Post by MikDaTv on Apr 24, 2013 11:22:57 GMT -5
Name: GSM 440 / GSM 440R / GSM 440M
Information: General Synthetic Motors originally developed the GSM 440 project to be their flagship repulsorcraft. Something to be sold on the civilian market in large quantities. This changed however when GS’s newest asset, Dr. White, took over the project as a test bed for new technology.
Upon completion, the 440 was no longer a simple repulosrcraft. It was sealed against vacuum and given its own internal life support system allowing it to operate in space. They also crammed the smallest hyperdrive they could design into it to allow for interplanetary travel.
In the end, three versions of the 440 were made. The normal 440 was produced in limited quantities and sold on highly developed planets. While a highly effective vehicle and not super expensive, it has become more of a status symbol for those who can afford them.
The 440R was a racer, stripped of all the comforts and amenities to save mass and fitted with a boosted engine for greater acceleration. GSM began hosting races on Corellia using 440Rs and it’s become one of their most profitable ventures.
Due to the advanced technology aboard and its potential uses, GSM also developed a military model (GSM 440M) which is a normal 440 but equipped with four repeating blasters around the cockpit bubble. GSM advertises it as a scout vehicle but many planetary governments have purchased them as police vehicles.
To try and boost the ships popularity, GSM donated the first hundred 440M’s off the line to the Jedi. Most of these were sent to the Temple on Coruscant but the Jedi shipped a handful to Ilum and other Jedi outposts.
Dimensions: 7.6 Meters long. 3883 Kilograms
Ship Appearance: The 440 is almost insect like in its appearance. It’s cockpit is a single spherical compartment large enough for two people. The seats in the cockpit are mounted independently from the walls of the cockpit allowing them to rotate 360 degrees and are controlled by the pilot
To either side of the cockpit are its main engines. Each engine rotates independently to provide maneuverability. The bottom of each spherical engine houses the repulsorlift array’s that keep the ship aloft in atmosphere.
It’s landing gear is a tripod like system upon which the ships balances. When in flight, the legs fold up into position behind the cockpit but are never truly retracted into the ship.
It’s tail has a compartment for storage of small personal objects and hooks to carry a larger payload if necessary.
Weapon Payload: Neither the 440 or the 440R are equipped with any weapons. The 440M is equipped with 4 repeating blaster cannons which are mounted to the same gimbal as the cockpit seats so whichever way the pilot turns the seats, the guns point in the same direction. This allows the craft to fire in full 360 degrees no matter what heading the ship is traveling.
The blaster cannons themselves are not suitable for heavy combat. They can mess up a person in one shot and can severely damage light vehicles under sustained fire but anything with armor or sufficient size will be able to shrug off fire easily.
It makes up for its lack of punch with rate of fire. Each gun cycles at about 700 rounds per minutes. Firing in sequence that gives the ship a 2800 round per minute firing rate. For people keeping track, that’s 46.7 rounds per second.
Defenses: Aside from its out skin, the only defensive system the ship has is a simple navigation shield which protects it from common atmospheric and orbital debris. It’s next to useless against ship to ship weapons but it can be marginally effective against small arms fire.
Internal Systems: The ship utilizes advanced General Synthetics sensor systems for its flight computer. All flight data and computer readouts are projected on the glass of the cockpit. The layout of the information can be customized by the pilot to his preferences.
The sensor suite is housed under the cockpit and is composed of a 360 degree rotational radar array, target/ground scanning radar and ladar, radio telescope array, audio receiver and EM imager. This gives the ship a surprising amount of sensor information. In civilian hands it’s the pinnacle of traffic jam avoidance. In military hands it makes a great scout.
It’s computer system is run primarily through voice commands or a datapad app that is keyed to each individual 440. Everything from preflight checks to the auto-pilot can be accessed via datapad app or through voice commands. As a backup, there is a simple keypad interface installed on the center console that allows manual access to most of the computers systems.
To facilitate most voice commands, the ships computer systems presents itself as a personality, similar to an AI. It is not a true AI though, just a good façade of one. It cannot think for itself and can take no initiative.
Engines: It’s main engines are mounted on either side of the cockpit on gimbals that allow them to rotate individually of the cockpit and each other. This rotation is what gives the ship most of its maneuverability however there is a pair of control surfaces extending from the engines to provide simple and minimal course corrections.
The repulsorlift arrays on the underside of the engine are what keep the craft aloft and handle lateral movement while the main ion engines are what provide forward momentum and maneuverability. Max speed is approximately 1500 kph but its cruising speed is generally around 800 kph.
