us the biggest bonus.

Squad 2 is

[10ebbor10]

Squadron 2 is the most experienced actually.

GM : Can we shuffle equipment around?

[Kashyyk]

 Squadron 2 then.

[10ebbor10]

I kind of want to throw more stuff in the North.

[Chiefwaffles]

Again, we should focus on the northern front.

Being responsible for a major victory will greatly outshadow the army having a minor loss in the south. We’re a minor enough force that there’s no way we’d be seen as responsible for a loss that we didn’t actively help in, but if our balloons and fighters and recon turns out to be the crucial component of a victory say hello to a lot of prestige.

[Nirur Torir]

The army generals on the northern front are happy that they now have balloon assistance in artillery spotting. In the upcoming turn, they plan to mount an assault to capture Derboise, and suggest you deploy your forces to support this assault as much as possible.

At the central front, the army generals there are extremely unhappy about the fact that the Verusan balloons continue to operate unmolested, and in fact have increased in numbers. They demand more effort is put into shooting these balloons down.

If we ignore the demands to do something in the south, then we need the northern assault to win, and I don't like that risk. Simply keeping a city in shelling range until we have better fighters is still a benefit for the war effort.

[10ebbor10]

We can sugnificantly improve our dhooting down effort by taking our planes out of the inefficient recon/interception routine.