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Death of the Albatross

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:55 pm
by Alex
The Albatross was a gunship that was intended to be able to quickly deploy a squad of airborne troopers with jetpacks and then take lazy circles while raining down death from above. It had a large number of weapons as well as a large cargo bay with large entrances for rapid deployment.
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In the field however, it didn't fare as well as expected. It was slow, bulky, and presented a large target. Combined with the large openings in the side of the gunship, this meant that the passengers were extremely vulnerable to attack, something that was made painfully clear to American forces after their encounters with MASS.
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After using up the rockets and losing gunners due to them bailing/being blown up, the albatross would be virtually defenseless against enemy troops.
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After taking damage, the pilots would often be left with only one desperate option: to plow the ship into the middle of the enemy forces in the hopes of destroying something and leaving an opening for friendly forces:
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As a result of these events, the albatross gained a new name among American soldiers: the turkey, as it was big, slow, and likely to be slaughtered. Many troopers would outright refuse to fly on one. The extremely high casualty rate among pilots and the high cost of having to build so many new albatrosses after every battle led to all remaining albatrosses being scrapped. As the albatross lay dying however, a new bird circled over its carcass:
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The condor gunship, designed to address the many weaknesses of the albatross (fun fact: 95% of the condor was made using the pieces of the albatross). First off, it is sleeker and more maneuverable than its predecessor:
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Rotating engines allow for VTOL and also for quick flight maneuvers, such as horizontal strafing or dodging oncoming fire:
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The addition of retractable landing gear is another minor contribution to reducing the profile and drag of the gunship:
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The passengers are more protected by one rear door which closes all the way:
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Although cargo space has been reduced, the condor can still carry a squad of men:
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While the albatross needed 6 to fly and fully crew all of the weapons, the condor only needs two, a pilot and a gunner, who controls a dual minigun, a pair of lasers on the wings and 8 rockets:
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To the enemies of America: watch the skies, because a condor swooping down on you might be the last thing you see :twisted:

Re: Death of the Albatross

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 1:58 pm
by Ben-Jammin
I can safely say that I'm glad the Albatross died. Love the Condor.

Re: Death of the Albatross

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 2:47 pm
by BFenix
Ben-Jammin wrote:I can safely say that I'm glad the Albatross died. Love the Condor.

Re: Death of the Albatross

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 5:05 pm
by mgb519
I take pride in being the guy who was responsible for destroying the Albatross every time,

Re: Death of the Albatross

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 5:40 pm
by Robot Monkey
I like the condor! Also, nice way of presenting it by using it's predecessor as a comparison. Reminds me a bit of my helicopter, which has open sides. :| Might have to fix those.

Re: Death of the Albatross

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 8:08 pm
by Silverdream
Damn cool. In addition to being more useful it also looks better.

Re: Death of the Albatross

Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 11:24 am
by Alex
Thanks for the comments everyone. Silverdream, the aesthetics were just as much the reason for the redesign as anything else. I felt like the old design was too :boxy:

Re: Death of the Albatross

Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 4:33 pm
by Zupponn
Yes, much better.

Re: Death of the Albatross

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 2:41 am
by IVhorseman
mgb519 wrote:I take pride in being the guy who was responsible for destroying the Albatross every time,
Did you use a crossbow?

I have a similar-fated transporter with open side doors, but I solved that problem pretty nicely by putting some folding hangar doors on the sides.

Re: Death of the Albatross

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 10:56 am
by Alex
IVhorseman wrote:
mgb519 wrote:I take pride in being the guy who was responsible for destroying the Albatross every time,
Did you use a crossbow?
Nice reference

Re: Death of the Albatross

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 11:54 am
by mgb519
No, I learned from his tale and used an energy mortar instead.