Starclipper
This Fenspace article is a stub. You can help FenWiki by expanding it.
| Airbus A510 Starclipper | |
 | |
| Spacecraft Characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Base Hull | Custom design based on the Orion III spacecraft from 2001: a space odyssey |
| Length | 64.94 m (213 ft) |
| Width | 33.22 m (109 ft) (wingspan) |
| Height | 15.54 m (51 ft) (height on gear) |
| Mass | 128,000 kg (282,192 lbs) |
| Drive Type | Hybrid |
| Drive Rating | Peak velocity 0.02c |
| Armament | none standard |
| Primary Manufacturer | Airbus / $somefencompany_notoneoftheusualsuspects |
| Owner | varies[1] |
| Flag of Record | variable depending on owner |
| Faction | variable depending on owner |
| Registry Number | variable depending on owner |
| Launched | $foo $201(0+n<4) |
| Purpose | passenger & freight transport |
| Primary Crew | 2 (pilot, copilot) |
| Operational Status | Active |
The Airbus A510 (also known as the Starclipper) is the first mass-produced passenger and freight aerospace craft in Fenspace. It also holds the distinction of being the first mass-produced vehicle in Fenspace co-built with Mundane corporations.
Contents
History
capsule history to be developed: The fine feathered fellows at (a Fen company or faction to be named later, but not one of the Usual Suspects) manage to ink a preliminary deal with Airbus bigwigs to design a passenger liner for the Earth-Fenspace market. They decide on the design of the Orion spaceplane from 2001, since it's photogenic, about the size of a mid-sized widebody like a 767, and the design is pretty iconic in both Fenspace and the 'Danelaw. So they put the design together, set up some shops to manufacture the necessary wavetech components & sell the thing to Airbus. Airbus immediately puts their people to work cranking out A510s, which don't sell *quite* like hotcakes, but sell enough to justify Airbus keeping the lines open and paying $company a king's ransom for their trouble.
Design
to be developed: the thing is based off the 2001 spaceplane: pair of big thrusters in the rear with a set of secondary vernier thrusters and the like. The major wavetech components are the main engines, the life support system and the backup thrusters, which are a reactionless drive system. Major difference between the movie Orion and the Starclipper is the passenger compartment: the movie version only seats 40, whereas the A510 can seat up to 120 thanks to wavetech decreasing the necessary size of the engines/life support/etc.
Class Quirks
The A510, being a strongly hardtech vehicle built largely by mundanes, drifts toward mundane definitions of "quirk" more than the common Fen definition. The A510 is notoriously hard to handle at low speed thanks to the relatively small wing area, and the placement of the cockpit makes landing difficult - the craft has similar forward visibility problems as the Concorde, but without the Concorde's famous drooping nose[2].
Notes
- ↑ Major Mundane owners include British Airways, Swiss International Air Lines AG, Emirates, American Airlines, United Airlines, Lufthansa and Air France. Fen owners include Artemis Foundation (assets transferred from Stellvia Trading), Hermes Universal Deliveries and Orbital Air.
- ↑ Airbus solved - or at least mitigated - this problem by using cameras installed in the nose and projector overlays
