New Hampshire Battleship Lover
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Feasibility of a sailboard in space
08-05-2011, 03:51 AM
I'm wondering if a windsurfer/sailboard would be a candidate for a handwaved small ship, assuming that life support is provided for. A sail, after all, is a source of propulsion.
If it is, how fast could it move in open space? I'm assuming a weight of 150 pounds empty, and 500 with a full load. There's an assortment of assorted stuf, and Saoirse's gear.
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Go for it. There're other sailing craft up there after all. Hard part's re-entry... Reminds me of Treasure Island a little bit.
And Jet might like Saoirse if she travels around on a sailboard... Jet was aiming for a similar type of vehicle. Open and out and free in space.
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New Hampshire Battleship Lover
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Going for it
08-05-2011, 06:14 AM
I am going to go for it. What would be a reasonable top speed for a handwaved racing sailboard? It's as light as practical, to get SPEED. Naturally, the speed will be dependant on the angle relative to the solar wind, like any sailing craft--and a storm will really make her move--but also be risky. I'm hoping that speed around 15-18% of lightspeed is reasonable, pushing close to 20% when there's a bad solar storm.
How fast could she go in atmosphere? For example, zipping around the University of Ottawa...
Of course, that means that she carries no weapons or armor.
Have to be careful behind anything that shadows the solar wind--like a large planet, perhaps. There may be unpredictable eddies and calm spots near them, as well as the expected calmer space.
New Hampshire Battleship Lover Wrote:I am going to go for it. What would be a reasonable top speed for a handwaved racing sailboard? It's as light as practical, to get SPEED. Naturally, the speed will be dependant on the angle relative to the solar wind, like any sailing craft--and a storm will really make her move--but also be risky. I'm hoping that speed around 15-18% of lightspeed is reasonable, pushing close to 20% when there's a bad solar storm.
How fast could she go in atmosphere? For example, zipping around the University of Ottawa...
Of course, that means that she carries no weapons or armor.
Have to be careful behind anything that shadows the solar wind--like a large planet, perhaps. There may be unpredictable eddies and calm spots near them, as well as the expected calmer space. Maybe 12%-14% normally and 16% in a bad storm? Speed is not only a matter of mass of the ship, but also a matter of "was this thing fast before we waved it" or even "would Fen think this thing is fast?"
Thats why the Blackbirds (especially the original one) are that fast, because it fits their original purpose and abilities.
New Hampshire Battleship Lover
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Fast enough
08-05-2011, 07:32 AM
That's fast enough to permit sailboarding to Mars. 14% C is just over a half hour Earth to Mars at closest aproach, and about 3 hours (or a bit more) at the extreme, allowing for going around the sun. She'd use a racing board. How about when skysurfing around campus, on Earth?
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Quote:I'm wondering if a windsurfer/sailboard would be a candidate for a handwaved small ship,
Gah. I'm suddenly envisioning a tiny sub-faction of the Senshi who perversely chose to template themselves off http://dl.toonamiarsenal.com/download.p ... fid=000048]the Saban Nightmare...
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Bob Schroeck Wrote:Quote:I'm wondering if a windsurfer/sailboard would be a candidate for a handwaved small ship,
Gah. I'm suddenly envisioning a tiny sub-faction of the Senshi who perversely chose to template themselves off http://dl.toonamiarsenal.com/download.p ... fid=000048]the Saban Nightmare... Ack! Ninja'd!
(That's what I though of as soon as I saw the subject in the forum list, too...)
Not that there isn't a place for "you did what???" in Fenspace, mind you.
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them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
New Hampshire Battleship Lover Wrote:That's fast enough to permit sailboarding to Mars. 14% C is just over a half hour Earth to Mars at closest aproach, and about 3 hours (or a bit more) at the extreme, allowing for going around the sun. She'd use a racing board. How about when skysurfing around campus, on Earth? Most nations on Earth are pretty restricting on Handwaved stuff.
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New Hampshire Battleship Lover Wrote:How about when skysurfing around campus, on Earth?
Depends.
How well can you hold on? Or, how much are you willing to have it hurt *when* you fall off.
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Dartz Wrote:New Hampshire Battleship Lover Wrote:How about when skysurfing around campus, on Earth? Depends.
How well can you hold on? Or, how much are you willing to have it hurt *when* you fall off. Just because you can 'wave something, doesn't mean you should. - Blackstone's First Law
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New Hampshire Battleship Lover
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Bad points indeed...
08-05-2011, 08:36 PM
Falling off would indeed be BAD. And I LIKE Blackstone's First Law. But-Saoirse is an experimenter, and a small board like that, built for speed, would allow FAST trips around the inner system. I plan on her having some definate problems with the board...
As for restrictions, they are there, but so are permits in some nations.
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Better make sure you got a good strong lifeline... and a well-proven coms set.
blackaeronaut Wrote:Better make sure you got a good strong lifeline... and a well-proven coms set. I smell at least one "rescue the surfer" operation for Space Patrol. 
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