Fatamic Flitterwing: Automated take-off procedure

Fatamic Flitterwing automated take-off procedure check-list:

Pre-flight check:

1. Activate Main Control System.
2. Activate on-board Life Support System.
3. Close airlock.
4. Close external vents.
5. Switch off EV subsystem.
6. Switch on external take-off warning lights (if required locally).
7. Check Main Control System panel for malfunctions. Note that any malfunctions will prevent the Flight Control System from starting up. Please refer to Appendix B2 in case of any reported malfunctions.

Take off procedure:

1. Activate Flight Control System. Note that activating the FCS will automatically activate the Communication Subsystem.
2. Wait for FCS self-test and diagnostics (15-20 seconds).
3. Check FCS control panel after startup sequence. Check Appendix B3 for reported alerts.
4. Select departure mode AUTOMATIC on FCS main panel.
5. Select celestial body of departure from FCS database.
6. Select available departure trajectory.
7. OPTIONAL: Perform locally required take-off procedures.
8. Switch on ion engines.
9. Wait for ion engines to come online (takes 10 seconds).
10. The Engine control panel is now available.
11. Check Engines control panel. Check Appendix B4 for reported alerts.
12. Confirm take-off to FCS.

Upon confirmation of take-off to the FCS, the ion engines will engage and the vessel will take off automatically tracking the selected trajectory. Upon completion of the trajectory, the ion engines will automatically switch off.

Please note that automated departures are only supported for celestial bodies available in FCS database. Avente Shipyards supplies periodic updates to the database, however manual updates are also possible (see chapter 12).

See chapter 3 for details on how to manually operate the vessel in atmospheric conditions.

- Excerpt from Fatamic Flitterwing operator's manual, pre-flight and take-off procedures.

Baumur Andromeda

The Baumur Andromeda, well what can you say? The ultimate in private space ships for a long time. Space traveling in a truly grand way.  The only ship with multiple decks and spacious enough to host your whole family and your mother-in-law...

The Baumur Andromeda was a secret project at Baumur Transports, code named "Tweety Bird". The first commercial models had two decks, later models were equipped with three and four decks, with latest models featuring a panorama lounge on decks three and four as an option.

An comprehensive options list made sure the prospective buyer was able to finish his or hers Andromeda to their specific taste. Baumur sold roughly 250.000 untis of the Andromeda until they replaced it with the more modern Orion Gazer.

Possibly the only downside was its sheer size. Due to having eight ionic pencils, the vessel needed to land and take-off on the busier transportation partition of a space port, as most ports do not support more than four ionic drivers on their recreational partition. Being a just a "pleasure boat" amongst big haulers and line ships this could lead to long wait times and physical inconveniences for the passengers. Potential physical inconveniences - like a long walk to the check-in area - were soon removed by Baumur when they offered a comfortable integrated flying car as an accessory. The owner and his party would just board the flying car and it would automatically home in on the reception area of the space port for check-in. Très chique...

The Fantamic Flitterwing

As a more luxurious offering to their very successful low priced ship the Cobalt Cuckoo, Avente Shipyards released the Fantamic Flitterwing. Design and development of the Flitterwing was a troubled project from the start. The first prototype suffered from badly designed Jarnell controls, resulting in a fatal accident killing all on board (the whole ship fell into Rigel). The second prototype made a crash landing on the plains of Krokinole, when its atmospheric propulsion failed during take off. By sheer miracle, the test pilot - the famous Waldo Kickering - survived to tell the story.

Shaken by two subsequent disasters, Avente Shipyard decided to go back to the drawing board and reiterate the design from the ground up. Within 16 months a third prototype was brought to the test. With this design Avente Shipyards had surpassed themselves and delivered a marvel of engineering, making the Fantamic Flitterwing one of the highest customizable ships in the industry, a feature for which it's widely known and loved today.

During development the code-name of the project was "Bald Eagle", referring to the birdlike shape of the craft. "Bald" in this context was obviously referring to the excessive amounts of courage the development team had and not to the state of their scalps.

Up to today, the Fantamic Flitterwing remains a hugely popular ship despite its high price tag of 850.000 SVU for the base model. A fully fitted model can push the bill all the way to two million SVU, however the proud owner is then traveling in the highest possible comfort.

Timeline of Armintor Inc.

January 1333: Introduction of the Armintor Starskip by Armintor Inc. An immediate hit in the high range private spaceships lineup. On introduction the Starskip was priced at 476.000 SVU, including taxes. With the introduction, Armintor Inc. settles itself as a high class and high tech company, based in Amsterdam on Earth.

Early sketches of the Armintor Starskip

source: Rijskmuseum, Amsterdam (Earth)

May 1334: Major upgrades available for the Starskip. Armintor goes public. The IPO makes founder Christiaan Rhys - originally from Rolingshaven - a multi billionaire. Still holding 51% of the shares in the company, Rhys continues to steer Armintor forward.

August 1336: New models in the Starskip range are introduced. the full range now offers 4 different models and numerous options to enhance the ship. Sales continue to go up.

March 1341: Christiaan Rhys retires from Armintor Inc. at the age of 53. He sells all his shares but one.

July 1344: Rhys dies when the atmospheric propulsion engine of his private ship fails during landing on the Avente spaceport. His last share of Armintor Inc. is donated by will to the "Rijksmuseum" in Amsterdam where it is on display today.

December 1399: Rigel Independent Shipyards acquires a 51% of the shares of Arminter Inc.

