Scratch notes - Pilot's Journal - Shin 'Hachiju' Kazama
"Am I the only person who's having trouble hitting moving Target's with the Bat's canno? I mean, sure it's got a massive punch if you do manage to connect, but that's easier said than done. Three minutes of continuous fire sounds like a lot, but not when you're only putting out 5 rounds a second. Everyone else is putting out ten times that. But if you want to put a dent in something fat or slow, it'll more than do it. That cockpit feels like a nice, secure place to be. It feels like it'll bring you home, and when you get there, the handling is just plain unfussy with no vices. Light weight lets it do exactly what you tell it to, exactly when you tell it. Docking with a Blackbird was tricky because it's a bit bigger than a Zig, but the controls helped. "
"The Cutlass is everything you'd expect from Bellecom at their best. Unfortunately, it's just that bit too large and slightly too short in leg. Same for the Vampire. Technically outclasses everything here by a margin in armaments and surviveability, but that's what you'd expect when the others are small enough to be carried by both of them. If it was my money for myself, I'd buy the Vamp'. But I can't see one ever fitting inside a B-36 hanger bay. "
"The Dragonfly is the only natural two-seater here which makes pilot training much easier, and reduces the workload on the pilot. Side-by-side layout makes a lot of things a lot easier. Twin-engines give it the chance to soak up some damage too. Everything feels tough and the ground-crews love it. It's hard to find anything that it does wrong. Maybe a little too conservative and secure in handling because of it's trainer roots. It needs a little help to make it dogfight. It's a big, friendly dog that never stops reassuring you and making sure you're OK. It's the buddy you want to go to war with."
"The Wasp. It's well named. I wonder if this is how the test-pilots of the first Zero felt? It subscribes to the same philosophy and when you sit in it, feel like you're sitting inside a swiss watch - beautifully precise, but fragile. There's nothing here that doesn't need to be there. It will run rings around everything here, carries just enough weaponry to do damage, and more than enough performance to keep you out of trouble - if you know how to use it properly, and you learn their weird interface paradigm. Otherwise, it's just a fine carbon coffin for a green pilot. When the pilot's only armour is provided by the guns and their ammo-bins, and you're wearing a flightsuit that makes you feel practically naked, you just never, ever feel secure. And it can lawn-dart itself if you fluff the landing and have to go-around. Experts only, and pridefully so. "
"The Trident is a good compromise. Does most things well, nothing badly. AR system is outright fun even if it takes time to get used to and it feels so compact when flying it that you start to go for gaps you really shouldn't. There's no real wing to worry about clipping. Despite the small size, there's a lot of structure around the pilot protecting the blind-spots. The cockpit is a secure place For a first time outing, it is a stellar effort.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
"Am I the only person who's having trouble hitting moving Target's with the Bat's canno? I mean, sure it's got a massive punch if you do manage to connect, but that's easier said than done. Three minutes of continuous fire sounds like a lot, but not when you're only putting out 5 rounds a second. Everyone else is putting out ten times that. But if you want to put a dent in something fat or slow, it'll more than do it. That cockpit feels like a nice, secure place to be. It feels like it'll bring you home, and when you get there, the handling is just plain unfussy with no vices. Light weight lets it do exactly what you tell it to, exactly when you tell it. Docking with a Blackbird was tricky because it's a bit bigger than a Zig, but the controls helped. "
"The Cutlass is everything you'd expect from Bellecom at their best. Unfortunately, it's just that bit too large and slightly too short in leg. Same for the Vampire. Technically outclasses everything here by a margin in armaments and surviveability, but that's what you'd expect when the others are small enough to be carried by both of them. If it was my money for myself, I'd buy the Vamp'. But I can't see one ever fitting inside a B-36 hanger bay. "
"The Dragonfly is the only natural two-seater here which makes pilot training much easier, and reduces the workload on the pilot. Side-by-side layout makes a lot of things a lot easier. Twin-engines give it the chance to soak up some damage too. Everything feels tough and the ground-crews love it. It's hard to find anything that it does wrong. Maybe a little too conservative and secure in handling because of it's trainer roots. It needs a little help to make it dogfight. It's a big, friendly dog that never stops reassuring you and making sure you're OK. It's the buddy you want to go to war with."
"The Wasp. It's well named. I wonder if this is how the test-pilots of the first Zero felt? It subscribes to the same philosophy and when you sit in it, feel like you're sitting inside a swiss watch - beautifully precise, but fragile. There's nothing here that doesn't need to be there. It will run rings around everything here, carries just enough weaponry to do damage, and more than enough performance to keep you out of trouble - if you know how to use it properly, and you learn their weird interface paradigm. Otherwise, it's just a fine carbon coffin for a green pilot. When the pilot's only armour is provided by the guns and their ammo-bins, and you're wearing a flightsuit that makes you feel practically naked, you just never, ever feel secure. And it can lawn-dart itself if you fluff the landing and have to go-around. Experts only, and pridefully so. "
"The Trident is a good compromise. Does most things well, nothing badly. AR system is outright fun even if it takes time to get used to and it feels so compact when flying it that you start to go for gaps you really shouldn't. There's no real wing to worry about clipping. Despite the small size, there's a lot of structure around the pilot protecting the blind-spots. The cockpit is a secure place For a first time outing, it is a stellar effort.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?