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Appalling 11 - Mission to send a Hurricane to the Moon and back!

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 8:33 pm
by Jammy
I was inspired by Broadswords stories and felt like making my own. This will involve the game Kerbal Space Program and mind you, it is the first time i've actually played the game so I have no clue if my plan will work. Should be fun!

Prologue

The war was long over. Life had changed its focus on the Soviet Union and her ambitions. The race was on to see who could set the first man on the moon. I of course, didn't really care. But life has it's ways of pushing you towards the Unexpected.

I had just lost my second job as a shop-keeper and wondered the streets aimlessly somewhere in England. Despite having fought in the war as a pilot in 501 Squadron I didn't have much to fall back on.
Stumbling into a bar late that night I helped myself so some chips and a lemonade in an attempt to drown my woes. Pulling out a piece of paper I randomly started scribbling my good old war steed, SD-Y, reminiscing on those dark but great days.

Unbeknownst at the time a man took a seat next to me, watching me carefully before introducing himself.
It turned out he used to work for Hawker Siddeley designing the Hurricane. We both shared our stories and the amazing feats this wonderful machine had done for the nation.
Soon though he took me outside and asked me if I was unemployed. I hesitated at first, but I admitted my dire situation to him.
He then offered me work for something "Top Secret" and that he needed someone with my understanding of what was needed in the perfect fighter.

I naturally recoiled at this offer. But a moment of thought later and a peek inside my wallet forced me to accept this mans offer.
He shook my hand, lead me to his car and we were off towards goodness-knows-where.

Week 1 - Day 1: "Area 501"

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Multiple heavily guarded check-points later we entered a place only known as "Area 501". Publicly this base doesn't exist, so it was a real shocker to be there.
The man parked outside a guarded building and led me up some stairs. When we finally reached the top we entered a room with a single man seated. My "friend" exited the room and the mysterious figure revealed himself to be none other that Sydney Camm himslef!

I was flabbaghasted. He shook my hand and told me "I was just the man he was looking for".
After regaining my posture I asked him exactly how I was supposed to help the greatest aircraft designer in the world.
He explained as he wrote on a piece of paper, that life has been found on the Moon. These "Moonmen" have assisted the British Government in obtaining a certain amount of technology in exchange for vast supplies of Marmite. This news shocked me, but I knew it was true. After all the price of Marmite had grown exponentially in the last couple of years.

When I asked him how this involved me he continued. It turns out that the Soviets have recently landed a Top Secret unmanned spacecraft there, the Sputnik 5. It is stealing alloys used in the Moonmens technologies and inadvertently ruining the core of the Moon in the process. MI5 had apparently warned the Soviets but they refused to listen.

I thought that was terrible, and asked Camm what we should do. Apparently that's where I came in as he showed me his scribble:

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I was to build a Space Fighter capable of traveling to the moon, destroy the Soviet spacecraft and return home to Area 501. The challenge was daunting and I had no experience in any of this, but Camm confidently put his hand on my shoulder and said ... "You flew Hurricanes during the Battle of Britain didn't you?"

"Why yes sir I did indeed!"

"Well ... when you saw those huge formations of Heinkels and Messherschmitts, what would your Squadron Leader say?"

"M-my Squadron Leader sir?"

"Yes Jammy! What would he say?"

"He'd say 'Bugger' sir!"

"Ye ... mnNNO! AFTER THAT!" he replied quickly.

"Oh err, he'd say 'Tally Ho!"

"Precisely!" He said giving my back a solid whack. "Despite the odds we can do anything! Especially if you have a Hurricane! Now get out there and show those Ruskies Jammy! Save the Moon and Save Earth!"

With these re-assuring words in mind I set off to work.

