Author Topic: Can Sky Ships land in water?  (Read 452 times)

StCptMara

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Can Sky Ships land in water?
« on: February 07, 2010, 05:55:12 AM »
You know..I read the comment from Worktroll in the thread on Airplanes about the Electoid being mounted onto seaship-like frames because most of the engineering needed was already in place. That got me wondering:

Can a Leviathan land in water? Or do they leak like seives because the engineering for the Electoid flight systems and other stuff put on them means big opening in their hull?

If they can land in water, and, let us assume that if they can land, they can also take off, can they start moving immediately, or do they need to take some "drying time" before they can begin moving again?

Worktroll

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Re: Can Sky Ships land in water?
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2010, 04:43:47 PM »
Under normal circumstances, no, leviathans don't land on water. While they hail from a naval construction tradition, being able to put gun mounts and hatches in the lower half of the hull is just too useful. Accordingly, any Lev forced down onto water will sink - quickly in the absence of any lift from its electroid tanks, from water leaking in through every casemate and hatch.

It would be entirely possible to build an "amphibious lev" - no hatches or gun mounts on the lower hull & sides. It's probable someone did it, but then failed to come up with a good reason to make another. Lev captains prefer to land in a suitable landing cradle, but have no problems "anchoring" - low power can keep a Lev safely afloat several fathoms above ground without gobbling too much coal, and (particularly for the bigger ships) it's possible to land on any moderately soft surface, as long as it's dry. Voila - instant 'cradle'.

Assuming our amphibious lev existed, taking off would be a problem - the hull would be wetted, so you'd be lifting against the additional mass of water. But possible. Movement on water though would be very limited - water's much thicker than air, and the ducted fan systems aren't optimised for that work, and control surfaces meant for air might not handle water well.

W.

StCptMara

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Re: Can Sky Ships land in water?
« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2010, 08:56:25 PM »
Ah..see, I was thinking more for a case of a Leviathan having to make an emergency landing from damage, and then do
hasty repairs so it could get back aloft..

Worktroll

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Re: Can Sky Ships land in water?
« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2010, 09:00:17 PM »
If they (say) had just enough power to generate lift, but not enough for propulsion too, that could work ... but it wouldn't be common, and without minimum lift the leviathan will sink.