Schwarzes Holz Design Phase, Late Summer 1915Dehnert Adderbolt D.I (AvDD.I)
Following the adoption of the 160 hp Dehnert 9B radial engine and the incoming gearing of his company for its production, Stefan Utrecht set out to design an iconic aircraft to fit the powerplant and bring much-needed prestige to the Kaiserliche Luftjäger, of which his colleague had now become a member. The aircraft needed to be a noticeable improvement over the arguably outdated Motte - something on-par with vessels showcased in the European theatre, but distinct, so as to win the skies for the Empire.
Stefan thus tasked Andreas with designing a single-engined open-top single-seat aircraft, calling it the Dehnert Adderbolt. The result was a bit more developed - made to be a sturdy wooden monocoque aircraft, aerodynamically designed to maximize top speed and maneuverability, featuring a high-set front wing and low-set rear wing supported with a thicker wing root and a few wires, fixed tricycle undercarriage, and a pusher propeller, with the engine in the rear of the fuselage and the pilot sitting in the front of the fuselage - armed with not one, but two fixed 7.62 mm GL-11s. The wings would thus be arranged in this way to reduce the overall span of both wings (and the tail is thus removed, in favor of placing the vertical control surfaces on the wingtips and making full use of the two wing surfaces for control), increasing the craft's maneuverability dramatically while making up for it with the added lift afforded by the Adderbolt arrangement. Further perks would ostensibly be the shorter take-off and landing runs this craft would face and the impossibly difficult task of stalling such a machine, making the aircraft more forgiving to high AoA maneuvers and saving the lives of numerous pilots in the process. To further aid in the craft's controllability, ailerons are to be developed so as to keep pace with the enemy and placed on both wings. Having seen the promise of the design, Stefan filed the patent for the Dehnert Adderbolt D.I* with the Luftjäger and awaited the reward that was sure to come.
Time: 6 | Progress: 6 | Expense: 3
Work on the new aircraft starts off surprisingly quickly, possibly due to the engineer's enthusiasm for the new project or simply due to the planning possess of what schedule to stick to was finished in record speed and said schedule was very effective. Either way, work goes quite quickly, though with the limited supply of Dehnert engines and the requirement of specially cut wood, the project is expected to be a bit costly. A few engineers also argue that the thing should be called the VD.I or the Zw.I due to it certainty not being a Doppledecker
Dehnert Adderbolt D.I (AvDD.I) | 6/13 progress | 3 PP per die | Rushed 0 times | 3 PP invested
Effectiveness: 5 | Cost: 1 | Bugs: 6
The AvDD.I is an oddly shaped aircraft that most would say is unconventional and strange with its wings in what is called a Tandem wing set up supported with wooden struts and powered with a pusher set up using the Dehnert 9B and, unlike the Motte, uses a Monocoque construction set up and specifically comes with machine guns, and two of them right in front of the cockpit that can easily at all times be unjammed and is, similarly to the mounting on the Motte, fired by a trigger on the flight stick. Naturally, the guns being right next to the pilot should make aiming a bit easier...
In terms of how well it actually flies, the prototype that was built showed it goes quite a bit faster then a Motte, even one tested with a Dehnert 9B thanks mostly to its aerodynamic design, though that speed drops down as it gets higher in altitude. As for maneuverability, it should be able to roll and turn faster then even the enemies modified Saeth, the AGC-AMD. Needless to say, this weapon really is what Dehnert planned to make, something on par with European aircraft but very distinct, and certainty something one can tell apart from anything else in the sky.
However, despite this, there is an issue in terms of cost. The engineers with their designing may have gone a bit overboard on the 'making it distinct' part of the design, as they decided that the design needed to be made out of
at least some ebony wood for both
Patriotism and moral reasons. Needless to say, this makes it
just a bit more expensive then it should be...Still, costs can be cut.
And a few engineer's salary's too.AvDD.I Adderbolt: A singe-seater tandem wing aircraft that instead of canvas and wood is purely made of wood with a Monocoque design and powered by the Dehnert 9B engine in the pusher configuration. The Adderbolt mounts two machineguns in front of the pilot for easy unjamming and aiming. It's quite fast and maneuverable due to its small size. Most of the aircraft is made out of high quality ebony for moral and patriotism. Cost 7/3.
AVD Motors Dehnert SMT 915 (1 die spent, 1 die rushed)
Progress: 1+6+3 = 10/10. 6 PP spent
Despite the work on the new AvDD.I Adderbolt taking the center stage, the engineers continue to work on the engine, although with forced overtime and longer work weeks. While the engineers are certainty careful in their work and would much rather work on the aircraft then the engine, they certainty do work hard on the new engine and quickly, managing to just about finish up before it was time to move on to other things.