Week 1 - Day 3: Designing the space fighter

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I had at least learned a few tricks from the battles I had fought in. So I decided to start off by building a Tear-Drop canopy capable of Space-Travel. You never knew if those Space Ruskies would jump you with a Dog-manned satelite!
As I went I opted for a jet engine, rather than the reliable Merlin. There simply wasn't any air for it to work properly. Still I thought, it would do the trick.
Air intakes, wings, flaps, instruments were added and then:

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WALLAH!! It was completed!... Sure, the radiator was abit slanted and the wings weren't straight but I had built a Space Hurricane!
I named by brilliant creation the 'Hawker Galaxy', a perfect reflection of the potential it carried!
It's maiden flight was set for tomorrow, and her Test Pilot would be a Moon Man by the curious name of "Jebediah".

Week 3 - Day 7: Launch of Hawker Galaxy X-1

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The weather was perfect. No clouds, no wind and the Galaxy x-1 was showing off its (lets be honest here) minor resemblance to the glorious Hawker Hurricane. The Moon Man Pilot climbed into the cockpit, gave the signal. And he was off!!

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...

I noted the problem as the wreckage spilled around. "I might have neglected to add ailerons to the wings". Jebediah was rushed to the hospital. These Moon Men are certainly made of hard stuff, ideal for these sort of cenarios.

Week 5 - Day 5: Hawker Galaxy X-2

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After rebuilding the X-1 I did not forget to add the ailerons. I even went a step further by adding two massive extras into the fuselage as well.
The launch would commence the next day.

Week 5 - Day 6: Progress

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Once again the Galaxy showed off its brilliance in the sunlight! Jebediah (who had just recovered the day before) hopped in as fearlessly as any pilot from Mandrel would have in the face of danger! He signaled once more ... and he was off!!!

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He veered off to the right and I expected the worst, but just has he was about to ram into a small building he lifted!!! HUZAAAAAA.....

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.... DRAT!!!

Week 8 - Day 1: Phoenix Reborn

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After a week of studying the wreckage and info from the Moon Man Pilot it was realized that the wings were far too small for it to maintain control. So after a few new changes I got myself a pretty big wingspan.

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To me it looked no less glorious than the last. In fact it was quite majestic. But I feared that its weakened structure would compromise the reputation of a Hawker designer aircraft.
Regardless, it had to be tested. Three days of waiting due to bad weather.

Week 8 - Day 4: Fingers Crossed

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The mood was somber. Even the Moon Man Pilot had finally gained some scepticism after two violent crashes. But he did not hesitate.
He gave the signal ... and throttled up cautiously. Then ... suddenly!

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It lifted like a bird and went nose up towards the sky!!! IT WORKED!!!!

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The gears folded in and he performed various maneuvers to test the abilities of my design. It looked marvelous!!.. except those times his wings wiggled violently from side to side.

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Satisfied with the performance, Jebediah announced his intentions to land. The real challenge had begun...

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The Pilot certainly knew his stuff. The airspeed was kept at a minimum as he clearly still struggled to keep the wings stable.

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I held my breath as he approached the runway. Could he land it?!!!

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After what seemed like a perfect landing the Galaxy X-3 suddenly swung from side to side and started to break apart!
I closed my eyes as it spun towards the hangar waiting for the inevitable explosion ... but, it never came. Everything was dead silent.

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I opened my eyes again to behold Jebediah march from the surprisingly intact wreckage of the X-3! The workers shouted "Hurrah" and flocked around the Moon Hero and I was equally elated. I had built a plane that was sturdy enough to be worthy the title of a Hawker!!!
Still, despite this success there were clearly some flaws that needed ironing out. And I hadn't even gotten far enough to figure out how to get it all the way to the Moon and back, and fully armed...

The day was won, but the war wasn't. It would only be a matter of time before the Moon would fall apart. I had figure out the solutions quickly!
No time to waste, and no time to figure out why I am in charge of saving the world either!

To be continued

Re: Appalling 11 - Mission to send a Hurricane to the Moon and back!

