KerbalX

Description

The ‘Avon’ Class was a large, land-based civilian airliner designed in the late 940s by the Arcan Aeroplane Firm. It was notable as being among the first landplanes to be given the same luxury status as its flying boat contemporaries. Utilizing the abundance of paved runways post-Continental War, the ‘Avon’ Class alongside other aircraft of similar design began to erode the near half-century of dominance enjoyed by flying boats.
.

History

Immediately following the Troscan Empire’s defeat in the Continental War, thousands of Troscan citizens once living on the Caellian continent were now forced to relocate back to the Troscan Archipelago. All across the archipelago, once sleepy towns grew into bustling cities seemingly overnight: As such, the demand for inter-island air travel skyrocketed. Large flying boat aircraft like the Empire Class met the demand in coastal cities. The nation’s capital, Port George grew quickly and became an air travel hub with routes reaching as far as Hainei and Kowandi. The same could not be said for inland cities equipped with only older, smaller land-based aircraft which were designed more for rugged operations in Eslan and could not compete in terms of comfort, capacity and range.
.
Hundreds of paved runways were prepared for large, multi-engine bombers during the Continental War and as such, many inland cities already had the infrastructure required to support larger land-based airliners. The problem was, no such aircraft had been built yet. Sensing a growing demand, the Arcan Aeroplane Firm began development on a range of land-based airliners.
.
The Avon Class was the largest of this new generation of land-based airliners and was designed to compete directly against the Sunfish and Sunfish Major flying boats.
.
As the Avon Class did not need a specially designed fuselage to float in water, the aircraft could maintain a more optimum streamlined shape. Unlike most previous designs, retractable landing gear were a standard feature of the Avon Class, further reducing drag. On top of that, owing to advancements in aviation powerplants during the 940s; the Avon Class was equipped with a quartet of powerful 18cyl 2200hp radial engines which were more reliable and produced more power than the six temperamental engines of the Sunfish Class Flying Boat. Unusually, the Avon Class had two levels, which, helped increase the capacity of the aircraft.
.
Perhaps unintentionally, the high-wing design derived from Arcan’s experience designing flying boats and heavy bombers gave the plane’s engines necessary clearance to serve on rough, poorly maintained airfields. Even when the Avon Class was eclipsed by later designs, its excellent STOL performance kept it in service in lesser-developed parts of the world.
.
The type entered service in late 949. Though there were teething problems with the retractable landing gear collapsing on hard landings; overall the aircraft was a success with a few examples even serving today.

SPECIFICATIONS

.
MANUFACTURER
The Arcan Aeroplane Firm
.
UNITS PRODUCED
~800
.
SERVICE LIFE
949 - Current (Limited)
.
TOP SPEED
~74m/s (in game)

Details

• Type: SPH
• Class: aircraft
• Part Count: 1861
• Pure Stock
• KSP: 1.12.5

Landing Gear Instructions

.

ON TAKEOFF:

1) When you takeoff, press ‘3’ to unlock the servos.
.
2) Press ‘G’ to retract gear.
.

ON LANDING

1) Press ‘G’ to extend the gear
.
2) Once the gear is fully extended, be sure to slow down below ~40m/s
.
3) Spam the ‘2’ key until all servos are locked
.
4) Land gently

ABOVE: Landing Gear in Action
BELOW: Image of Landing Gear Mid-Fold

In case you’re wondering: No, the pistons in the folding gear don’t do anything. The entire mechanism is just two hinges and the wheels are round grip pads attached to a free spinning joint (reinforced with a hidden landing gear inside the wheel). The pistons are purely decorative and aren’t a form of suspension