The tail section has a small cluster of thrusters on the end to take the place of the tail rotor when flying outside of atmosphere.
It's hyperdrive is a class 8 and it's navigation computer is not as powerful as most other intersteller craft giving it very limited in range because the pilot must make multiple course correction jumps before arriving at his destination.
Power Plant: Each engine draws fuel from the same source and provide primary power for the ship via turbine generators. The ignition and emergency systems get their electrical power from a battery that gets recharged by the engines. The repulsorlifts can run on the emergency battery for no more than five minutes before depleting.
On a full tank of fuel in a coruscant type atmosphere, the ship can operate for up to 12 hours before requiring a refuel.
Safety and Manual Systems: Some systems have manual overrides for safety reasons. Chief among them is the life support. In the event the craft looses electrical power the life support system will be rendered inoperable. If exiting the craft or accessing the outside atmosphere is unavailable (being in space/poisonous atmosphere) the pilot must manually pump the air in the cockpit through the scrubber. The pump is located under the passenger seat and must be cycled every so often in order to prevent carbon dioxide from building up in the cockpit.
Nearly as important as the life support is the steering. In the event of an emergency, the engines will lock into their “home” position, providing forward thrust and all steering will be done with the control surfaces.
The engines themselves have an emergency off lever located behind the pilots head. Pulling the lever stops the fuel pump and severs the fuel connections to the engines, shutting them down completely. The ship cannot operate after the lever has been pulled until those fuel lines are reattached.
In the event of dangerously high engine temperature, the computer is programmed to initiate the fire suppression system which floods the engines with oxygen absorbing foam. The foam smothers any fire and completely disables the main engines. The pilot can override the fire suppression system from the cockpit to prevent it from firing.
Located under the pilots seat between his legs is the emergency ejection system. If the ship sustains damage or a malfunction makes the ship unsafe to fly, the pilot can twist the ejection handle 180 degrees clockwise which primes the system. Once primed, a hard pull upwards on the handle will trigger the eject. The cockpit pod separates from the rest of the ship via an explosive charge. A parachute then deploys to slow the cockpit pod down and ease its descent. As soon as the system is active a beacon in both the cockpit and the rest of the ship activates, broadcasting the emergency and their current locations. A small exterior compartment on the cockpit contains a survival gear pack and a sidearm.
Information: General Synthetic Motors originally developed the GSM 440 project to be their flagship repulsorcraft. Something to be sold on the civilian market in large quantities. This changed however when GS’s newest asset, Dr. White, took over the project as a test bed for new technology.
Upon completion, the 440 was no longer a simple repulosrcraft. It was sealed against vacuum and given its own internal life support system allowing it to operate in space. They also crammed the smallest hyperdrive they could design into it to allow for interplanetary travel.
In the end, three versions of the 440 were made. The normal 440 was produced in limited quantities and sold on highly developed planets. While a highly effective vehicle and not super expensive, it has become more of a status symbol for those who can afford them.
The 440R was a racer, stripped of all the comforts and amenities to save mass and fitted with a boosted engine for greater acceleration. GSM began hosting races on Corellia using 440Rs and it’s become one of their most profitable ventures.
Due to the advanced technology aboard and its potential uses, GSM also developed a military model (GSM 440M) which is a normal 440 but equipped with four repeating blasters around the cockpit bubble. GSM advertises it as a scout vehicle but many planetary governments have purchased them as police vehicles.
To try and boost the ships popularity, GSM donated the first hundred 440M’s off the line to the Jedi. Most of these were sent to the Temple on Coruscant but the Jedi shipped a handful to Ilum and other Jedi outposts.
Dimensions: 7.6 Meters long. 3883 Kilograms
Ship Appearance: The 440 is almost insect like in its appearance. It’s cockpit is a single spherical compartment large enough for two people. The seats in the cockpit are mounted independently from the walls of the cockpit allowing them to rotate 360 degrees and are controlled by the pilot
To either side of the cockpit are its main engines. Each engine rotates independently to provide maneuverability. The bottom of each spherical engine houses the repulsorlift array’s that keep the ship aloft in atmosphere.
It’s landing gear is a tripod like system upon which the ships balances. When in flight, the legs fold up into position behind the cockpit but are never truly retracted into the ship.
It’s tail has a compartment for storage of small personal objects and hooks to carry a larger payload if necessary.