Project Complete! You can now retrofit Motte's with the new engine for 1 PP, all future Motte's will come with the engine as well.
Army Requisition: RadioThe army seemed fine to give you a Industrielicht und Magie portable radio, unfortunately they didn't seem to give you the right model, or maybe they did as they wanted to keep the good stuff for themselves...Either way, the old model given is called
IluM-12M a spark-gap transmitter radio with a small frequency range from 300 to 450kHz and a fairly short range a bit under 5 kilometers, luckily it is only 22 kilograms without the battery and 34 kilograms with it, which is better then some older radio's. It does include a crystal receiver and headphones and using Morse code, though its a bit quiet and as such headphones are included with it. Needless to say, these radios where carried by a team and usually where used for setting up communications with breakthroughs in the lines. Still, its not too bad, and due to its size and the spares the army has, its not that expensive
IluM-12M: An outdated radio that weighs 34 kilograms with the battery and 22 without that uses a spark gap transmitter and crystal receiver for Morse code at frequency's of 300 to 450 kHz. Costs 1 PP.
It is now the Revision Phase. You have 1 die remaining to spend on Revisions or Save for the next turn.Dehnert Adderbolt D.I (AvDD.I) | 6/13 progress | 3 PP per die | Rushed 0 times | 3 PP invested
Planes:
-BzL 1 Motte Biplane: A unarmed, single seater biplane bought from the start up Beham zivile Luft. The aircraft is stable in flight and the five-cylinder rotary engine powering the thing to a respectable speed doesn't cause any noticeable vibrations unless damaged making it easy to fly, with a wooden fuselage keeping it cheap. However, it is woefully inadequate for anything other than scouting or training. True to its name however, it is lightweight, and cheap. Cost 3/1
--BzL 1 Motte-SMT Biplane: A Motte variant powered by the AVD Motors Dehnert SMT 915 engine in place of the smaller five-cylinder one it originally had. Noticeably faster then the normal everyday Motte and replaces the old version of the craft.
-AvDD.I Adderbolt: A singe-seater tandem wing aircraft that instead of canvas and wood is purely made of wood with a Monocoque design and powered by the Dehnert 9B engine in the pusher configuration. The Adderbolt mounts two machineguns in front of the pilot for easy unjamming and aiming. It's quite fast and maneuverable due to its small size. Most of the aircraft is made out of high quality ebony for moral and patriotism. Cost 7/3. (In development)
Equipment:
-GL-11 Donnerkanone: A open bolt air cooled machine gun that fires 7.62mm rounds at about 500 per minute. Jams occasionally, which is easy to fix but still annoying. Costs 1 PP
Pilots:
-Diligent: Quality beats Quantity! Schwarzes Holz ground crews work round the clock and hard to make sure aircraft are in tip top shape before entering combat, and the pilots know their aircrafts limits.
-Uniforms: Dark charcoal grey with accents of crimson red. Pilots of rank are issued a fancy hat, though its ill advised to wear it when flying.
Technology:
-Basic biplane design
-Basic monoplane design
-Basic tandem wing design
-Basic pusher configuration design
-Wooden frame construction
-Simple Monocoque construction
-Basic control surfaces: ailerons, elevator and rudder
-Basic Radial Engine design
-Fördern Mount technology
-Basic crystal receivers, Morse code
-Basic spark-gap transmitter, Morse code
Resources:
-1 Basic Pilot Training School: Teaches new pilots what roll, yaw, and pitch is along with what the flight stick and rudder peddles are for. How to actually use this knowledge to take off is the final test.
-1 Prototype Airfield: The place where new aircraft and other air-related equipment are made and tested. Produces five dice worth of progress every turn.
-12 Production Points Base
Schurk Geschwader | BzL 1 Motte Biplane | GL-11 Donnerkanone | Aerial Reconnaissance | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to observe enemy shore defenses and troop movements near Dinas tywod
Rote Geschwader | BzL 1 Motte Biplane | GL-11 Donnerkanone | Aerial Reconnaissance | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to observe enemy frontline along the Nachtburg-Bont Gwyn Road
Gold Geschwader | BzL 1 Motte Biplane | GL-11 Donnerkanone | Aerial Reconnaissance | Neophyte | No Aces | Maintenance Cost 1
Currently assigned to observe enemy frontline along the Sprungburg-Gwag du Road
Prestige: Extremely Little “Knights of the sky? What book did you read? Do they ride Pegasi or something?”
Status: Auxiliary Service
Army Relations: Neutral “Those planes might be able to help...Might.”
Navy Relations: Neutral “Remind me, what use do aircraft have in war again? They just replace horses right?”
Production Points: 8
Total Maintenance: 3
Author
Topic: They Who Dare: The Empire of Schwarzes Holz - Kaiserliche Luftjäger (Read 20972 times)