Schwarzes Holz Design Phase, Early Summer 1915:AvD Motors Dehnert SMT 915 (Sternmotor-Triebwerk (Radial Engine Powerplant))
Andreas Wilhelm von Dehnert, the son of a renown physicist, was an engineer and an industrial designer, but before all else, he was a simple man with the goal of providing small, high-speed and high-power engines for various locomotive contraptions. He spent his early days under the tutelage of his father, whom first introduced him to the works of various mechanical engineers. While they had dabbled in single-cylinder engines before the turn of the century, their most significant accomplishment had been a single cylinder engine used to create motor-powered bicycles. This all changed following the Wright brothers' first flight in 1901, as he then set it as his task to produce a reliable, powerful engine so as to further this new, promising technology. Following the onset of the war, this enthusiasm was directed by his partner, Stefan Utrecht - an industrialist, into attempting a contract with various aircraft manufacturers in the hopes of attaining government support and, in Utrecht's case, funds to open other lines of business using the same engines, using the prestige warranted by their service so as to boost profits and make a name for themselves.
The proposal, thus, comes from the so-called 'AvD Automotive Company', presenting the plans for a 9-cylinder water-cooled radial engine with a goal power rating of between 160 and 200 hp at 1400 RPM, promising a lightweight engine which would be relatively cheap, highly reliable and immensely responsive, allowing pilots to focus more on their flying and on the enemy than the state of the engine.
Time: 4 | Progress: 1 | Expense: 1
The engineers assigned on working with the AvD Automotive Company are a bit displeased to have to spend their time on an engine instead of an aircraft, but they still do get to work on it, although most of their time is spend making a long and detailed regime to follow through the project that takes most of the time that would have been better spent on actually getting the engine working and a accident with the pistons resulted in a fire that burned away some of the plans. Unfortunately, it also makes a few issues in regards to the projects cost, as said regime involves a bit of experimentation with a wide verity of alloys and metals. Still, the project is estimated not to take too long.
AvD Motors Dehnert SMT 915 | 1/10 progress | 3 PP per die | Rushed 0 times | 3 PP invested
Effectiveness: 5 | Cost: 4 | Bugs: 5
Despite these setbacks, the plans that actually survive and manage to get to the table show promise. Despite the highly limited experience with engines outside the small 5 cylinder rotary that we had with the Motte, by adding four more cylinders and doing a couple of improvements the prototype engine was able to give a good 150 horse power while weighing only slightly more then the old 5 cylinder one. While the goal of at least 160 horse power is not exactly achieved just yet, its not too far off and with a few tweaks to the design probably could be worked up to get that extra 10 HP with a little extra time spent on the thing.
Despite the experimentation of materials required by the design team, we believe the engine won't be too costly with most of its parts being made out of one or two metals or alloys at most, and while somewhat more expensive then the older engine, its not going to be majorly so. Additionally, the testing of the prototype shows it seems reliable and works smoothly, not causing much in the way of vibrations. We did afix the prototype to a Motte for further testing, and found that the aircraft had a good boost in speed, being noticeably faster, with its speed increased by somewhere between 30 to 40%
AvD Motors Dehnert SMT 915: A 9 cylinder 150 horse power Radial engine that is reliable and works nice and smoothly. Is quite a bit faster then the old engine the Motte has, and could be retrofit onto a Motte. Costs 1 PP to retrofit.
Army Requisition: Belt-fed Machine gun The Army quartermaster who was currently assigned to deal with you quickly and simply hands you a stack of paperwork to fill out before smiling and waving expecting you to leave and presumably not to fill it all out, needless to say he is disappointment once all of the paperwork is properly done, including a few citations on at least half of the papers stating exactly why they are unnecessary thanks to one legal minded engineer who offered to do all the work. Regardless, you get handed over the
GL-11 Donnerkanone, an outdated light air cooled open bolt machine gun that fires 7.62mm ammo and can fire around 500 rounds per minute, it does however occasionally jam, although such a jam can be cleared easily and should be fairly simple to fix even in the air, it is an annoying feature.
GL-11 Donnerkanone: A open bolt air cooled machine gun that fires 7.62mm rounds at about 500 per minute. Jams occasionally, which is easy to fix but still annoying. Costs 1 PP
It is now the Revision Phase. You have 2 dice remaining to spend on Revisions or Save for the next turn.AvD Motors Dehnert SMT 915 | 1/10 progress | 3 PP per die | Rushed 0 times | 3 PP invested
Planes:
-BzL 1 Motte- Biplane: A unarmed, single seater biplane bought from the start up Beham zivile Luft. The aircraft is stable in flight and the five-cylinder rotary engine powering the thing to a respectable speed doesn't cause any noticeable vibrations unless damaged making it easy to fly, with a wooden fuselage keeping it cheap. However, it is woefully inadequate for anything other than scouting or training. True to its name however, it is lightweight, and cheap. Cost 3/1
Equipment:
-GL-11 Donnerkanone: A open bolt air cooled machine gun that fires 7.62mm rounds at about 500 per minute. Jams occasionally, which is easy to fix but still annoying. Costs 1 PP
Pilots:
-Diligent: Quality beats Quantity! Schwarzes Holz ground crews work round the clock and hard to make sure aircraft are in tip top shape before entering combat, and the pilots know their aircrafts limits.
-Uniforms: Dark charcoal grey with accents of crimson red. Pilots of rank are issued a fancy hat, though its ill advised to wear it when flying.
Technology:
-Basic biplane design
-Basic monoplane design
-Wooden frame construction
-Basic control surfaces: wing warping, elevator and rudder
-Basic Radial Engine design
Resources:
-1 Basic Pilot Training School: Teaches new pilots what roll, yaw, and pitch is along with what the flight stick and rudder peddles are for. How to actually use this knowledge to take off is the final test.
-1 Prototype Airfield: The place where new aircraft and other air-related equipment are made and tested. Produces five dice worth of progress every turn.
-10 Production Points
Squadron 1 | BzL 1 Motte- Biplane | No Equipment | Aerial Reconnaissance | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to observe enemy shore defenses and troop movements near Dinas tywod
Squadron 2 | BzL 1 Motte Biplane | No Equipment | Aerial Reconnaissance | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to observe enemy frontline along the Nachtburg-Bont Gwyn Road
Squadron 3 | BzL 1 Motte Biplane | No Equipment | Aerial Reconnaissance | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to observe enemy frontline along the Sprungburg-Gwag du Road
Prestige: Extremely Little “Knights of the sky? What book did you read? Do they ride Pegasi or something?”
Status: Auxiliary Service
Army Relations: Neutral “Those planes might be able to help...Might.”
Navy Relations: Neutral “Remind me, what use do aircraft have in war again? They just replace horses right?”
Production Points: 7
Total Maintenance: 3
Author
Topic: They Who Dare: The Empire of Schwarzes Holz - Kaiserliche Luftjäger (Read 22558 times)