VTOLs and helicopters in Chaos Earth books?
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2017 8:20 pm
there is a common assumption here on the forums that flying vehicles in chaos earth are grounded, because of all the ash from the volcano's. and while certainly this is a very reasonable assumption while the ash is falling, the fact is that the Chaos Earth core book has a number of flying units that clearly were meant to be used. hovercycles, hoverplatforms, flying probes, and of course the Silver Eagle. further, on Pg 18 you have General Sawyer outlines the plan for getting the remaining functional part of the Atlanta NEMA forcesto the main groups of NEMA survivors are.
so 3-4 days after the cataclysm hit, the sky's were clear enough to fly large troop/cargo helicopters the 700ish miles between Atlanta, GA and Chicago, IL this despite the fact that on Pg 14 earlier, "everything from the rockies to the midwest is likewise being buried by a storm of ash" mentioned in the section on Christmas Eve, literally a day before the General decides to evacuate to the midwest. so clearly, while the ash falls would ground aircraft at times, there are times where the ash isn't falling or is light enough that flying units can operate relatively safely, even during the first weeks of the cataclysm when the falls would be heaviest.
with that in mind, do you think we will ever stats for these 'choppers' NEMA had/has? and see helicopters or VTOL aircraft offered to GM's for use in their games?
what would your expectations be for them?
edit: btw, some thing people forget about the ash fall/cloud issues.. volcanic eruptions are not continuous. especially the severe ones. they erupt for a few days, then go quite for a few months, then erupt again, etc. usually the first is the worst because it is pushing out all of the 'plug' material)
also, the ash clouds spread out quite a bit as they cover distance. heavy ashfalls usually only occur closer to the volcanoes, since the larger and heavier particles fall out first. (so it is liekly that the midwest, which has few nearby volcanoes, have thinner clouds of finer particles.)
combined this means that ashfalls would be irregular (and after a few months the ash clouds would start to clear up anyway)
and if the vehicle isn't using turbines for power or propulsion the danger would be less. the issue is mainly the molten ash gumming up the turbines. an external rotor or a cold ducted fan powered by nuclear or Solid Oxide Fuel cells, wouldn't have that issue, and a "flying through sand" comparison would fit for the big maintenance concerns
"We go where we can do the most good. We take the Chromium Guardsmen and other power armor on the 'choppers, join the nidwest forces, and establish a fighting core."
so 3-4 days after the cataclysm hit, the sky's were clear enough to fly large troop/cargo helicopters the 700ish miles between Atlanta, GA and Chicago, IL this despite the fact that on Pg 14 earlier, "everything from the rockies to the midwest is likewise being buried by a storm of ash" mentioned in the section on Christmas Eve, literally a day before the General decides to evacuate to the midwest. so clearly, while the ash falls would ground aircraft at times, there are times where the ash isn't falling or is light enough that flying units can operate relatively safely, even during the first weeks of the cataclysm when the falls would be heaviest.
with that in mind, do you think we will ever stats for these 'choppers' NEMA had/has? and see helicopters or VTOL aircraft offered to GM's for use in their games?
what would your expectations be for them?
edit: btw, some thing people forget about the ash fall/cloud issues.. volcanic eruptions are not continuous. especially the severe ones. they erupt for a few days, then go quite for a few months, then erupt again, etc. usually the first is the worst because it is pushing out all of the 'plug' material)
also, the ash clouds spread out quite a bit as they cover distance. heavy ashfalls usually only occur closer to the volcanoes, since the larger and heavier particles fall out first. (so it is liekly that the midwest, which has few nearby volcanoes, have thinner clouds of finer particles.)
combined this means that ashfalls would be irregular (and after a few months the ash clouds would start to clear up anyway)
and if the vehicle isn't using turbines for power or propulsion the danger would be less. the issue is mainly the molten ash gumming up the turbines. an external rotor or a cold ducted fan powered by nuclear or Solid Oxide Fuel cells, wouldn't have that issue, and a "flying through sand" comparison would fit for the big maintenance concerns