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"They said it couldn't be done," said Jay Industries CEO Benjamin Valens with a chuckle "Which goes to show how you should never challenge a Falcanian design team."
This was at a press conference today to unveil what Jay Industries' big project has been these past two years. Since the war in Starblaydia came to an end, signalling a shift in the political landscape and potentially many more nations willing to take a swing at SDL member states in general and the Free Kingdom in particular, there had been demand for military reform, as it was felt the current fleet of two seperate types of military aircraft carriers was overcomplicated, unwieldy and, most essentially, too slow to unleash Falcania's military might, which has always been a highly mobile, hard-hitting force.
Today, on the two-year anniversary of Starblaydia's defeat, Benjamin Valens, top of the Time & Money rich list thirteen years running, personally showed the world what the future of Falcania was.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Chicks and Cocks, let me proudly introduce the C3," he said simply, before pushing a grandiose button on his lectern.
Immediately the vast hangar began to fold away, revealing something the region had never seen.
"The C3 is set to replace the Hermes and the Leviathan carriers already in service, with one simple, optimised vehicle that should outstrip our existing airfleet entirely. It is the perfect compromise between the Leviathan's capacity and the Hermes' mobility."
A focused orange spotlight played over the fuselage like a gigantic laser pointer as he began his presentation. "You're probably wondering how something like this can take off. Lift comes about in three ways. Firstly, most of the fuselage is devoted to helium cells. Half to two-thirds of the lift is produced from this light gas." The spotlight ran to the nearest, massive wing, dancing over its surface. "Secondly, it takes advantage of aerodynamic lift like a plane, both from the wings, and from the uniquely-shaped nose, which acts like a wing itself." He paused, grinning widely. "For the third way, we'll need a demonstration, so brace yourselves." He pressed another button and the air was filled with a deafening whirring of fans. Astoundingly, the C3 inched off the ground, slowly at first, but picking up speed. The spotlight stroked the underbelly of the craft.
After a few minutes, the whirring slowed and the ship landed again. Valens continued. "Thirdly, an array of turbofans provides enough thrust for Vertical Takeoff and Landing, which is great news. The C3 can take off from any airfield without using a runway, carrying tons of cargo, a load of passengers in luxury, or an entire brigade or flight squadron, and land literally anywhere, even in snow or on water. The era of the outskirts airport could well be over, as this could land in the middle of cities.
The C3 is divided into 3 decks. The top deck is the only one that is inconfigurable, and houses all the flight equipment. The second two decks are completely customisable, for whatever purpose the operator deems necessary. Freight corporations might be impressed by the two acres of cargo space. Passenger airlines might be pleased to know that it can transport more people than any competing airliner and in better conditions. Legroom is a thing of the past, folks, this is a flying cruise liner."
He paused, before continuing. "Of course, we expect the military to be a principal operator of the C3, and we've included a few goodies just for their specialised needs. One of the principal criticisms of the Hermes and the Leviathan was that they were completely defenceless without their escort or their altitude. As the C3 cruises at around 2.5km above sea level, it can't escape to the clouds like its predecessor, so we've levelled the playing field a bit. Six retractable J27 cannons provide full anti-missile and anti-air coverage for everything beside and below the craft, and the pop-up MRM battery just ahead of the fins should level anything coming from above."
"All customers will enjoy the cruising speed of 120 knots. While just over a fifth of the speed of a conventional airliner and a far cry from Starling's cruise velocity, it still far outstrips the speed of its purely military predecessors, as well as the equivalent transport by land and sea, and if you take into account the mass lifted as well as the energy used, the figures become very favourable indeed."
"To close, Ladies and Gentlemen, the future is here, and it's Made in Falcania." |
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