| PHD #273: Learning about the Modified Vipers |
| Summary: | Wade tracks Trask down to ask questions on the famous Mark Seven point Fives. |
| Date: | 26 Nov 2041 AE |
| Related Logs: | None. |
| Players: |
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| Ready Room |
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| With the hatches at the rear of the room, the walkways on both sides slope down towards the dais at the front of the room. The stadium seating forms a partial semi-circle around the speaking podium and provides enough seats for all three hundred members of the Air Wing. The walls are adorned with the patches of each squadron aboard and their mottos stenciled in white lettering above each one. Behind the podium is a set of large LCD screens that can display any matter of material from reconnaissance to maps to gun camera footage. |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #273 |
For the most part, Wade has been keeping to himself after being dressed down by Khloe. However, there are a couple things he wants to ask Trask, about the Memo sent by Cidra. Having asked around, Wade was informed that Trask was at the Ready Room, so, with location acquired..the man decided to make his way there. He is currently wearing his Officer outfit, the blue one. The man steps inside the room and looks around for a moment before moving further. "Lieutenant Trask" says Wade after spotting the man, and walking towards him. He stands straight and offers a firm salute to the Harriers SL, finally lowering his hand but still standing straight.
Aforementioned SL is indeed here, reviewing the flight footage of a Raptor that is less than fluid navigating one of the many debris fields surrounding Tauron. No duty blues for him, however, which is not at all surprising. No duty greens, either, which tends to be his default. This moment finds him in his flight suit, helmet atop the adjacent desk. Pausing the feed, Bootstrap turns his attention to the newly arrived JiG. Returning the salute with a cursory courtesy, he greets, "Drips." There is an unspoken question there, evident in the vaguely bemused look. "I take it that this isn't a social call."
Wade shakes his head at Trask's comment and then takes a deep breath "That would be correct." Now he presses his lips together and nods "Been looking for you, actually. I've received a Memo from Major Hahn, about being a test pilot for the Seven-point-fives?" He has a copy here but the man is pretty sure Trask already read it. He clears his throat at this and continues "I actually wanted to learn a little bit more about them, if you have the time?" Another nod "I'm afraid that, after leaving Saggitaron, I spent a few weeks in sickbay and didn't get to visit Areion or hear a lot of details on these mods. I do know they are supposed to be made for each pilot, to focus on the Pilot main skills?"
For an assessing moment, Kal considers what has been said. The truth is that he very much was in the middle of something, as is evident by the flight footage and the notes he was taking. Even so, he refrains from being sarcastic in reply. "A'right," he decides. "Figure I can do that much for what you did for Sweet Pea an' Skeeter." To then answer the first question, "Pretty much. Their engineers studied the flight styles of their pilots and then made tweaks the Vipers to accommodate for those tendencies, either to compensate for weaknesses or to otherwise augment their performance."
Wade remains in silence for the moment, but needless to be said, Trask comments on Sweet Pea and Skeeter caught him off guard. The man presses his lips together and shows a very faint smile, nodding at this "Thank you, sir" Now, he takes a deep breath, shuts up, and listens. After the Harriers SL explains the deal with the modifications, he nods in acceptance and rubs his hand over his chin "So, in any case, the performance of the pilots would be increased. Either because they don't fall into repetitive mistakes on their flight, or…because they have their skills enhanced." He clears his throat and considers a couple things for a few seconds "What's the setback? I mean, while the idea does sound rather inviting, I'm sure it has a weak spot. Well, aside from the fact that you push birds away from general use"
"Considering our current state of resources," Trask drily remarks, "that's more than a wee bit of a flaw." Idly, he starts to fiddle with the pen in his left hand, perhaps pondering possibilities. "I suppose it could make a pilot get sloppy. They get used to their tweaks, they stop doing the work to compensate for their shortcomings. Someone needs to be damn good on the stick, though, to even benefit from such mods, so maybe skill will still pull through during crunch time should they be required to fly something other than their modded bird."
Wade considers what has been said by Trask and decides to nod in acceptance "I agree. So, the mods need to count. I mean, whoever pilots these birds need to be on top shape, and not get sloppy because of this…because at any point, the pilot may have to use an normal Mark Seven." He nods to this again and takes a deep breath "Ok, I need to focus on that. It will certainly be interested to be able to flight one of these modified birds, I am not going to lie. But I will make sure to, not get sloppy" To this, he offers a faint smile and then asks "And simulator programs have been loaded up for testing then? I take it will collect data from each pilot and decide on what fits that pilot best"
"The models were primarily to test our ability to create models that reflect the performance levels of the schematics," the SL explains. "It's my intention that between interviewing the selected pilots and heavily reviewing their flight footage, we'll draft our own mods. Whether or not that's how it'll pan out, I dunno. It's all since been passed off to the Deck. Chief Damon is probably in a position to better answer your questions. I won't be touching anything until all the analysis has been completed and we're ready to start designing."
Wade nods in acceptance to the information offered and he clears his throat "Well, my flight footage is available, I do hope you get enough date to be able to use." There is a brief smile again and he adds "As for interviewing, feel free to ask anything you want to know." The pilot now takes a moment to look around the room, focusing back on Wade right after that. "In addition, I'll hit the sims a bit more…good practice is always welcome and it helps gather data." Does he want to do this? Heck yeah.
There is a bit of a /look/ leveled at Wade, Trask's mouth pursing a bit as though he were refraining from saying something snarky. Finally, somewhat flatly, he points out, "I'm not reviewing the footage. I'm also not conducting the interviews." Beat. "I suggest speaking with Major Hahn and the Chief." Lightly, the pen is flicker-tapped against the notebook.
Wade notices the look and when Trask talks, he sort of shakes his head "Right, yeah…sorry about that." He half chuckles at this and shakes his head, excited Wade is excited to try modded Vipers. Now, he looks at the man again and nods "Very well, Lieutenant. Thank you for your help" He stands straight again, salutes the ranking officer and then nods again "I'll leave you alone" With that said, the man turns around, and makes his way towards the exit. More than likely, headed to the Sims.
It's an amiable enough smile that Bootstrap offers. "No blood, no foul, Drips." The faux pas is already forgotten. "Like I said, speak with Damon. I imagine Doc will be among those from the Wing analyzing the footage." A jaunty little salute of two fingers to and fro the SL's temple ensues. "Clear eyes and steady hands." And then it's back to reviewing footage of his own.