I sed:
> 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.
Adrian sez:
}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.
You'd be surprised how much adjustment the throttle needs...
>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.
Yep. Most aircraft (all I've ever heard of) which have the pilot and
co-pilot in tandem have the pilot on the left and the co-pilot on the
right. (Sorry UK drivers! :-) In such an arrangement, the throttle is
always center mounted allowing the co-pilot access to the throttle.
Thus the pilot flies left handed and uses his right hand for the
throttle. The F-16 is an exception to this. As it is a single seater,
it doesn't make much diff. But all other fighters I know of have
the stick center mounted or on the left hand. Pilots will usually
keep one hand always on the throttle. Since that is the right hand,
you do all your flying left handed so that's where they put the stick.
> VILANI
> 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. :-)
Heck, no problem to a B-52 pilot. B-52s (and presumably any Vilani
craft large enough) have steerable crosswind gear. The can land (not
quite) sideways. Crosswind gear on smaller aircraft are semi-fixed
casters. When you are travelling at low speeds, they function like
regular fixed wheels. At high speeds akin to making a landing on the
runway, they rotate out and act as casters. It's tricky to get used
to, but not impossible. (B-52s have been around a LONG time...)
> ZHODANI
}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?
Check out the Zhodani Alien module. They pull the same trick with
noble combat armor. Maybe there's a weird psi-bubble or something.
Hell, it's psionic. It isn't SUPPOSED to make sence!
> 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?
The average Droyne ship doesn't employ too many humans. If they did,
they would have to pay to have different controls put in. They would
presumably have to do so for a pilot who'd lost his wings somehow.
> VEGANS
> 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?
I don't have Solomani Rim here, but if I recall, all the Vegan stuff is
TL 10+ More like TL12+ at a guess. But the Vegans would have a lotta
difficulty with 9 G maneuvers.
2G Scott
Hans sez:
}Some of
}my players complain that their slug-throwers are too damn mundane for a
}science fiction game, but what's the fun of can't miss weaponry? Somehow
}I don't think that I'd like gaming in a REALLY realistic future milieu.
True, true, but I wouldn't mind a MORE realistic future milieu.
Otherwise it's space cowboys with six-guns and interstellar horses. :-)
I've seen Trav stuff where people talk about air/rafts as if they were
ground cars. They're much more like ultra-stealthy highly maneuverable
helicopters with enough endurance to stay up for DAYS. That is very BAD.
When we introduce high tech weapons & stuff into something, we have
to give thought as to how they're gonna get used and how effective they
are going to be. A Grav tank has about as much relation to an M-1 Abrams
Main Battle Tank as an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter does to a man
carrying a large stick.
2G Scott