Wings of War: The Raven (no 56k)

The SE- 402 Raven Mark IV, like most Jekotian and later Northern Faction aircraft designs, went through a number of drastic changes in both function and design that spanned over two decades.
Nearly 40 years ago, during the last “great War”, the Jekotian Council for Defense commissioned the development of a new multipurpose ground attack and light utilitarian aircraft. The winning bid came from the troubled Seritaki Aerospace Company whose imaginative designs often ran afoul amidst production woes and mismanagement. Never the less, citing the company’s recent take over by arms giant “Raven Arms Co.” the Council of Defense awarded the contract and work began immediately.
Coined the X-14 Raven in honor of Seritakis new benefactor the craft soon took shape utilizing classic massive lift fans and forward heavy weapons mounts. Before a prototype could be constructed, however, the need for an air to air fighter comparable to the Brenodi’s new M42 Temptress which had begun to overpower the aged but reliable NR-12 Bore, became apparent. As an interesting side note the basic design of the Raven Mark I was eventually sold to the civilian transport firm “FlowCraft” who successfully produced it as a light transport aircraft.


Advertisment for Delux Flowcraft transport. Notice its flat paint scheme, customers could choose from a wide range of colors.

Making a number of changes to increase the speed and maneuverability of the craft, the X-14, in Jekotian custom, was denoted with Mark II but retained its name and model number. The Mark Is large lift fans were removed in favor of large angled wings sporting an undercarriage for mounting additional ordinances. Smaller, more streamlined fans were installed to offer a VTOL capability vital in forward base operations as well as the shrinking number of fixed airstrips. The craft’s tail, now required to tolerate high-speed maneuvering, was completely replaced along with nearly all of the control surfaces and undercarriage.
Two months after when the prototype emerged she displayed an aggressive yet ungainly appearance that many pilots likened to a crushed insect. Despite misgivings five were constructed and trials soon began. Such radical changes in design greatly improved performance but still failed to create an adequate counter to the Brenodi threat. Interestingly the Mark II excelled in ground attack exercises, the original role for which its predecessor was designed. Clearly unfit for its new role the five prototypes were scuttled and work began anew.


Print out of Mrk II with engineer markings. Notice the drawing in the corner that would eventually become the Raven's logo.

The Mark III greatly resembled its ill fated predecessor with the marked exception of a completely redesigned tail. Utilizing newer materials and an internal restructuring engineers were able to offer flexibility without sacrificing the notorious strength that came to be expected from Jekotian aircraft. Large combination flaps/air breaks were installed on the front of the wings to aid in low speed maneuvers as well as high altitude dogfights. The two Henderson and Flott power plants were upgraded with high intake forces induction models which, with an added 300 horse power, attempted to increase speed via brute force. A computerized control system was integrated in the hope that the Raven, unstable at high speeds, might overtake the competitor she was being designed for.


Mark III Schematics

 

Desperate for any increase in air power the Defense Council ordered production to begin immediately and, six months later, the first Mark IIIs, now designated the SE-402, entered service. As what limited testing that was done indicated the SE-402 preformed poorly when pitted against the more agile, sophisticated Brenodi M42 but was proved a capable ground attack platform employed with great success in the Koln Campaign.




Top: Damaged photo of a pair of Mrk IIIs leaving rear airbase in southern Jektonia.
Bottom: Mrk III goes down near Koln after encountering Brenodi Fighters.

It was at this time the Raven’s lead designer, Heimlich Germing, was killed by Brenodi patrols while traveling to the south to visit family. Devastated by the loss of their leader but eager to alleviate the problems plaguing the Nation’s frontline fighter, Stanly Patterson took over the project and work on the Mark IV began.
Free from constraining emotional attachments to the previous Raven incarnations, Patterson under took the most radical changes in the design to date. Patterson, a new hire from an Aerospace firm in the South, had been schooled in Brenodi aeronautical thought including the latest theories on airflow and drag reduction. Citing the very features of the SE-402 that caused it to excel in a ground attack role as its greatest hindrance in achieving air superiority, Patterson discarded the twin rocket pods housed in the front of the craft and brought the immense rotary cannons from above the cockpit to below. The entire frame was narrowed, bringing the wings in closer to the fuselage and leading edges were installed to improve high speed performance. The beguiled tail section was once again completely replaced, this time with a streamlined, reinforced composite with recessed rivets and connection joints.


