GE AH-7 VTOL

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CrayModerator
07/22/02 10:32 AM
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General Electric's foray into military production has been accomplished with a singular lack of inspired names for its military products. This has been attributed to an initial oversight on the part of the new military divisions to provide for a full marketing department and current inability to pry any veteran marketing agents out of other GE divisions. Apparently, the military division's executives (former military men) have poor reputations with marketing agents, perhaps due to an infamous incident where several marketing executives were injured following their proposal to put an overbudget tank design back into R&D for a year because "it lacked adequate child safety features that might have negative impacts in the home defense market demographics."

And thus the AH-7 VTOL remains known as the AH-7 VTOL, while GE's famous line of x-ray/convection ovens have such flashy, eye-catching names as "QuikNuke" and "Blowtorch."

Despite the uninspired name, the AH-7 is a solidly designed helicopter that devotes 1/3 of its mass to weaponry. It met the Taurian requirement for a dependable, low maintenance design that would be maintained by techs with slightly worse technical training than the VTOL's tires. It is not a thickly armored aerial battleship but it was designed to deal with ancient pirate mechs, infantry, and vehicles, not Clan frontline units.

The core of the AH-7, the engine model consists of a 120 GM fusion engine nominally down-rated to 115. The engine governor that supposedly reduces the engine's rating (thus improving engine, motor, and rotor lives) often "gets lost in shipment" by the time the AH-7 is delivered to its purchaser. The "115" GM is about the most common fusion engine in Inner Sphere, finding its way onto the extremely numerous Wasp and Stinger mechs, which are still in production in the Concordat. It is mounted as a "power pack" that can be dismounted from the AH-7 with an integral slide-and-winch system, requiring about 2 hours to swap out with a new engine. Above the "115" GM is the powerful electric motor that drives the 5-bladed rotor. The rotor is directly geared from the electric motor and lacks normal, complicated linkages. Instead, the blades are twisted by integral myomers to achieve the required pitch. The engine's heat sinks' exhaust fans vent through the tail boom, eliminating the need for a tail rotor or a long drive shaft, enhancing mechanical simplicity of the AH-7. The fans vent primarily from the far end of the boom via adjustable vents, but are also spew hot air from along the length of the tail. This very long, diffuse heat emission reduces the AH-7's infrared signature.

Additional fast-twitch myomers running through each rotor blade enable blade vibrations to be damped out. The AH-7 is nearly silent but for the unavoidable rush of wind from its main rotor and tail vents - it sounds like a sustained gust of wind.

The AH-7 is laced with small flat screen displays, basically one at every maintenance panel, that addresses the concerns of poorly trained technicians. The AH-7 is usually able to guide techs through normal maintenance and train them to conduct repairs, even suggesting alternative replacement parts. Most components are mounted as modules that can be quickly replaced in the field while the module is repaired at a better-equipped facility. GE has also made a point of supplying plentiful spare parts for the AH-7 and securing local suppliers in the Concordat. Most Concordat planets are capable of building replacement parts for the AH-7.

The weaponry of the AH-7 is split between two stub wings and a roomy central bay behind the cockpit. This allows one of the simplest implementations of omni-tech yet seen. In fact, after some demonstrations of the simplicity of the system and compatibility with existing weaponry in the Concordat, the Concordat's military procurement agency dropped its initial objections to the use of omni-tech.

The primary load out is a pair of Streak 4s found on the new COM-5T Commando. The alpha configuration uses the Streak 6 of the new Taurian Thunderbolt, carries a squad of infantry, and has a nose-mounted small laser. Variations involving LRMs, MRMs, and RLs abound. The beta configuration uses the glut of old PPCs being displaced from Taurian mechs as ER PPCs are being adopted by mech forces; it is already considered a popular mech hunter. The CCAF has inquired about the possibility of a unit to carry a squad of battle armor. Initial studies suggest the armors would have to be mounted externally, two to a side facing outward.

DEPLOYMENT
The AH-7 is used for short range abuse of pirates and other typical threats to the Concordat. In appropriate quantities against standard threats (i.e. at least a company's worth of AH-7s vs an isolated pirate mech or lance), it should be a credible threat. However, the AH-7 will very likely shift toward a long range sniper role (or pack sniper) when the limitations of its armor become brutally clear. Current Taurian militia deployment favors the primary configuration simply to create airmobile infantry units; the good pod space of the AH-7 has made it an excellent "sky crane" that can haul APCs and field artillery pieces. Variants of the primary involving LRMs are already being tried by two Taurian militias.

