The Skywhale class cargo blimps were built for the Transportation Division of the Windsor AgroCorporation, for use on the dense atmosphere planet Windsor. As a developing colony, Windsor's transport infrastructure is fairly primitive, and it was felt by corporate management that the use of lighter than air transport craft could be economically justified for certain classes of medium priority cargo, for some over-water routes, and for emergency delivery of supplies to backcountry settlements. While enough fuel for 20 hours of continuous operation can be carried, crew fatigue limits normal flights to 12 hours (a range of 900km).
| CraftID: | Skywhale Cargo Blimp, TL9, Cr1,622,000 |
|---|---|
| Hull: | 257/642, Disp=5555.6, Loaded=101.7t, Unloaded=51.7t, Airframe=Simple, Gasbag=75000kl |
| Power: | 0.2 MW drawn from engines, Endurance=20hrs |
| Loco: | 4/10, High efficiency diesels*5, Thrust=10t MaxAccel Drag MaxSpeed Cruise Range Agility Clean 0.08 - 100 75 1500 0 |
| Comm: | Radio=Continental |
| Sensors: | Radar=VDist(50km), ActObjScan=Diff, ActObjPin=Diff |
| Off: | none |
| Def: | none |
| Control: | Simple(0mp) |
| Accom: | Crew=8, (2 pilots, navigator, engineer, 5 engineering technicians), CrewStations*8, Env=none |
| Other: | Fuel=1.5kl, Cargo=50t, ObjSize=Average, EmLevel=Faint |
Author: R.S.Dean