Toxn

Aren't current long range missiles freakishly expensive precisely because current fighters can't afford to haul up a bunch of them?

Would this make my concept of an air combat drone as not much more than a long range missile packing a gun (or something) more viable? Or are the tradeoffs too steep?

Doesn't overall pK scale exponentially with the number of missiles launched? Isn't this just a great argument for firing sprays of low-cost missiles at things you want dead? Which, in turn, is a great argument for using something cheap and cheerful to haul a bunch of these missiles into the air? Edit: Cheap and cheerful should include, of course, as much stealth as can be shoved in. Additionally, isn't one of the ideas here that missiles have simply overtaken combat aircraft in the manoeuvre role (including, presumably, defensively) and that future aerial warfare platforms should thus become optimised as carriers for missiles rather than manned missiles themselves? It seems pretty straightforward and sensible (to me, at least) when put in those terms. I mean, a gun-armed fighter can be conceived as nothing more than a manned surface-to-air missile, so passing the buck onto more capable unmanned systems then simply becomes an inevitable product of the march of technology (similar to the biplane-monoplane-jet model of development we've all internalised) rather than some sort of alternative option to the current progression.

So, holiday drawings didn't get very far... Bottom right is an ancient horseshoe crab. Top left is a flesh spider (ie: an arthropod reimagined with an endoskeleton) which very much fitted in with the theme of the holiday house. As we were next to a salt pan, I got to do a few quick sketches of flamingos in flight. All the rest is KSP-related bullshit.

Looks good.

It should be okay, I think. Does it allow you to make unrealistically slick birds?

Getting out of character for a bit: Anyone who wants to can enter. I will talk to management about advertising the contest in other forums, but for now that hasn't happened. The prize hasn't been decided yet, so suggestions are welcome. Mods for KSP include: Ferram Aerospace or similar (non-negotiable, as the baseline flight mechanics are waaay too easy to exploit), B9 aerospace (optional) and BD armory (optional, but recommended for that loaded-plane look). Other mod suggestions are welcome, but I'd advise against dicking around too much with fantasy engines as that's against the spirit of the contest. Similarly against the spirit of the competition: invisible or sneakily stacked surfaces, stacked or hidden engines, and other tricks which rely too much on min-maxing the game at the expense of a realistic design. I can send over the file for the K-21 upon request, so that people can test it against their aircraft directly. I can't get the multiplayer mod to work, but if people want to use that to test things directly then that would be sweet. Edit: A couple bunch of other things I forgot/need to be added for clarity: The competition will run till May 15, with the winner announced after comparison of the entries (probably early to mid June). Planes can have any sort of crew setup (including unmanned), but would have to justify accordingly. Unmanned planes would also have to include something (comms, extra sensors, space for a super-computer) on the model itself to show how it will do its thing. The Republic of Kerbalia is basically Chimerica; with a large central landmass, lots of coastline and a few neighbouring countries that it has uneasy relationships with. Accordingly, the K-21 was made as a do-it-all fighter: great manoeuvre and climb capability for short-ranged interception, great range for long-distance strikes and great carrying capacity (at the expense of manoeuvre, climb and range) for bomb-truck duties. Unfortunately, it's slow, non-stealthy and has an outdated avionics suite. The honchos at RoK think they simply want an updated version, capable of meeting or exceeding the K-21's specifications while providing improved speed, stealth and avionics. The kicker, however, is that they've provided a fairly limited budget (less than double that of the basic K-21 model) and are committed to having a fly-off between the K-21 and the competitor aircraft. Entrants can thus opt to simply provide an improved aircraft, bust the budget and then justify, or do something clever at own risk. A big part of what will get accepted will come down to arguments provided, as well as performance versus K-21 and the competition.

