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Atlantean AirshipAn Atlantean Airship in the Coronean Skies |
The
Atlantean airship is a popular air vehicle used by the inhabitants
of Atlantia on Corona.
Though the Atlanteans take great pride in
customising their vehicles, some details are the same in most of the
airships. The central part of the ship is the floating balloon. The
balloon can be made from a large variety of materials, and may be
filled with lighter-than- air gases, low-pressure air mixes or
near-vacuum. The most popular type of balloon is a smartex shell filled
with helium and coated with solar cells. The smartex balloon is capable
of changing its shape to aid in navigation, and can even change its
lift by shrinking or expanding to change the helium's density.
In addition to the floating balloon, all Atlantean airships
also
feature one or more sails made of a special variant of fancloth.
The
fancloth for the Atlantean airships are made so that the fan openings
can be closed, providing the airships with something that looks and
acts like standard sailcloth sails. The sails are relatively useless as
propulsion devices when switched to standard sail style, but for
aesthetic reasons Atlanteans tend to use the fancloth only when they
need to go against the course dictated upon them by the wind, and
otherwise cruise with billowing sails. The power for the fancloth is
most often produced by solar cells, but may originate from any power
source. Though many Atlantean
airships mimic sailing ships in the
arrangement of their sails, there are more that feature their own
unique setups. One popular alternative arrangement consists of three
pairs of mast, with one of the pair towards the front of the balloon
and one towards the back, each pair 120 degrees around the balloon's
circumference from the other two.
The passenger compartment of the airships can take many forms from
enclosed cabins, to open terraces on the top surface of the balloon, or
even utility fog holding passenger's feet to the surface of the balloon.
See
also Vacuum
Dirigibles and other lighter-than-air craft