[X] Rupert Macalister – Representative of Wyndham Industrial – Propulsion Expert
[X] Prof. V. Granville – Aerodynamics Expert – Led the design team of the D.422
[X] Joseph March – Avionics Specialist
[X] Jean Lyon – Physicist – Senior Manager, Special Projects Division
[X] John Darrow – Senior Test Pilot
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With your project team now assembled, it's time to begin work on the aeroplane. Chief amongst the decisions in front of you are the design of the airframe and the selection of its engine.
Record breakers like the one you're working on are quite literally designed and built around their engines, and so this is a delicate decision, one which could have severe repercussions later in the design process. A number of manufacturers have submitted their proposals for consideration, and your panel of experts has rendered their opinions on the entrants.
Additionally, there is the question of general airframe design. This is more a question of principles than specifics, which can be narrowed down at a later time. However, a general direction will help inform the remainder of the design cycle.
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As for engines, Wyndham Industrial has submitted two entries. The first is their new R-146 engine, a supercharged and liquid-cooled V-12. Rupert Macalister promises that the engine should be capable of outputting 2,400 horsepower with the appropriate tuning from his companies' engineering team. It's on the heavier side though, weighing in at 1,650 pounds without any of the coolant and radiators you'll no doubt need.
The second proposition from Wyndham is their R-83, a 14 cylinder air cooled radial engine. Weighing in at only 1,120 pounds, it can produce 1,400 horsepower as standard. While producing less power than the other entrants, since it's air cooled there won't be any additional weight in coolant, only radiators. Macalister is once again interested selling to you, and Darrow thinks you might even be able to get away with two engines. Granville on the other hand would prefer to avoid air cooled engines as a matter of principle.
As a counter proposal to Macalister and Wyndham, professor Granville has suggested using the Lion engine produced by Empire City's Imperial Aviation Corporation. This 12 cylinder W block engine was used to great success in the D.422. While it produced 1,700 hp at standard, Granville's team was able to tune it to 2,050 and he thinks it can be made to go even higher. Darrow appreciates that the team has experience working with this engine while Macalister has pointed out that its 1,260 lb weight gives it a poorer power to weight ratio and that a water cooled engine is inherently less efficient than one of his companies' liquid cooled models.
A more unusual proposal has come from Agello, a company best known for their zeppelin engines. They have proposed taking two of the AS.2 model engines, 12 cylinder V engines which produce 1,450 horsepower at 1,050 lbs, and mating them to drive two counter-rotating propellers in a linear arrangement. Lyon is impressed with the theoretical power output and Darrow is also interested in the proposal. However, Macalister is concerned at the over two thousand pound weight of the combined engines, and that's before cooling is taken into consideration. Similarly, Joe March has voiced concerns over the mechanical reliability of such a configuration.
The final proposal in this first wave comes from Jean Lyon's Special Projects Division, though you suspect that really means from Delisle himself. It's a radical proposal that takes advantage that there are no rules on the type of engines that can be used – Rockets. A rocket powered aeroplane can theoretically reach a far higher top speed than any piston-powered one can, but it would depend heavily on top-notch construction and engineering and could still be incredibly unsafe. Jean is interested in pursuing this at least for a little ways, while March considers it little more than a passing fancy and Darrow considers the idea practically suicidal.
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The other question to begin considering is the broad picture of the airframe – namely the placement of the engine and the configuration. This is not a final decision, but will rather decide where the team focuses the majority of their efforts going forwards.
Granville and Darrow favor a seaplane, which has the advantage of a theoretically infinite takeoff distance. This would allow the plane to be heavier and the engine to have a higher rpm without the disadvantage this would pose to a land based aeroplane.
Jean, on the other hand, is of the opinion that with newly developed variable-pitch propellers a seaplane no longer has any real advantage over a land based plane and would prefer to replace the dead weight of pontoons with useful equipment, a sentiment Macalister agrees with. March on the other hand points out that variable-pitch propellers are a technology still very much in its infancy, and would prefer going with a seaplane.
Finally, there is the option of forgoing both choices in favor of launching the plane from a zeppelin. This would allow the engine to reach its optimum envelope before take-off and eliminate some weight in the form of the fuel otherwise needed to reach altitude and more robust landing gear. Most of the team considers it a possibility, but Granville does point out that it hasn't been done before from a rules perspective, and the last thing he wants is to be disqualified from the official record on a technicality.
The other element to consider is whether to approach the aircraft as a pusher or tractor configuration. Granville and Lyon are in favor of a pusher, as this would typically allow for a higher max speed once in the air. However, it will have more difficulty taking off due to the low angles of climb permitted when your propeller is the closest thing to the ground.
A tractor design is favored by Darrow and Macalister, as it requires a shorter take-off distance and is more proven. Finally, if using tandem or multiple engine configurations, it is possible to mount one propeller at each end of the aircraft.
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Engine Proposals:
[] Wyndham R-146
[] Wyndham R-83
[] IAC Lion
[] Agello AS.2
[] Rockets
[] Call for additional submissions
Take-off/Landing Focus:
[] Seaplane
[] Land plane
[] Zeppelin launch
Engine Configuration Focus:
[] Pusher
[] Tractor
[] Hybrid
Given that this is a delicate vote, it will be vote by plan going forwards. Down-selecting engines at this point is not mandatory, but it could help the team focus on a specific design path if there's one you feel they should be following. You'll also have the option to call for additional submissions, but this will take more time. The same holds true for the airframe focus votes – they'll give direction but are not necessarily exclusive.
Ask any questions you'd like at this point. I'll also have an addendum in the near future detailing the present record-holder from Consolidated (your competition).
