Difference between revisions of "Havoc Gunship"

Revision as of 12:28, 23 June 2012

This page contains Fenspace Infinities material. Fenspace Infnities material hasn't "happened" by the current timeline, though it's already been referenced in future-history or alt-history Fenspace stories and discussion. Here there be dragons of questionable canonicity, you have been warned. --The Mgt

The first spacecraft wholly built on 77 Frigga, the Gr-02 Havoc is unusual in that it is based off of a helicopter frame. It originated partly as a Friday project of Jet Jaguar’s, with the original intent being to save money over buying fully-capable combat craft for Survival Shot's OpFor. Outright speed and combat range weren’t an issue when it was launching off the asteroid it was designed to attack.

The Gr-02 began with the Gr-01 testbed, a waved Mi-24 picked up cheap from somewhere in Ukraine where it had been left sitting in a field slowly decaying for about 35 years. The testbed was successful, if slow, but was much harder to control than the average Fencraft. Nevertheless it proved itself rugged enough to handle tough test flights, despite the tendency to phosphoresce in low-light conditions. Compared to background, the radiation dose is negligible.

The Havoc built on the Gr-01, using a rotating, variable drive field to power it through space with the rotors themselves being essentially a massively upscaled variant of the lifting fans on a motoroid. This arrangement gives the spacecraft an almost unparalleled manoeuvrability at the expense of outright speed and range. A secondary tail rotor generating a second drive field counteracts the torque the rotary field generates and keeps the Havoc from spinning like a top as it flies. The Havoc flies and manoeuvres by varying the strength and direction of both drive fields at the command of the pilot.

The main engines began life as a pair of standard Hurricane axial magnetic compression fusion torches, bought in from 36 Atalante. However, instead of using the fusion thrust to directly power the spacecraft, the drive-field generator coil stage is removed from the engine^[1], and replaced with a power recovery turbine. This turbine takes some of the energy from the plasma exhaust, and uses it to turn a drive shaft, similar to a mundane turboshaft engine. With both engine's output shafts driving a single gearbox and power generator set, it's possible to fully power the main gravity rotor, and the tail rotor system. The residual energy from the exhaust is within the spacecraft's speed drive field reference frame, so has little effective on absolute velocity or acceleration.

The primary advantage of this system is it's relative simplicity compared to the more common micro-fusion reactors. Most of the generated heat from the engines is vented through the exhausts, meaning the engines can make do without the added weight and complexity of full heatsinks and a dedicated cooling system. As a power plant however, they are horrendously inefficient. Most of the fuel never gets a chance to undergo fusion before being exhausted out the back of the engines. The mass saved through not having heatsinks, is lost when the extra mass of fuel required for the equivalent endurance is taken into account. For Frigga's Havocs, where range is not the primary concern, this is considered an acceptable trade off. ^[2]

The Havoc has been described as being something of precision-machined battleaxes, being designed with ruggedness and ease of maintenance and repair in mind^[3]. The cockpit and main systems are armoured, with the cockpit windows being made from laminated transparent carbon. Most main systems have some form of onboard redundancy, or the ability to fail gracefully and tolerate damage. Outside the bought-in weapon controls and radar, the Havoc lacks complex computers. There is no onboard AI assistance, just a basic course-following auto-pilot. Switchgear and controls are heavy but positive in action, and easy to use with thick-gloved hands. Instruments are a mix of analogue gauges and glass-cockpit displays where needed. No touchscreens are fitted.

They are equipped four standardised GJ hardpoints and a chin-mounted autocannon. In general Havocs only mount simulated weaponry for exercise reasons, but can be retrofitted fitted with real weapons in a pinch. Each one is fitted with a grab handle on the landing struts, allowing it to be transported by the Dragon Wagon II as a parasite.

The Havoc takes it’s name from the NATO reporting name for the Mi-28, which it was deliberately designed to mimic the external appearance of. Like it’s parent, it takes up to two crew, a pilot and a gunner/navigator. It can be flown singularly, provided the pilot can handle the workload. The Havoc also has a small aft compartment capable of carrying a cargo load, or transporting up to 5 individuals.

Currently, there are two, both Frigga-built. Production variants are available from Hepheastus through the Hepheastus Affiliate Program. They were first shown to the public at the 2022 Convention. They generated some curiosity, but it is yet to be seen if they'll become popular, or remain hidden among the eclectic offerings being sold by other Gearhead garagistes.

Attributes.

Fly like a Dragonfly: The Havocs are amazingly manoeuvrable, even for a fencraft. They can spin on a pinhead, translate along any axis at near full speed, and generally pull off some spectacular aerobatics in the hand of a skilled pilot.

Sting like a Hornet: Havocs can mount a heavy armament for something their size. Guided missiles, rockets, guns are all available.

Take a punch like a brick wall: Havocs are tough, capable of shrugging off hits that would knock out similar-sized spacecraft.

Quirks

Short-legged:. The large frame interface distortions put out by the rotor limit top speed, and the Twin-Hurricane engine is an inefficient drive. It's difficult to get them up to any sort of speed and they guzzle fuel. They have trouble breaking .065C, or going much beyond 2 AU without external tanks. Although hyper-maneuverable, they’re generally too slow in a dogfight.

Brownout: Havocs tend to whip up debris as it gets caught in the field wash coming off the rotors, picking it up and flinging it around before it drops out. They also disrupt the drive fields of any fencraft getting close(10-20meters), especially those above and below the craft, and craft that are similar sized or smaller. It tends to repel both spacecraft from each other.... not hard enough to stop a determined collision, but enough to make formation flying a fine art.

UNIX user friendliness: Havocs are user friendly, they're just very particular about which users they're friendly with. With basic controls and no AI-assistance, they require a pilot with skill, experience, coordination, and excellent spatial awareness.

Crisis Controls: Jet built it. Cockpit controls and displays feel like a 1980's vision of what technology would be like in 2021. It's not hard to use, it's just plain awkward for anyone used to modern holographic displays, touch-based configureable interfaces and AI support.

Notes

1. ↑ And sold off as spare parts on an interwave auction site to save money
2. ↑ As a standardised power-pack, the Twin-Hurricane is planned to be used in the newer Hokum chopper.
3. ↑ Frigga's workshop doesn't have the hardware to work with more exotic technologies and materials