Weapon Payload: Neither the 440 or the 440R are equipped with any weapons. The 440M is equipped with 4 repeating blaster cannons which are mounted to the same gimbal as the cockpit seats so whichever way the pilot turns the seats, the guns point in the same direction. This allows the craft to fire in full 360 degrees no matter what heading the ship is traveling.
The blaster cannons themselves are not suitable for heavy combat. They can mess up a person in one shot and can severely damage light vehicles under sustained fire but anything with armor or sufficient size will be able to shrug off fire easily.
It makes up for its lack of punch with rate of fire. Each gun cycles at about 700 rounds per minutes. Firing in sequence that gives the ship a 2800 round per minute firing rate. For people keeping track, that’s 46.7 rounds per second.
Defenses: Aside from its out skin, the only defensive system the ship has is a simple navigation shield which protects it from common atmospheric and orbital debris. It’s next to useless against ship to ship weapons but it can be marginally effective against small arms fire.
Internal Systems: The ship utilizes advanced General Synthetics sensor systems for its flight computer. All flight data and computer readouts are projected on the glass of the cockpit. The layout of the information can be customized by the pilot to his preferences.
The sensor suite is housed under the cockpit and is composed of a 360 degree rotational radar array, target/ground scanning radar and ladar, radio telescope array, audio receiver and EM imager. This gives the ship a surprising amount of sensor information. In civilian hands it’s the pinnacle of traffic jam avoidance. In military hands it makes a great scout.
It’s computer system is run primarily through voice commands or a datapad app that is keyed to each individual 440. Everything from preflight checks to the auto-pilot can be accessed via datapad app or through voice commands. As a backup, there is a simple keypad interface installed on the center console that allows manual access to most of the computers systems.
To facilitate most voice commands, the ships computer systems presents itself as a personality, similar to an AI. It is not a true AI though, just a good façade of one. It cannot think for itself and can take no initiative.
Engines: It’s main engines are mounted on either side of the cockpit on gimbals that allow them to rotate individually of the cockpit and each other. This rotation is what gives the ship most of its maneuverability however there is a pair of control surfaces extending from the engines to provide simple and minimal course corrections.
The repulsorlift arrays on the underside of the engine are what keep the craft aloft and handle lateral movement while the main ion engines are what provide forward momentum and maneuverability. Max speed is approximately 1500 kph but its cruising speed is generally around 800 kph.
The tail section has a small cluster of thrusters on the end to take the place of the tail rotor when flying outside of atmosphere.
It's hyperdrive is a class 8 and it's navigation computer is not as powerful as most other intersteller craft giving it very limited in range because the pilot must make multiple course correction jumps before arriving at his destination.
Power Plant: Each engine draws fuel from the same source and provide primary power for the ship via turbine generators. The ignition and emergency systems get their electrical power from a battery that gets recharged by the engines. The repulsorlifts can run on the emergency battery for no more than five minutes before depleting.
On a full tank of fuel in a coruscant type atmosphere, the ship can operate for up to 12 hours before requiring a refuel.
Safety and Manual Systems: Some systems have manual overrides for safety reasons. Chief among them is the life support. In the event the craft looses electrical power the life support system will be rendered inoperable. If exiting the craft or accessing the outside atmosphere is unavailable (being in space/poisonous atmosphere) the pilot must manually pump the air in the cockpit through the scrubber. The pump is located under the passenger seat and must be cycled every so often in order to prevent carbon dioxide from building up in the cockpit.
Nearly as important as the life support is the steering. In the event of an emergency, the engines will lock into their “home” position, providing forward thrust and all steering will be done with the control surfaces.
The engines themselves have an emergency off lever located behind the pilots head. Pulling the lever stops the fuel pump and severs the fuel connections to the engines, shutting them down completely. The ship cannot operate after the lever has been pulled until those fuel lines are reattached.
In the event of dangerously high engine temperature, the computer is programmed to initiate the fire suppression system which floods the engines with oxygen absorbing foam. The foam smothers any fire and completely disables the main engines. The pilot can override the fire suppression system from the cockpit to prevent it from firing.
Located under the pilots seat between his legs is the emergency ejection system. If the ship sustains damage or a malfunction makes the ship unsafe to fly, the pilot can twist the ejection handle 180 degrees clockwise which primes the system. Once primed, a hard pull upwards on the handle will trigger the eject. The cockpit pod separates from the rest of the ship via an explosive charge. A parachute then deploys to slow the cockpit pod down and ease its descent. As soon as the system is active a beacon in both the cockpit and the rest of the ship activates, broadcasting the emergency and their current locations. A small exterior compartment on the cockpit contains a survival gear pack and a sidearm.