INFORMATION PACKAGE A: K-21 MULTIROLE AIRCRAFT ANALYSIS DESCRIPTION The K-21 'Incompetent Dragon' is the current front-line fighter aircraft of the Republic of Kerbalia. It is a fourth-generation aircraft, of fairly conventional design and making use of a delta and canard configuration. A single, large, divertless intake and limited vector-capable turbofan engine complete the basic package, allowing the K-21 to handily exceed the speed of sound in a low-level dash. Unfortunately, engine limitations have resulted in a fairly low top speed (Mach 1.6) at altitude. The range of the K-21 is excellent, with 3000km cruise radius being achieved during testing. Equally, a maximum takeoff weight of 18400kg means that the lightweight fighter can haul over ten metric tonnes of ordinance into the air if stretched. The Incompetent dragon is constructed primarily of high-strength aluminium alloys and composite materials, producing a very lightweight and compact airframe. Never-exceed loadings for the aircraft have been authoritatively measured, with a g-loading of 12 being at the absolute limit of the airframe's capacities. Due to this aforementioned testing, production models of the K-21 include automatic limitations of control surface movements. Control of the aircraft itself is fly-by-wire, although the conventionally stable nature of the design allows manual backups to be used in an emergency. The K-21's avionics package consists of a nose-mounted pulse doppler radar system; integral navigation, laser weapon guidance, FLIR and search-and-track capabilities; and twin external ECM/countermeasure dispenser pods mounted to the rear fuselage. Offensively, the K-21 carries an internal 20mm rotary cannon, located on the right side of the fuselage behind the cockpit. Six underwing and two wingtip hardpoints allow a variety of stores to be carried, with a standard load consisting of up to six tonnes of ordinance and stores. SPECIFICATIONS Length: 10.6m Width: 9.3m Height: 4m Mass (fuelled): 5.5 tonnes Mass (maximum takeoff weight): 18.4 tonnes Unit cost: 27 035 Max speed (sea level): Mach 1.25 Max speed (altitude): Mach 1.6 Climb rate: 238 m/s Max altitude (engine flameout): 30 000 m Max altitude (apogee): 43 000 m IMAGES Test model of the K-21, with pilot for scale Test model in flight Early production model, displaying fuselage-mounted IR missiles. The fuselage mounts were removed from later production models due to a number of missile separation failures. Late production model, shown during manoeuvres while carrying a maximum combat load.

Dear [iNSERT NAME OF COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE HERE], Congratulations! Your company has been selected to partake in a competition to design an aircraft for the Republic of Kerbalia. The competition will be in the form of a fly-off, with entrant designs being assessed relative to each other and the current front-line multirole fighter of the Republic (specifications included in data pack attached hereto). Should you choose to partake in this process, initial development funds of up to 40 000 Kerbalians will be made available to you. Technological limitations being what they are, the use of speculative engine designs (SABRE et al.) will not be accepted as a means of achieving competition goals. The aircraft submitted must be of the multirole fighter type, with the ability to perform a variety of missions while still being able to outfight current aircraft on a 1-to-1 basis. Significant leeway will, however, provided as to the details of the design. If required, a flyable example of the current front-line aircraft will be provided for internal comparison. Submissions must include, at minimum: - A name and internal design number (a prototype designation number will be assigned) - A full list of specifications - A background and detailed description - One or more images of the submission We wish you the best of luck with your undertakings in this regards. Yours Sincerely, Lotho Kerman Head Company Wrangler, Department of Defence, Republic of Kerbalia

Look at that poor soul, he can barely lift all that SUPERIOR TEUTONIC ENGINEERING.

For birthday gifts and suchlike, I used to draw simplified versions of various ancient critters and put them on cards. I was particularly fond of Ostracoderms. Someone else's example ^ edit: forgot to include a point to this little aside. As there's a long weekend coming up, I'll have a go at a few ancient arthropod-based pictures. If anything comes of it I will scan and poast.

Ancient giants: Jaekelopterus rhenaniae:

Tamisiocaris borealis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CZR6aBuPVk

Enalikter aphson Leanchoilia superlata:

Yawunik:

Just like expanding NATO membership eastwards is completely innocuous, but attempting to influence countries which fall within your sphere of influence is a sign of the end times.

Chances of it flying after all the lifting surfaces are gone?

Looks like a bootleg copy of the 6th day made it to Russia.

I tried the latter, but still end up developing a fatal wobble on the runway... Eh, gonna install a few mods before I mess around with more plane designs. Get some new options for engines, surfaces and wing sections.

Was going to post a 747 clone, but can't actually get it off the ground except in pieces. Any advice on making large planes which don't spontaneously disassemble themselves?

The K class: packed with more doomed British seamen than a cabin boy.

NRF, but that's neither here nor there. Whelp - looks like DARPA wants to do the same, only without all that 'eugenics' and 'illegal human genome modification' I was going to go for: http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2015/03/26.aspx Sissies.

Then you, sir, have my undying admiration. Have you published them?

I think we all do. Well, that or a shitty fantasy novel...

Found another article: http://www.rnsubs.co.uk/Dits/Articles/steamsubs.php I'm loving the idea of submersible cruisers.