GE AH-7 VTOL
21 tons VTOL
2.1 tons internal structure
6 tons 115 GM fusion engine
....Cruise: 12
....Flank: 18
0 tons 10 SHS
2.1 tons controls
2.75 tons armor
....Front: 16
....Sides: 10/10
....Rear: 8
7 tons pod space

PRIMARY CONFIGURATION
6 tons 2x Streak SRM 4 (front)
1 ton ammo (body)

ALPHA CONFIGURATION
4.5 tons Streak SRM 6 (front)
1 ton ammo (body)
.5 ton Small laser (front)
1 ton infantry squad (body)

BETA CONFIGURATION
7 tons PPC (front)
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer

Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
Karagin
07/22/02 01:07 PM
65.129.165.203

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Nice..fluff is cool...
Karagin

Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
Karagin
04/13/14 11:04 PM
70.118.139.48

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Was going over this one again...and I think there are a couple of issues...HMVee is saying your armor comes out to 3 tons with 4 points left over and you show nothing for the rotor but mention it in the fluff...

Also the Pod Space is 2 tons heavier then what is left tonnage wise of 5.5 tons. Below are the stats vis HMVee

Code:
   
Mass: 21 tons

Equipment: Items Mass
Int. Struct.: 15 pts Standard 0 2.50
Engine: 115 Fusion 0 4.00
Shielding & Transmission Equipment: 0 2.00
Cruise MP: 12
Flank MP: 18
Heat Sinks: 10 Single 0 .00
Cockpit & Controls: 0 1.50
Crew: 2 Members 0 .00
Rotor Equipment: Main/Tail Rotors 0 2.50
Armor Factor: 44 pts Standard 0 3.00

Internal Armor
Structure Value
Front: 3 16
Left / Right Sides: 3 10/10
Rear: 3 8
Rotor: 3 0

Weapons and Equipment Loc Heat Ammo Items Mass
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS: 0 0 15.50
Items & Tons Left: 9 5.50

Karagin

Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
ghostrider
04/14/14 12:13 AM
24.30.142.80

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poke the bear, Karagin.

maybe tell him he needs to update his program so we can see what is there better.
Granted it's hard to read, but looks like most of it is there.
Karagin
04/14/14 06:22 AM
70.118.139.48

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I am thinking something simple is not adding up, and I am willing to bet it's fractional accounting, I am still playing with Cray's stats. I know it should work...

Poking him, nope, I am asking a question, not going for anything more.
Karagin

Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
His_Most_Royal_Highass_Donkey
04/14/14 11:58 AM
208.54.86.234

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Karagin 3 tons of armor is 48 points and not 44. 16X3=48 Unless this is that new math. lol

Mass: 21 tons

Equipment: Items Mass
Int. Struct.: 15 pts Standard 0 2.10
Engine: 115 Fusion 0 4.00
Shielding & Transmission Equipment: 0 2.00
Cruise MP: 12
Flank MP: 18
Heat Sinks: 10 Single 0 .00
Cockpit & Controls: 0 1.05
Crew: 2 Members 0 .00
Rotor Equipment: Main/Tail Rotors 0 2.10
Armor Factor: 44 pts Standard 0 2.75

Internal Armor
Structure Value
Front: 3 16
Left / Right Sides: 3 10/10
Rear: 3 8
Rotor: 3 0

Weapons and Equipment Loc Heat Ammo Items Mass
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS: 0 0 14.00
Items & Tons Left: 9 7.00

It works with fractional accounting.

I would move two points of armor from the back to the rotors

I would bet on the human mind over a computer every time.
Why argue if the glass is half full or half empty, when you know someone is going to knock it over and spill it anyways.

I was a Major *pain* before
But I got a promotion.
I am now a General *pain*
Yay for promotions!!!
ghostrider
04/14/14 06:25 PM
24.30.142.80

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44 armor with 4 points left over? sounds like 48 that doesn't have 4 points allocated, but yet no armor on rotor.
oversight?
CrayModerator
04/14/14 08:04 PM
71.47.91.0

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Quote:
Karagin writes:

Was going over this one again...and I think there are a couple of issues...HMVee is saying your armor comes out to 3 tons with 4 points left over and you show nothing for the rotor but mention it in the fluff...



Sweet tap dancing holy bejeezus, Karagin. Thread necromancy 12 years back? Your necromantic powers are so awesome I bet that if you walk within a mile of cemetery you could cause a zombie outbreak a continent away.

"They're coming to get you, Barbara..."

There were a lot of problems with my design 12 years ago. I'm personally curious where my 2002AD self was imagining the lift equipment tonnage went. I can see my 2002AD self was using the original TR:3026 fractional accounting, not the later HMVee version you were using.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer

Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
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