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 9:28 pm
by Broadsword
Bravissimo!! :B:

Wonderful stuff Jammers :nice: Can't wait to see where this goes. Loved 'Area 501', loved the jauntily angled air intake (can't possibly be a problem :lol: ), love the design, loooove the last picture of the heroic Jeb.

My only criticisms would be... needs more struts, needs more engines, needs more explodey-bits :nice:

Re: Appalling 11 - Mission to send a Hurricane to the Moon and back!

Posted: Thu May 10, 2018 12:43 am
by Jammy
Chapter 2 - Inching closer to victory

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We celebrated well into midnight and to the point where Jebediah the moon man got so intoxicated that he went into a coma. We didn't discover until later that moon men didn't have any natural resistance to alcohol. Whoops!
Despite this setback I was now confident that my new design was ready to take on the Soviet space menace! Work resumed the following morning.

Week 8 - Day 5: Hawker Galaxy X.5

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Upon my request my old squadron banner was recovered from a dusty storage room in London and graced us with its piggy goodness on the hangar wall. By now my confidence was through the roof and I set to work almost immediately.
I increased its fuel capacity to accommodate a journey to and from the moon and strapped a couple of dummy bombs under the wings. After all I thought, two bombs were more than enough to blast a few columns of Germans Panzers to smithereens back in Africa.

The final test flight of the Hawker Galaxy would take place the day after and flown by a new Moon Man by the name of Bill. Atleast his name is easier to pronounce.

Week 8 - Day 6: The final frontier?

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A gentle breeze could be felt as they prepared X.5 for launch. Bill gave a thumbs up, sealed the canopy and set off!

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I didn't know what to say ...

My first reaction was to blame Bill for his blatant incompetence. The craft had gone into an immediate elevator spin before twisting itself into destruction. But Sydney Camm himself interrupted my bashing and told me that my craft was still too crooked and heavy. I piped down abit and allowed myself to get taken into his vault. There he showed me diagrams of his most prized creation.

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"Remember Jammy..." Sydney said as he rolled up a blueprint. "... a true Hawker design keeps it Flat and Tidy! You'll do well to remember it"!

"Yes sir! I will not fail you again!" I replied as I absorbed his genious. I was a fool to think Sydney would demand anything but perfection. It was back to the drawing board for me.

Week 10 - Day 1: Nice and Tidy

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I was able to salvage some parts of my design, but it was in effect a new aircraft. Atleast now I could with complete confidence refer it to a Hawker design. Flat, confident, a brand new Merling Jet Engine with some cool-ish aileron bits to keep the airflow controllable. Two more days of finalizing the changes.

Week 10 - Day 4: Hawker Galaxy X-7

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This plane screamed Hawker all over. Bill having survived the earlier crash and verbal harassment from yours truly jauntily hopped onboard and got ready for take-off.

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A good aireal lunge ...

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Pls no ...

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Fek!

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The plane was simply too heavy. But Bill had shown to be a capable pilot, saving all but the brand new Merlin Jet. Sadly this was already bad enough. There simply was no replacement available. The engineering team confirmed later that afternoon that they could only get it working back to 40% capacity.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Week 10 - Day 6: Operation Tumour

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The engineers didn't like it, Bill didn't like it, but most importantly I despised it! But now was not the time to be choosy. If this monstrosity can get this craft into space then it will have been worth it. I organized the team to get it ready before sunset ... and before the crew of the Avro Ashton we stole the engine from found out.

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It was hardly a glorious sight. Bill was squeezed into the now crammed cockpit and the crew ducked into their ditches. When the engine warmed up its flames I decided to follow suite.

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Incredibly, it didn't fall over and crash as I had anticipated. Rather it kept gaining altitude and started circling. Either Bill was a magician or this was too good to be true..!!!

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... and just as hope had kindled itself the Hawker Tumour stopped mid-air and fell into an unstoppable spin. Bill, bless his green soul, did his best to save the wreck by initiating the parachutes but it really wasn't designed to dampen the fall with a giant engine mounted to the canopy.
We had allot of explaining to avoid ...

