4e Vickers Vernon 1st draught

Azinctus · 10-23-2009, 06:38 AM

The Vickers Vernon was a 1920s two engined military cargo plane/troop transporter based on the Vickers Commercial which was a development of the Vickers Vimy.

I have attempted to make up stats based on Wikipedia (it's my first vehicle):

Vickers Vernon
ST/HP: 80
Hnd/SR: +2/3
HT: 9f
Move: 2/50
LWt: 6.6 tons
Load: 4.6 tons (including fuel)
SM: +7
Occ: 3+11
DR: 2
Range: 320 miles
Cost: $100,000+-
Loc.: O2WWi
Stall: 30
Notes:

I don't know how much fuel it would have carried.

The players will own a similar plane (actually a Vickers Commercial but I couldn't find stats for that.) I want their plane to have a reserve fuel tank added to double the aircraft's range.

Finally, how do I figure what length of runway it would need to take off and land? Looking at film on Utube of Vickers Vimy replicas taking off I guess less than 100 yards. I intend to have the PCs land the thing in fields and on roads is that realistic (my source for such behaviour is Biggles stories)?

Mgellis · 10-23-2009, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azinctus

The Vickers Vernon was a 1920s two engined military cargo plane/troop transporter based on the Vickers Commercial which was a development of the Vickers Vimy.

I have attempted to make up stats based on Wikipedia (it's my first vehicle):

Vickers Vernon
ST/HP: 80
Hnd/SR: +2/3
HT: 9f
Move: 2/50
LWt: 6.6 tons
Load: 4.6 tons (including fuel)
SM: +7
Occ: 3+11
DR: 2
Range: 320 miles
Cost: $100,000+-
Loc.: O2WWi
Stall: 30
Notes:

I don't know how much fuel it would have carried.

The players will own a similar plane (actually a Vickers Commercial but I couldn't find stats for that.) I want their plane to have a reserve fuel tank added to double the aircraft's range.

Finally, how do I figure what length of runway it would need to take off and land? Looking at film on Utube of Vickers Vimy replicas taking off I guess less than 100 yards. I intend to have the PCs land the thing in fields and on roads is that realistic (my source for such behaviour is Biggles stories)?

Some more information is here...

http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/a_vickers.html

...and here...

http://www.onwar.com/weapons/aircraf...rs_Vernon.html

I'd change the Hnd/SR to 0/3 based on figures for similar aircraft in High-Tech. Also, the weights should probably be 4.0 tons empty and 6.3 tons loaded, making the Load 2.3 tons. Don't worry about the exact fuel weight...it might change the HP up or down by 1 or 2 points, but it's not critical.

Other than that, it looks pretty good.

Mark

Azinctus · 10-23-2009, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mgellis

the weights should probably be 4.0 tons empty and 6.3 tons loaded, making the Load 2.3 tons.

Thanks Mark. Are you using metric tonnes? It would be about 4.0/6.3 tonnes in metric. But campaigns says to use 2,000= 1 ton.

Mgellis · 10-23-2009, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azinctus

Thanks Mark. Are you using metric tonnes? It would be about 4.0/6.3 tonnes in metric. But campaigns says to use 2,000= 1 ton.

Short (2000-lb.) tons, but rounding fractions to the nearest tenth of a ton.

# Empty weight: 7,981 lb (3628 kg)
# Loaded weight: 12,554 lb (5706 kg)

Metric tons would have LWt 5.7 tons and an empty weight of 3.6 tons, giving it a load of 2.1 tons.

Mark

Azinctus · 10-23-2009, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mgellis

Short (2000-lb.) tons, but rounding fractions to the nearest tenth of a ton.

# Empty weight: 7,981 lb (3628 kg)
# Loaded weight: 12,554 lb (5706 kg)

Metric tons would have LWt 5.7 tons and an empty weight of 3.6 tons, giving it a load of 2.1 tons.