SE-402 Raven Mark IV

In rushed field trials the Mark IV greatly exceeded Defense Ministry requirements in all areas save speed which, despite numerous changes, still remained below that of the Temptress. In spite of this set back 3,000 were ordered and, later that year, the first batch of 32 arrived in front lined positions and immediately began to produce the desired affect. Driven by the skill only desperation could create Jekotian pilots utilized every advantage of their newest fighter, managing for the first time in three years to push back Brenodi airpower. With losses mounting Temptress pilots soon found it safer to utilize their own craft’s superior speed to out run their competition rather than engage them.
The SE-402 Raven Mark IV would, however, arrive too late to stem the surging Brenodi forces and within a year of its deployment the seat of Jekotian government fell. Leading Jekotian High Commanders whose forces had yet to come under Brenodi control quickly gathered the surviving Mark IVs, 573 of the 719 produced, as well as the schematics, production equipment and parts needed to produce hundreds more and transported them to hidden caches far into the Northern Province Badlands, the ancestral home to much of the Jekotian brass. With the foundations laid for future generations to rise up the remaining High Commanders lead the victorious Brenodi armies further south, away from their hidden weapons stores, until they were surrounded and eliminated four months later.
Although the Northern Faction emerged much later than their resourceful predecessors would have desired, they nevertheless managed to discover and employ the aged Mark IVs with mixed results. In spite of its age and inferior technology the Mark IV, in the hands of talented pilots, has proved a potent threat to Imperial Air forces in what few engagements have been fought to date. Yet, Imperial forces continue to mobilize and with time will certainly emerge victorious against the inferior equipment and training of the Northern Rebels.

 

woah,,, cool :D

 

pretty

 

Wow, those are some changes. Hot damn though does it look great.

 

Bravo

Simply put, brilliant. A nice creative way to showcase those models, now onto the Brenodi aircraft :D

 

I loves it. The cockpit doesn't mesh too well with the nose of the final model, but whatevs. :p

 

Actually only the Mrk 4 model will be in game (perhaps the Mrk I transport). The others are snap shots from the evolution of the "raven" from conception over a year ago to the final product which I finished last week. Its funny how the Mrk III was going to be the NF fighter until about a month ago when I decided it looked too clumsy and decided to do a remodel. I think the results were plesant enough.

 

I meant the Mark 4, yes. The nose is all smooth and rounded, whereas the glass and cockpit frame is flat and angular. The point where they intersect is all funky.

 

Meh, I like the Mark III better. It's got that NF feel to it. The Mk. IV, not so much.

 

sweet! the mark IV could use some ductape tho :>

 

I'm liking the guns there, I was rather frightened of it not being much in the way of guns and only being missiles (I must have misunderstood something someone said, probably the hitscan thing in a different thread)

 

Guns are not that great in air to air combat at extreme speeds. Homing missiles is where it's at.

 

Wheels on sides of mk 4 are weird. Other than that model looks great. What about textures? :>

 

Lean Green and unseen... uuh wrong one.. :D

Thats some drastic evolution you got there... It seems like it evolved from a "Biplane" to a "Super sonic jet" in a matter of years (Based on your story :p)

How about the poly count on each one? Did it stay rougly the same as well?

 

well its not that the tech jumped by that much but rather the design and role of the craft...which is more plausable. Actually I had those models and I made a story to explain the changes :-)

Polys on the Mrk IV are alot higher but I dont have the counts

 

I wanna see the temptress before actually judging weather or not it looks to high tech.

 

Aww, I actually kinda wish this was an upgrade, so that you would kinda laugh at the Mk 1's, which would serve as a dropship or gunship, up to the deadly Mk 4's came out, ready to blow everything away.

oh, and please, please have it so that flying at an increased speed increases the damage that the aircraft's weapons do, so straffing an opponeant at high speed is as good as at low speed where you get more time to get more shots in.

Think about games such as Halo 2, where because the shots do the same amount of damage either way, the banchees just slow down to as near to a hover as they can when firing, making it LAME.

Sweet models though.

 

are these things going at extreme speeds then? do we at least get to try using guns if we want to spurn missiles anyway - esp. when they look nice and pretty on the plane(well not really plane, hovary thing, infact if it doesnt flap could one be called a scorpian?)?

ooh and my other question, will AA guns have a minimum angle to have some merit in hedgehopping? or is that something we wont be allowed to do with 1. lag and 2. extreme speeds?

 

If you fly slow, you're less maneuverable and approaching stall speed.