CA-A4 "Porpoise" Multi-Purpose Aerodyne
CA-A4 "Porpoise" Multi-Purpose Aerodyne is a relatively small dieseltech airship manufactured by Rostrax Aerostat & Aerodyne for civilian and commercial use.
The Porpoise is relatively inexpensive as airships go, though it still lies beyond the purchasing power of most individuals. Still, RA&A has gone to great lengths to minimize the cost of the vessel, and it remains one of the least expensive aerodynes capable of traversing an inflection layer. The manufacturer offers an installment program to promote adoption among small- to mid-sized businesses across the Manifold Sky, with new and used models sold through MartMart International catalogues and delivered almost anywhere in the Manifold on approved credit. Many small bands of mercenaries and hazardous-condition salvage reclamation crews have gotten their starts aboard Porpoises, trading them away for larger vessels as their operations expand.
Propulsion
The Porpoise features twin dieseltech powerplants which are connected to the counter-rotating coaxial impellers by clutches, a differential, and a separate gearbox. One engine can be shut down and serviced while the other is operating, giving the Porpoise a notable advantage in terms of operational endurance.
The Porpoise is an aerodyne, meaning that it uses its own forward motion to generate lift in excess of that provided by its gas bladders. The power plants of the Porpoise are located at the center of its radially symmetric body. The counter-rotating impellers pull air in through vents in the forward end to be pushed out at a plug nozzle at the aft end of the airship. Using cable-actuated control surfaces around the plug nozzzle to redirect or block portions of the exhaust air flow, the Porpoise has a limited degree of thrust vectoring capability for improved maneuvering.
Weapons & Armament
As an airship designed primarily for civilian markets, the Porpoise does not have an armed production variant. Nevertheless, some crews expecting to face combat have replaced the upper and lower observation bubbles with ball turrets sporting 18mm grease guns. This retrofit is relatively inexpensive on the Porpoise, which makes it a popular choice among irregular forces or those expecting to traverse particularly dangerous regions of the Manifold such as the airspace over the Red Velvet Desert.
Armor and defense
The Porpoise's lifting gas envelope has only a thin metal foil skin, as more extensive armor would likely weight the vehicle down too much. Porpoise crews must rely on active defense or escape to deal with attackers.
Communication Tools & Systems
The commercial-band radio communications system integrated into the Porpoise is fairly basic, only allowing two-way RadNet communications within a range of about 10 miles. The Porpoise's radio sysem can recieve messages at much greater distances, depending upon the strength of the broadcast antenna involved, but even then has difficulty parsing any signals from beyond the current tesseract.
Sensors
The Porpoise's avionics packages is paired with a set of periscopes with limited zoom capability so that the crew can see out of the ship without the need of dedicated spotters.
Hangars & docked vessels
The limited carry capacity of the Porpoise means that few of these airships carry other aircraft, though skymoths are sometimes carried to act as launches or inter-inflection layer suttles. More often, some of the Porpoise's cargo capacity is set aside for utility skeletons or even combat auto-armor. The HC-1 "Meantwig" Hazardous Condition Auto-Armor, MF-A2 "Kirie" Traversal Auto Armor, and KF "Knave" Fast Attack Auto-Armor are common choices for both utility and wet weight reasons.
Nickname
Porpoise
Designation
CA-A4 Multi-Purpose Aerodyne
Manufacturer
Price
9100 NGC; or 2000 NCG down/2000 NGC per year for 5 years
Rarity
Common
Beam
125 ft
Length
200 ft
Complement / Crew
Minimum 2 (pilot plus navigator)
Cargo & Passenger Capacity
6 passengers, 2,000 lbs cargo
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