Mark

Absolutely. My mistake.

sgtcallistan · 10-23-2009, 10:33 AM

On the Vickers' take-off ability: aircraft of this period were flown from well-drained short-grass fields, that had to be relatively level and without abrupt bumps.
Rain could still cause a parked aircraft to bog down, so there were usually 'hardstandings' even for wooden biplanes.
High winds require a large biplane to be well anchored (usually with weights attached to the wheels and tailskid) and 'tied down' at the wingtips as well. Many aircrat are manufactured with eyebolts in the wings' lower surfaces for these 'tie-downs' to be attached.

Another airfield requirement is that a large, light-framed aircraft be able to both land and take off into wind (with only a small allowance for a side-wind); this traditionally resulted in large fields that could be used in any direction.
Another requirement is that the chosen approach/departure route not have any high obstructions, and preferably not have any field boundaries, ditches or hedges, to permit a aborted take-off.

The smaller an aircraft, the smaller the field required, generally speaking. Landing would be easier than take-off, if using an improvised field, due to low-powered engines resulting in a long take-off run, as opposed to a short, engine-off landing in a draggy aircraft.

This is why stories from the time often mention having to 'lighten ship' before being able to take-off after a forced landing.

Game-wise; this IMO should require a Pilot skill roll to take weights (such as remaining fuel), length of runway and height of obstructions into the mix.

Hope this is useful.

10-23-2009, 06:38 AM	#1
Azinctus Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Lyon, France	4e Vickers Vernon 1st draught The Vickers Vernon was a 1920s two engined military cargo plane/troop transporter based on the Vickers Commercial which was a development of the Vickers Vimy. I have attempted to make up stats based on Wikipedia (it's my first vehicle): Vickers Vernon ST/HP: 80 Hnd/SR: +2/3 HT: 9f Move: 2/50 LWt: 6.6 tons Load: 4.6 tons (including fuel) SM: +7 Occ: 3+11 DR: 2 Range: 320 miles Cost: $100,000+- Loc.: O2WWi Stall: 30 Notes: I don't know how much fuel it would have carried. The players will own a similar plane (actually a Vickers Commercial but I couldn't find stats for that.) I want their plane to have a reserve fuel tank added to double the aircraft's range. Finally, how do I figure what length of runway it would need to take off and land? Looking at film on Utube of Vickers Vimy replicas taking off I guess less than 100 yards. I intend to have the PCs land the thing in fields and on roads is that realistic (my source for such behaviour is Biggles stories)? __________________ "wars and storms are best to be read of, but peace and calms are better to endure" Jeremy Bentham

10-23-2009, 10:33 AM	#6
sgtcallistan Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Chatham, Kent, England	Re: 4e Vickers Vernon 1st draught On the Vickers' take-off ability: aircraft of this period were flown from well-drained short-grass fields, that had to be relatively level and without abrupt bumps. Rain could still cause a parked aircraft to bog down, so there were usually 'hardstandings' even for wooden biplanes. High winds require a large biplane to be well anchored (usually with weights attached to the wheels and tailskid) and 'tied down' at the wingtips as well. Many aircrat are manufactured with eyebolts in the wings' lower surfaces for these 'tie-downs' to be attached. Another airfield requirement is that a large, light-framed aircraft be able to both land and take off into wind (with only a small allowance for a side-wind); this traditionally resulted in large fields that could be used in any direction. Another requirement is that the chosen approach/departure route not have any high obstructions, and preferably not have any field boundaries, ditches or hedges, to permit a aborted take-off. The smaller an aircraft, the smaller the field required, generally speaking. Landing would be easier than take-off, if using an improvised field, due to low-powered engines resulting in a long take-off run, as opposed to a short, engine-off landing in a draggy aircraft. This is why stories from the time often mention having to 'lighten ship' before being able to take-off after a forced landing. Game-wise; this IMO should require a Pilot skill roll to take weights (such as remaining fuel), length of runway and height of obstructions into the mix. Hope this is useful.