Scott 2G Kellogg ([email removed]) writes:
>
> SOLOMANI (start off simple right?)
> Solomani and most Imperial flight controls generally consist
> of stick, throttle, and rudder pedals. The stick is usually
> mounted in the center of the console, but is sometimes on the left
> side, while the right hand generally controls the throttle.
Are the Solomani left-handed in the far future, then? Because, being
right-handed, I'd want the stick in my right hand as that is the control
which needs the most control, so to speak. Someone will correct me if I
am wrong, but I believe the F-16's cockpit is laid out like this - the
stick is on the right.
> ... the co-pilot or navigator (generally seated on the right) ...
Is this correct? Someone who knows the insides of a wide-bodied passenger
jet, please comment.
> VILANI
>...Engineers opted for a
> single design to ease training of pilots and to avoid their
> having to study their ship to understand what is going on. Thus
> the same control panel exists on a Vilani fat trader as exists
> on their air/rafts and their most sophisticated fighters.
Has anyone seen the computer flight simulator game "Birds of Prey"?
Evidently, the author is Vilani - the same cockpit display is used
for all the aircraft in the game, from a Harrier to a B-52.
> Lack of yaw control is compensated for by the presence of
> crosswind landing gear. Crosswind gear allow the craft to land
> while the ship's nose is not pointing along the direction of
> travel. The gear is mounted on casters akin to the wheels on a
> shopping cart.
In a word, *@!%. I have enough problems controlling a shopping trolley
at low speeds in 2D. (This comment is not on whether or not the Vilani
would actually make such a system; I imagine that trained people would
get used to it, just as frequent shoppers eventually get the hang of
trolleys. I just want to see a video of the face of the first Solomani
pilot who tried to land a Vilani fighter. :-)
> ZHODANI
> ...Special safe guards are in
> place to prevent outside psionic interference in the piloting of
> the ship. Up to and including a psi-shield surrounding the
> pilot's station. This is demonstrated in the Shivva class patrol
> frigate and her fighters. The fighter pilots are open to
> telepathic contact from their flight controller, but the flight
> controller can not affect flight controls of the fighter.
That's a neat trick, building a shield round the controls only so as
to leave the pilot unshielded, but also leaving the controls open to
the pilot. Is there just a small hole in the shield, pointed at the
pilot? What happens when the hole is also pointed at the Shivva?
> HIVERS
> ... Hiver controls are very difficult for anyone but a hiver
> to operate, thus, many of their ships employ dual control panels,
> to allow for a member race to use them.
They're not the only ones! What does a human do in a Droyne ship, given
that the average human is even more lacking in the wing department than
the average Droyne?
> VEGANS (Not the nuts with vegetables :-)
> Vegan flight controls are geared toward their own set of
> unique physiology. They rely heavily on inertial compensators as
> their somewhat weak limbs have difficulty overcoming high
> acceleration. Ships which do not have inertial compensators in the
> entire ship will nevertheless have a region where they are
> installed: around the pilot.
What did they do before they invented/were given inertial compensators?
Are there any low-tech Vegan aircraft?
- --
"Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott
Adrian Hurt |JANET: [email removed]
UUCP: ..!uknet!cee.hw.ac.uk!adrian | ARPA: [email removed]