It was originally two unrelated requests for maps by D&S and the late Woldlands that got a bit out of hand.
The altitude is based on the available maps and the colour levels in it; Roendavar is rather green according to Verdon's maps so it looks flat in comparison to e.g. Balnik. I haven't attached any value to the colours yet. There are 12 levels in total.
Because of RL time commitments, I won't be able to continue serving as 10000 Islands emissary here. XKI will name a replacement in a bit. Glad to have been here!
On a scale of naught to "Oh for goodness sake not again", how annoyed/impressed would you be with me if I wanted to introduce HOTOL as an in-use aircraft in Altera's cosmonautical inventory?
A radical Commonwealth design for a future aircraft carrier and upgrade of the current Phoenix Class carriers.
As part of the Commonwealth's CVF programme, several concepts were fed into the original design stage - prior to the confirmation of the 'Phoenix-A' class carrier. One of these studies, was a design not to dissimilar to the British Stealth Trimaran Carrier (STAC) designed in the 1980s - this design designated in the Commonwealth as the 'Phoenix-T' carrier. Although the Phoenix was considered groundbreaking, the announcement of the 'Phoenix-T' redesign caused considerable interest across the region, with several nations proposing partnerships to develop and build a carrier of their own in this configuration.
The proposed Phoenix-T carrier, launching P.125 VTOL fighters, escorted by a Commonwealth Global-Destroyer.
Although a highly advanced design, the Phoenix-A was not the carrier the Commonwealth dreamed of
The trimaran design sparked much interest in the Commonwealth prior to the completion of the original Phoenix carrier in 2015 - despite not being selected. One of the main reasons cited for not choosing the trimaran design was cost - as completing the ship to that specification was a vastly expensive project to afford alone. Instead, the Commonwealth Navy ended up with the less technical and costly Phoenix-A design, lacking the catapults and extra space provided by the trimaran. During the completion of the Phoenix-A, the Commonwealth MoD ordered the development of a scaled version of the trimaran ship, in order to evaluate its potential. This test ship will evaluate the benefits of the Trimaran form and will, if successful, create the necessary confidence to begin a multi-national effort to construct the trimaran aircraft carrier in the future as a possible successor to current and future carrier designs.
The Phoenix-T concept has a very low radar cross section, its profile being that of a small ship, making it trickier to detect than a current similar carrier. The stealth aspects of the design are meticulous, with every part of the ship's design being scrutinized for maximum effect. To contribute to its low RCS, the original design featured no moving external parts, whilst the exhaust from the ships engines is vent through the dies of the inner and outer hulls, considerably reducing thermal signature. Whilst the current Phoenix-T design has some external, moving parts; future radar upgrades will included fully enclosed systems to maintain maximum stealth.
The Phoenix-T has a major advantage over conventional designs, in that it can operate all types of aircraft, including CTOL and STOVL design. This capability it possible due to the unique design of the Phoenix-T. Its central flight deck is fitted with a ski jump (similar to that of Invincible Class carriers), with an embedded electro-magnetic catapult system - similar, but more refined, version of the less-well-known 'Electropult' of the early 1950s. The electro-magnetic catapult, whilst not as advanced as those systems currently in development in the United States, assists S/VTOL aircraft (such as the Harrier, P.125 and JSF) to take off whilst carrying a heavier payload - thus enabling S/VTOL aircraft to launch with higher amounts of fuel and weapons, than compared to launching purely under their own power. Meanwhile, the portside flightdeck is equipped with a standard steam-catapult to enable launching of standard CTOL aircraft (such as the F-18 Hornet, F-21 Seraphim and P.112 Sariel). As this flightdeck is not curved like the ski-jump, it would be possible to fit an electro-magnetic rail system (namely the 'Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System' (EMALS) in development in the United States) once they become available.
Side-loading lifts would be a thing of the past in the Phoenix-T, instead utilizing a rotating flight lift located at the stern of the ship. This unique lift style would allow for the rapid re-arming and stowing of aircraft and would be operated similarly to automated car-park systems seen in metropolitan cities in The Western Isles, Europe and Japan.
The 88,000 tonne vessel could operate an air wing of up to 55 aircraft using both flightdecks
Survivability is paramount to the success of any naval operation, particularly in the the Western Isles region - where the majority of combat operations involve utilising naval assets. The Phoenix-T concept features separate landing areas in order to make recovery of aircraft possible, even if seriously damaged. The trimaran platform also offers many advantages over conventional carriers in both terms of speed and stability. It would be possible for the carrier to theoretically exceed speeds of 40 knots, not currently possible in single-hull carriers. However, due to the limitations of technology and spending in the region, this speed is only theoretical, with a speed in excess of 25 knots more likely. Nevertheless, this speed would help this ship to enable rapid deployment to conflict areas and would make targeting the Phoenix-T much more difficult.
One of the main advantages of the trimaran is the stability of the flightdeck. The most dangerous part of any carrier operation is the approach and recovery of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters due to the pitch and rolling of ships, frequently seen during operations. The trimaran platform provides a much more stable platform in high seas, making operations considerably safer than currently possible.
Aircraft: Tailored air group of up to 46 aircraft (55 full load) -- P.125 Gabriel -- P.112 Sariel -- Various CTOL/STOL/STOVL/VTOL aircraft -- Various medium sized drones -- Various small/medium tilt-rotors -- Various combat/utility/recon helicopters
Investors In order for the development to proceed, there needs to be at least 5 major nations (GDP $500B+) investing in the project. A total of $8 billion will need to be raised for the project to be completed.
Upon project completion, investors will be able to purchase a Phoenix-T for a discounted $3 billion. Non-investors will be required to pay $4.2 billion per carrier.
Estimated completion in June 2016.
Franco-albion
Commonwealth Navy wishes to upgrade current Phoenix-A to Phoenix-T; 'Charlotte'. -- Invests $2.5 billion
Polar svalbard
Polar Svalbard Navy wishes to procure 1x Phoenix-T; 'Egersund'. -- Invests $0.75 billion
Bhumidol
Bhumidol Navy wishes to procure 1x Phoenix-T; 'Bhujangasana'. -- Invests $1.1 billion