The forward flight deck is mostly enclosed by panels of another Torvan specialty, armoured glass. Normally the lift plant is kept running so that the ship rests only lightly on the ground, but sometimes things need to be shut all the way down. The lower lift tank is designed as a landing keel, with secondary skegs under the airscrew housings as well as a pair of folding struts forward, to stabilise the ship. The Daedalus is designed for hard surface landings only, though the hull is watertight in the event of a safe water landing. (Presumably the large searchlight would be struck below when not needed the two small gun emplacements would also have fitted plates to cover them.) Surfaces have been smoothed as much as possible.
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With a top speed slightly in excess of 90knots (167kph/46mps) thanks to the prototype ætheric drive units, airflow is a serious factor. Many of these are made retractable to reduce drag when less cooling area is needed.ĭrag, indeed, has been considered more than in most skyship designs.
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Indeed, the ship has to carry a more extensive set of radiators than normal to dump heat, even with the colder air temps at altitude. The lift tanks make up nearly half the mass of the vessel, and the waste heat generated by these is considerable, which makes staying warm at altitude no problem. Stores and supplies are crammed into every available spare space. Aft is an unpressurised hangar, cargo, and work area, which is designed to hold several conventional seaboats and is large enough to work on one of the two skyboats in flight a pair of high-speed navy scouting boats are carried just behind the upper deckhouse and radiators. More comfortable cabins and workrooms populate the upper deck and deckhouse. Outside of this, both above, below, and to the side, are placed the large and bulky lift tanks. The Daedalus was built for sustained flight at high altitudes (at 8,500 metres it would hold the altitude record had the test flight been made public) and is thus constructed with a pressurised section at the core of the ship, containing all vital ship functions such as the bridge and engine plant, and basic accomodations for the two dozen or so scientists, artists, and crew members aboard. High-flying skyboat tests in the mid 1770s had revealed the difficulties of operating at much over 4,000 metres chiefly low oxygen and freezing temperatures, which have deleterious effects on human and machine both.
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![doodle tanks cast doodle tanks cast](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_annTPGBcsB4/R0-5jRitzPI/AAAAAAAAAAs/8jBGCbe_0EE/s320/nightly4.jpg)
An accompanying supply ship (which I haven't yet designed or named) was also made to escort the Daedalus on her trip around the globe. It incorporates years of intensive and secret research by the Torvan navy, and was purpose-built for an expedition of circumnavigation, which thus far has not been accomplished in a skyship, or indeed a conventional steamship, due to their limited endurance, and dependence on fueling and resupply bases. It will never win any beauty contests, but it wasn't built for style it was specifically designed for sustained high-altitude performance, relatively high speed, long distance travel, and general scientific survey. Concept sketch of the Torvan Science Ship Daedalus, an experimental high-performance research skyship, which is powered by the new lift tank tech used in skyboats, instead of the old lift cores.