Week 11 - Day 3: On Dry Ice

Things were looking grim. Not even the great 501 banner could keep my spirits up. We had completely lost the best engine available and the replacement was not going to arrive for another two years. Sydney had left to attend an important conference meeting with the big dogs and I was left here without a clue.

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That changed when I came across an old picture taken by Secu, showcasing an idea Bunny had toyed with during the Battle of Britain after missing three bomber interceptions in a row. It was too late to be put into action and Bunny's backside was burnt to a crisp, which didn't impress the airwar committee in the slightest. However thanks to his efforts the idea was perfected and his creation was turned into the "Hurricat", a marvelous one-time-use interceptor against the villainous Condor bombers.

The idea struck me. "Why not strap one massive rocket to the Hawker Galaxy"?
Work was resumed.

Week 11 - Day 5: The Super-Galaxy

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I had not forgotten to keep Sydney's words in mind. The wings were swept to keep it as fast as possible and of course, a massive rocket was shoved into it's backside. Bob the Moon Man will have his work cut out for him tomorrow.

Week 11 - Day 6: Pls take off I am suffering

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It had just stopped raining. The Super-Galaxy Mk.1 was slowly rolled onto the runway and set in position. Bill, as happy as that Jeboobidah fellow got in and gave us the two thumbs up. Best case scenario would be for the craft to reach cloud level, then glide down to earth. Wost case the rocket would blow up mid-air. I bit my teeth and clinged to my workpad.

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With an almighty "VROOOOOM" the plane shot into action. No throttle on this beast!

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I stared with awe as my jaw hit the floor. It kept going at an insane speed and was soon out of eye's reach! I demanded a telescope and switfty put the lens to my eye.

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A tear fell from my eye. This was better than anything I could have dreamed off. The Super-Galaxy breached the atmosphere and ran out of fuel ... IN SPACE!!!!

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I dawned on me later that there was the tiny little possibility that Bill would be stuck up there if action was not taken. I personally told him to return to base at once. But without any fuel, and admittedly some sloppy control surfaces, he was stuck. Joy turned into a headache. Our only option was to wait and hope for gravity to take him back.

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With no small amount of patience we spotted him re-entering our atmosphere. He reached more alarming speeds and was heading for the atlantic ocean.

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But Bill was no amateur. Despite having given him what was essentially a single elevator to control the craft he made the best possible crash landing only severing the front end of the Super-Galaxy. He announced his and the miracle space fighters safety. We clapped and celebrated, but only for a second.

Area 501's existence could not be compromised, so we had to get to Bill before any of the other super powers curious enough to do a search.

I hopped into a fast helicopter and was even given a Squadron of Electric Lightnings as escort. You can't be too careful when the world is at stake I guess.

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To be continued

Re: Appalling 11 - Mission to send a Hurricane to the Moon and back!

Posted: Thu May 10, 2018 3:28 pm
by Broadsword
Excellent stuff, Jammy :nice:

Great to see that you're not letting those commie bastards get away with their moon-pilfering. The designs are progressing well, you and Sir Sydney are doing us proud! Still needs more struts and sticky tape, and you should probably replace the fake bombs with real ones, but overall I have great faith in your ability to pull this off :nice:

Anyway, on to the scores...

Hawker X-5 - Looks good, crashes well, what's not to like? 4/5
Hawker X-7 - Looks great, backflips well, a strong contender. 8/9
Hawker Tumour - Looks brilliantly awful, teases success before exploding, the perfect KSP vehicle. 5/7
Hawker Super-Galaxy - Sexy as. Actually works. Floats in a pinch. Wunderbar! 13/10
English Electric Lightning - literally the best thing ever. One googol percent :D

Re: Appalling 11 - Mission to send a Hurricane to the Moon and back!

Posted: Thu May 10, 2018 4:22 pm
by LuftAsher
This is great. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.