Airlords of the Ozark Question

[kalos72]

Did anyone else every notice that there is no information on what the NA cell did with the S8W Westinghouse reactor the Columbia had originally? To me, thats a HUGE piece of technology just to waste...

I think I might need to add some plot line for that gem...

[Jason]

I never noticed that, but I found the idea of a nuke-powered dirigible to be crazy (Oh, the humanity!)...so I changed it to some new-fangled experimental kind of hydrogen fuel cell and high-end solar panels.

NA leadership used the fuel cells/panels to power the patchwork airships. Airlords is a pretty cool module, I really love the strong 'spy' type subplot.

[Targan]

Originally Posted by Jason

I never noticed that, but I found the idea of a nuke-powered dirigible to be crazy (Oh, the humanity!)...so I changed it to some new-fangled experimental kind of hydrogen fuel cell and high-end solar panels.

I like it. Why didn't I think of that?

[kalos72]

Come to think of it...

What about the 2 reactors on the USS Virginia in Satellite Down or the Los Angeles SSN in Last Submarine?

The Virginia has 2 150MW D2G's and the SSN had 2 165MW reactors...thats ALOT of energy.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by kalos72

The Virginia has 2 150MW D2G's and the SSN had 2 165MW reactors...thats ALOT of energy.

Very true, although it is mentioned that no matter the outcome of the module, lack of parts and trained techs will at best result in outmatic shutdown of the reactors while any combat nearby could trigger something truely nasty.
While the reactors surely have safety mechanisms, the Virgina has been rather shredded. Who can say how that affected the reactors?

[Adm.Lee]

I was on another board when power generated from docked ships was mentioned. The USN did it with a carrier and a battleship or two after some West Coast earthquakes before WW2 (obviously not reactors).

I figured the reactor was either damaged or shut down, and NA didn't have anyone to fix or restart it. If they did, they would be using it as a static power generator-- I wouldn't risk losing it in the blimps!

[Targan]

The reactors aboard USS Virginia in Satellite Down are used for power generation. The module talks about it and from memory I think one of the maps even shows power cables running from the beached ship to the shore base they set up.

One thing I noticed years ago is that IRL the USS Virginia had a major refit in 1984 during which her helicopter hanger and hydaulic lift were removed. IIRC there was some kind of design flaw and they'd always had problems with the hydraulic lift anyway and the removal freed up space that helped with the fitting of Phalanx CIWS and Tomahawk missile systems. That may not have been the case in the Twilight 2000 universe. Correct me if I'm wrong (Satellite Down is about the only module I can't find in my collection at the moment)but one of the major personalities in the module is the ship's chief helicopter pilot or head of helicopter operations (something like that). I guess at the time of writing the module the writers weren't aware of the details of the refit. Perhaps in the T2K universethey were able to fix the problems with the hydraulic lift and keep the helicopter and its hanger. That may also have meant that the refit in the T2K universe resulted in the Virginia not having any or as many Tomahawks.

As for the nuclear reactor aboard the Columbia, the airship crashed into the side of a mountain. Even if the reactor showed no external signs of damage it would take a brave or crazy person to try and start it up again without a complete overhaul. Sure they are built with lots of failsafes but it is a case of low probability of catastrophic failure combined with incredibly severe consequences ofsuch a failure. Would you take the risk?

[Legbreaker]

Correct. The helicopter pilot was the highest ranking officer left at the end. They are also the head of the cult.