XR-71
| XR-71 | |
 | |
| Spacecraft Characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Base Hull | Blackbird Class |
| Drive Type | Hybrid bussard turboram |
| Drive Rating | 0.19 |
| Armament |
|
| Owner | Asagiri Speedworks |
| Flag of Record | Crystal Millenium |
| Faction | Roughriders |
| Registry Number | 06-0935 |
| Launched | n/a |
| Purpose | X-Craft |
| Primary Crew | 1 x Pilot, |
| Other Crew | 1 x Mission Specialist |
| Operational Status | Active |
"The only way which leads us to a quick development in human flight is a systematic and energetic practice in actual flying experiments." - Otto Lillenthal
"Even the best computer simulations can only really confirm the bias's they've been programmed with. They only allow for the stuff you knew before you started. But you never really know if something's actually going to work until you try it in the real world." - Mackie Jaguar.
Pretty much every major aerospace manufacturer these days can boast their own dedicated skunkworks, churning out those unique X-craft and one-off prototypes to trial and test new aerospace ideas. It costs a lot of money to keep a good skunkworks going so it's really only something the larger concerns can afford - the little guys have to satisfy themselves with some sim' time and some small-scale testing, while hoping they get their models right.
XR-71 came about due to an unsolveable stability problem with the RF-47 prototype, which resisted all attempts at software modelling. The RF-47 programme was saved by just five days test flying of a mock-up wing strapped to XR's dorsal mount.[1]
She's since been modified a great deal. The most obvious differences being an ogival nose-cone, and three additional ventral fins under each nacelle and along the centreline.
Class Quirks
- Stripped to the frame and modified, but still very much a Blackbird. It's not happy if it's not doing what it was born to do. Let's go out there, go fast and learn something 'new'.
- Unarmed. Only capable of outrunning any attackers. But capable of outrunning almost any attacker
Trivia
- Available for rent, charter or otherwise by any reputable individual. But, you break it, you buy it.
- ↑ Revealing an alarming tendancy for the wing to warp in positive feedback to the controls above a certain speed, rendering it utterly uncontrollable.
