N3 "Honeyguide" Air Cog
The N3 "Honeyguide" is a small airship specialized in guiding client fleets to new locations within the Manifold without having to be permanently attached to the fleet proper. It is almost exclusively fielded by the Navigator's Guild, though second-hand Honeyguides are sometimes modified for use as fast, inflection- and commissure-capable passenger and scout craft by other, poorer organizations. Crew accommodations aboard a Honeyguide are spartan, with most of the vehicle's mass devoted to communications equipment, propulsion, and structure.
Power Generation
The twin dieseltech engines of a Honeyguide provide prodigious electrical power when in operation, and the vessel is equipped with battery banks and biodiesel reserves to extend it's operational time. A Honeyguide can dwell for several days without landing or docking at a skystation.
Propulsion
A Honeyguide is a hybrid semi-rigid airship with a triangular (flying wing) lifting body surrounding the fuselage. Two powerful dieseltech engines provide large amounts of thrust which can be vectored though special exhaust assemblies at the trailing edges of the lifting body wings. A Honeyguide is easily capable of traversing inflection layers and commissures when under power.
Weapons & Armament
Most Honeyguides carry minimal armament, both to reduce the overall weight of the vessel and in keeping with the ostensibly politically neutral status of the Navigator's Guild. Honeyguides come from the factory unarmed. Aftermarket light machine guns may be mounted on turreted hard-points on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of a Honeyguide to dissuade air piracy (such as by the Avarix Corps), with the turrets being controlled remotely by the NavGuard officer stationed in the cabin.
Armor and defense
While a Honeyguide is not heavily armored, it's vital systems are concealed within it's lifting body, making direct hits difficult to achieve. Because the lifting body of a Honeyguide is comprised of relatively advanced materials and is subdivided for redundancy and control, the vessel is difficult to down quickly in all circumstances.
Communication Tools & Systems
The structural spine of a Honeyguide is strung with long antenna coils to provide high radio sensitivity, which, when combined with the multi-band radio system mounted in the fuselage, allows a Honeyguide to operate as a sort of mobile air traffic control tower and navigational beacon.
Sensors
Because the passenger cabin of the Honeyguide is buried deep within the lifting envelope, the vessel is typically flown via instruments alone. A series of magnifiers and small mirrors provides direct vision through the gunnery turrets and the fore and aft ends of the vessel, while complex dieseltech or electromechanical computer mechanisms tied to the vessel's clock, radio, and inertial guidance gyros provide viewers with useful navigational data overlaid on the scope image. Spherical compasses, various weather sensors, and more nuanced engine readouts than most other airships round out the standard sensor set of a Honeyguide.
Additional & auxiliary systems
While the Honeyguide possesses a relatively small crew and passenger complement compared to other dieseltech airships of similar size, all passengers and crew can live aboard the vessel for a nearly indefinite period of time, albeit in cramped conditions akin to those of a submarine. Four micro-gravity bunks (with storage meshes for personal effects), a sealable chemical toilet, a cabinet filled with ration packs, and two small holds for NavGuard auto-armor and weaponry provide living accommodations for Honeyguide crews.
Class
Nickname
Honeyguide
Manufacturer
Crew
Owning Organization
Rarity
Honeyguides are uncommon, though many are seen docked at popular skystations.
Width
125ft (envelope)
Length
125ft (envelope)
Height
60ft (envelope)
Weight
24,000 lbs
Speed
75 mph
Complement / Crew
2 crew (1 Navigator and 1 NavGuard) plus all gear
Cargo & Passenger Capacity
2 passengers (usually Navigator's Guild officials or rescued airship crew) plus all gear
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