Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - Seaplanes or Amphibious Aircraft for Caribbean Adventuring and Logistics

Icelander · 02-05-2020, 07:54 AM

Assuming that a team of 'Night Riders' was established in 2011 in Florida, based around the Gainesville campus of the University of Florida, what would be good transportation options for them?

We're talking 4-6 full-time members, with a rotating cast of experts and support staff, but it will be very rare that they'll deploy with more than eight people, as they'll usually meet a local expert and any support network on site.

The Florida 'Night Rider' team are responsible for all of Florida and might have to travel to Georgia and the Carolinas. In addition, they might be asked to provide Spanish-speaking support for expeditions to Cuba, the Dominican Republic or similar.

One trip that I can see them taking quite often might be from Gainesville to Polk City, where they have access to a Be-12 aircraft that can take them to Caribbean destinations if needed. On the other hand, if that's an unnecessary complication, they can just fly a less noteworthy plane from Gainesville directly to whereever they are going.

There are also offices of people with whom they work in Fort Lauderdale, so they visit there fairly often, and Kessler has a compound in Key West where they might deploy by yacht or other transport, but they'd have to have a way to get from Gainesville to Key West pretty quick.

None of the full-time members of the team are ritual magicians, but they might work from time to time with consulting specialists who have some magical abilities. All the same, it's not necessary for them to be so anachronistic as to use only WWII vintage transport. Just avoiding stuff that will go down immediately if a computer chip stops working should be fine (so, late TL7 to the first half of TL8 might be okay, especially if it's robust and simple designs).

Gainesville to Polk City is 116 miles by road (ca 106 mile straight line), so fast cars might do for that, but if they're already using a private plane or helicopter for longer trips, they might be able to use it for emergencies.
Gainesville to Fort Lauderdale is 277 miles in a direct line.
Gainesville to Key West is 352 miles in a straight line.

So, couple of questions:

Assuming they are flying from the Gainesville Regional Airport, would they want a helicopter or a private plane?

If a helicopter, what is the best bang for the buck for this role?

If a private plane, same question?

Kessler is fine spending some millions of dollars on their logistics (they are, ofter all, about 20% of his 'Night Rider' complement), but the money should be spent relatively shrewdly and without undue waste. If nothing else, the magicians around Kessler contribute to enough waste in the form of complex logistical requirements so it's best to avoid it for more mundane folk.

Edit: On the subject of helicopters, it's already been established that companies Kessler controls own at least one Mil Mi-8/Mi-17 Hip (obtained shortly after 1990) and a couple of Alouette III helicopters (bought in the 1980s). These have to be based somewhere, so it's not implausible that one of them could be devoted to the Florida team. Would they want a private plane as well, given that the Alouette III is not particularly fast?

02-05-2020, 07:54 AM	#67
Icelander Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Iceland*	Getting Around Florida Quickly and Discreetly Assuming that a team of 'Night Riders' was established in 2011 in Florida, based around the Gainesville campus of the University of Florida, what would be good transportation options for them? We're talking 4-6 full-time members, with a rotating cast of experts and support staff, but it will be very rare that they'll deploy with more than eight people, as they'll usually meet a local expert and any support network on site. The Florida 'Night Rider' team are responsible for all of Florida and might have to travel to Georgia and the Carolinas. In addition, they might be asked to provide Spanish-speaking support for expeditions to Cuba, the Dominican Republic or similar. One trip that I can see them taking quite often might be from Gainesville to Polk City, where they have access to a Be-12 aircraft that can take them to Caribbean destinations if needed. On the other hand, if that's an unnecessary complication, they can just fly a less noteworthy plane from Gainesville directly to whereever they are going. There are also offices of people with whom they work in Fort Lauderdale, so they visit there fairly often, and Kessler has a compound in Key West where they might deploy by yacht or other transport, but they'd have to have a way to get from Gainesville to Key West pretty quick. None of the full-time members of the team are ritual magicians, but they might work from time to time with consulting specialists who have some magical abilities. All the same, it's not necessary for them to be so anachronistic as to use only WWII vintage transport. Just avoiding stuff that will go down immediately if a computer chip stops working should be fine (so, late TL7 to the first half of TL8 might be okay, especially if it's robust and simple designs). Gainesville to Polk City is 116 miles by road (ca 106 mile straight line), so fast cars might do for that, but if they're already using a private plane or helicopter for longer trips, they might be able to use it for emergencies. Gainesville to Fort Lauderdale is 277 miles in a direct line. Gainesville to Key West is 352 miles in a straight line. So, couple of questions: Assuming they are flying from the Gainesville Regional Airport, would they want a helicopter or a private plane? If a helicopter, what is the best bang for the buck for this role? If a private plane, same question? Kessler is fine spending some millions of dollars on their logistics (they are, ofter all, about 20% of his 'Night Rider' complement), but the money should be spent relatively shrewdly and without undue waste. If nothing else, the magicians around Kessler contribute to enough waste in the form of complex logistical requirements so it's best to avoid it for more mundane folk. Edit: On the subject of helicopters, it's already been established that companies Kessler controls own at least one Mil Mi-8/Mi-17 Hip (obtained shortly after 1990) and a couple of Alouette III helicopters (bought in the 1980s). These have to be based somewhere, so it's not implausible that one of them could be devoted to the Florida team. Would they want a private plane as well, given that the Alouette III is not particularly fast? __________________ Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela! Last edited by Icelander; 02-05-2020 at 08:14 AM.