April 1401: The Rigel Starskip is introduced by Rigel Independent Shipyards. It's a more advanced version of the Armintor Starskip. The trade name "Armintor" is discontinued by RIS in an effort to consolidate their product lineup.

July 1407: RIS relocates the production factory of the Rigel Starskip from Amsterdam to a purpose built factory on Olliphane. The factories in Amsterdam are closed.

Model 9B

The model 9B spacecraft was developed and marketed by Rigel Independent Shipyards (RIS). The project was supervised by Kott Johansen, a brilliant but stubborn engineer working for RIS. At that time RIS was hesitant to enter the market of private spacecraft focusing mainly on large passenger craft and haulage platforms. However Johansen was convinced of its potential and eventually got management so far that they allocated budget for his project. The project was codenamed "Cuckoo".

During development of the craft a simple naming scheme was devised to identify each of the subsequent prototypes. The first prototype was called 0A, working upward to 1A, 2A etcetera. So, the 9B was in fact the twentieth model and the version that was targeted for marketing as the finished product.

Close to the completion of the project however, Johansen fell out with the management of RIS due to budget and planning issues. Just a couple of weeks before the formal introduction of the product he decided to leave RIS. With him he took vital information about the project. Also RIS discovered that the intended commercial name of the 9B was registered to Johansen himself, in stead of RIS.

In a hurry to finish the project and bring out a commercial viable product, RIS decided to baptize the craft with its latest prototype model name, "9B". The originally intended commercial name of the 9B has never been disclosed.

Shortly after leaving RIS, Johansen founded "Avente Shipyards". Avente Shipyards was was extremely successful with their Cobalt Cuckoo, a name partially referring to his work at RIS.

- From "Businesses Stories", a monthly magazine issued by Cosmopolis

Note: RIS has always denied their falling out with Johansen and issued press releases that he "just left the company to pursue other ventures". The story about the naming of the 9B has also been denied by RIS. "It's just a name, as good as any other. It's a company policy to issue non-meaningful names to products.", according to official company statements.

Buy your own!

Our universe has changed. Not just a bit. It has changed profoundly. Centuries ago the Jarnell engine brought us access to the stars and now almost anybody can afford intergalactic space travel either by public available transport or by acquiring a private space ship. A round trip ticket on one of the Vega - Rigel lines is now less than 30 SVU, including taxes.

However, if you don't fancy a trip on the commercial lines, you should consider buying your private ship. Second hand space ships sell nowadays for under 100.000 SVU. The most popular models like the basic 9B and the bigger Cobalt Cuckoo support up to four people. Although the purchase of a private ship still requires a vast amount of money by anybody's standards, a growing number of financial institutions in Oikumene are willing to supply a funding construct for someone who wants to get hist hands on private access to the stars.

People used to go to a bank to lend money for building or buying a house. With real estate prices dropping to historic lows due to new and highly optimized building technologies - a decent family house nowadays sells for under 1.000 SVU in the Rigel Concourse - there's no longer a real need for funding in this segment. Housing has become a true commodity. So banks are looking for emerging markets. Such an emerging market is financing the purchase by an individual of his or hers private space ship.

Today, prospective buyers can choose from a fast growing range of interesting offers. The popular ones from The Bank of Rigel and VF Bank on Aloysius - both considered experts and market leaders in this segment - offer a complete all-in package including insurance, pre-buy survey, registered maintenance and operator training courses for about 200 SVU per month for a basic 9B model space ship.

What will the future hold? Several scenario's are likely however private spaceflight is here to stay. Private space flight becoming a commodity is probably only a matter of time...

- "Buy your own!", abstract of a feature article in Cosmopolis on the popularity of privately owned space ships by Finn Komatsen.

Cobalt Cuckoo.

Length:	55 ft
Width:	30 ft (at widest)
Engines:	1 standard Jarnell Intersplit engine 1 standard Jarnell Pulse engine (optional)
Airlocks:	1 with 8 class AAA Bremmel safety locks (Note: Bremmel locks can be replaced by optional ScotLock locks)
Weaponry:	None.
Capacity:	4 people
Load:	12 m3
Equipment:	NavComputer with class III radio, onboard entertainment (optional), star map display unit (optional: holographic projector, coupled with NavComputer and touch sensory controls), kitchen (optional), life support system with recycling unit, atmospheric shielding (optional)

Excerpt of the official sales documentation of the Cobalt Cuckoo MkI
(c) Avente Shipyards.

The MKI models were only capable of atmospheric entry when the optional shielding component and Pulse engine were fitted. Later models had an hull upgrade which made the shielding component obsolete.

The first models sold for around SVU 225.000, including tax and had a full two year factory warrant on materials and labor. The Cuckoo was famous for its reliability and sturdiness while having a very reasonable price tag.

Cobalt Cuckoo MkI
...about to start its intersplit engine...

The later models, the MkII and the MKIII had various improvements. The MkIII had standard Atmospheric Shielding built in, standard hull extensions for weaponry and larger cargo holds. In total Avente Shipyards produced and sold about 65 million units over its lifespan, making it probably the most successful craft ever.

The last Cuckoo left the plant in Avente 90 years ago and never flew. It is on display in the museum of Avente Shipyards as a hallmark of small and affordable private spaceships.

There's an active second hand market for Cuckoos of any model and there's a broad variation of modifications and add-ons available from a large number of suppliers. A specialized company in Beyond began selling weaponry for the Cuckoo, making it a well sought after ship for brigands, pirates and buccaneers.

Note that all trademarks re Cobalt Cuckoo are held by Avente Shipyards, Avente, Rigel Concourse