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[Sensei]

We should make a fighter this turn, if for no other reason than to ensure we get the first air-to-air kill that isn't also a murder-suicide.

Imagine the prestige!

I really like the idea of doing zeppelins, but if we want that to actually work well we need to get ahead and stay ahead in that field. We already have a tethered balloon, next I propose we make a mobile baloon. It could carry a machine gun (not SMG, just a regular air cooled machine gun) turret or a radio. With the radio we can have mobile artillery spotting/scouting. With the gun we can defend ourselves, but not chase down enemies (I'm hopeful the slow-moving nature of a balloon would make it a good place to aim from). The biggest trouble is we can only do one requisition.

I propose we go for the radio. It could backfire hard if Kolechia does get good weapons this turn, but we should be able to even out the field as soon as we get weapons of our own, so it's a risk I am willing to take.

Plus the balloon isn't the most steady of platforms - it sways quite a lot.

I say we rush jet engines.  I'm sure if we focus hard, we'll be able to get a working prototype by the time the war is over.

Rush jet engines? I mean we could make a pulse jet but that's kind of a dead end. Actual turbine jets are probably way, way, way over our heads. We'd be better off with conventional engines.

Sky Fish: This is a mobile baloon, with a rigid wooden gondola. The gondola is attached to the football-shaped balloon, which consists of three sections, by a wooden frame so it doesn't swing around. On either side of the gondola is a Rhino engine with a propeller, and each engine has its own throttle and a gearing system which can allow it to turn the propeller in reverse, and there is a rudder behind the balloon as well. This should make the balloon capable of traveling against the wind and turning easily. The center section of the balloon is hot-air fired just like the Sky Eye and the fore and aft sections of the balloon are helium or hydrogen filled, providing additional lift, they should be balanced so the balloon slowly descends when the center section is cold.

If we don't do this, I think a recon plane with two seats (one pilot and one radio operator/gunner) would be prudent, but someone else can write that up.

-Spend 3 dice on Sky Fish design.
-Spend 1 die on Sky Eye
-Attempt to requisition a radio from the army

Design Plan Alpha: (1) Sensei

Regardless of the success of this new design I think we'll we sending a few Sky Eye squads out, their immobility isn't a problem for artillery spotting. I'd like to try tethering some to navy vessels so they can spot for the ship's cannons no matter where the ship moves.

[piratejoe]

Well, fellow knights of the sky, I have arrived, and I have a few things to say.

1, we should try and get machine guns asap
2, if we get machine guns, we should try to get synchronization gear, or make something like the Arico D.H.2
3, We should get cameras so we get even with our enemies in terms of recon.
4, I love zeppelins but we shouldn't go after them just yet, not until we have a proper scout kite first. Though, the prestige for them will be worth it.
5, the radio should be used for our balloons if we get one, after all, they aren't exactly that advanced right now.

I'll make a scout design, but only if we agree to get a machine gun.

[evictedSaint]

No! We need a fighter-bomber.  A little multi-role biplane that can gun down enemy biplanes and drop artillery shells or flechettes

[piratejoe]

So, you want a F.E 2b that will be relegated to night bombing once it gets horrendously out preformed.

Okay, I can do that.

[Jerick]

I propose we go for the radio. It could backfire hard if Kolechia does get good weapons this turn, but we should be able to even out the field as soon as we get weapons of our own, so it's a risk I am willing to take.

The thing is if I was on the other side of this and one of my teams planes got rammed by the enemy and the enemy had these big immobile balloons I'd be doing everything I could to get weapons. I would frankly be surprised if Kolechia doesn't come out with good weapons this turn.

The Rapier is a two seater biplane armed reconnisance plane. It's engine is very different to the aircraft engines that preceded it. Inline engines such as those mounted on the Rhino are water cooled. This necessitates radiators, a
watertight casing that surrounds the engine that allows the water to flow around it and the water itself. All of this adds weight to the engine and increases manufacturing time and costs. The Rapier's engine by contrast is an air cooled nine cylinder rotary engine. In a rotary engine rather than array the cylinders in a line the cylinders are attached to a central wheel. When the cylinders fire they deliver force to a stationary crank shaft causing the wheel they were attached to to spin this in turn spins the drive shaft. The wheel acts as flywheel improving the efficiency of the engine. The cylinders are exposed to the open air and the rapid spinning of the engine means that they are constantly air cooled so long as the engine is running. Compared to existing inline engines this rotary engine is very lightweight and provides far better power to weight ratios.

This rotary engine is positioned in the back of the aircraft in a pusher configuration rather than the standard front mounted puller engines and props. This means the plane's propeller is mounted behind the pilots and allows us to put machine guns or other weapons in the nose of the aircraft where the engine and propeller traditionally goes.

Edit: argh so many posts since I started typing!
Edit 2:Because I don't like double posting:

We acknowledge our failure to out preform our counterparts. Unfortunately there was some issues with requisitioning cameras in order to reconnoiter enemy lines but we believe there will be no further issues in that regard. However coming late with new cameras will not correct the imbalance that has been created. Kolechian planes in the skies above our lines will continue to map our positions and supply lines completing the picture of our deployment for the enemy strategists. But they cannot do that if there are no Kolechian planes in the skies above our lines. I request provision of machine guns to be mounted on our aircraft so they can engage and eliminate the Kolechian planes

Req request machine guns, 3 dice to Rapier, 1 dice invested into Sky Eye, 1 dice saved for revisions

Design Plan Alpha (1) :Sensei
Design Plan Blade (1) :Jerick

[Shadowclaw777]

“Needletail”: A designated attack biplane that is designed both with direct speed and maneuverability in mind with a V12 cylinder engine with more horsepower and motor kick behind the plane. It is a two-seated design where the second personnel acts as the radio and artillery spotter for the aircraft, and the required levers to where the storage of the vehicle stores its munitions to perform a strafing run is done by the second personnel. The most interesting addition and why this aircraft gets its name is of the empennage, with the vehicle adopting twin tail fins, that is believed to improve stability during flight and bombing runs. The priority of the design is the improved hull of its airframe to store munitions and two personnel, and the improved engine for the aircraft.

Anyways I guess a Vote Box is in order...

Design Plan Alpha: (1) Sensei
Design Plan Blade: (1) Jerick

I would be more willing to go with requisitioning machine guns if they were specified to be air-cooled

[evictedSaint]

Hmmm, yes, the powerful V11 engine, yes.  Very strong engine, that V11.

[piratejoe]

Well, here is my submission.

Verusa Royal Aviation Company Aircraft 1 "Emu" or VRAC A.1 "Emu"

The VRAC A.1 as its called in official documents, often called simply the A.1 or the Emu by most is a two seater biplane powered by a single inline eight piston water cooled engine behind the pilot that powers the four bladed wooden propeller behind it which pushes the aircraft forward. The wings are a fair longer then the old Rhino and has two ailerons on the top wing, one on the right end, and one on the left. The tail of the aircraft is supported by a set of wooden struts and a few wires to control the rudder and elevator, both of which are the most solid part of the rear of the craft. The landing wheels are made to be able to absorb some shock to be able to save the crew on a rough landing. The crew of the aircraft is an observer in the front of the aircraft and a pilot behind him, with the observer expected to do all of the scouting while the pilot simply flies. The observer also is to shoot at any enemy aircraft if he gets the chance, and the aircraft has two metal bars, one in between both seats, and one in front that one could screw a machine gun on if they had it, not that we actually have access to them...

[NAV]

Perhaps Shadowclaw means rotary 11?

[evictedSaint]

Perhaps Shadowclaw means rotary 11?

Probably, I was just giving him a hard time


Well, if the other side does a fighter this turn and we dont, then we are in significant trouble.  I'm all for doing a terror zepplin, but not before we have a fighter of our own.

Rather than designing a new plane altogether, what if we just developed a Foster mounting for our existing Rhino?  Gotta start small, right?

Or if we are feeling ambitious, we could go for a synchronization gearing set up, but that is relying on our available machinegun to have a closed-bolt firing scheme, which is not a guarantee.  A foster mount is probably safer, even if it isn't a long-term solution.

[Shadowclaw777]

Well I mean sure we can go to a cylinder-12, though it believed that Rotary and Radial engines can only utilize a odd amount of cylinders in their engines, and I mean most of WW2 Aviation replaced itself with the monoplane and liquid-cooling engine. Anyways I guess that Foster Mounting is very plausible as a revision, as we don’t even know what the army will gives us for machine gun, I mean for a second-manned personnel, shouldn’t we eventually develop a swivel mount/rear gunner for the machine gun?

[NAV]

We could clad the prop blades with steel plate to deflect bullets. Just yolo shoot the machinegun through your own propeller and shrug off the damage. Historically, pilots had to do that to prove it was the most effective place to mount a machinegun, then they developed the synchrogear after it was proven effective.

[Jerick]

The benefit of Foster mounting our existing Rhino is that if we get the machine gun and roll well we'll have decent combat aircraft out this turn. But if they're developing a fighter when that fighter rolls out it'll be at a serious advantage compared to our Rhinos. So here's a question why can't we do both?

[evictedSaint]

I'm afraid of over-reach, I guess.

I would be hesitant to say a foster mounting is a revision, though.  It's a design by itself - probably not a difficult design, but something new all by itself.  My frame of reference is how much trouble we had making a hot air balloon last turn.

[NAV]

If they can revise ailerons, we can revise a simple machine gun mount.