Test Flight [Open]
There came a time in every building process where one simply had to say, "Fuck it, if it explodes, it explodes." That time had come for Karis and the gyrocopter she'd painstakingly been building in the hangar bay for the last few weeks. It was a rather rickety looking, two-seated craft with an overhead blade much like a helicopters, landing skids and two large turbine engines on swivels. In addition, it had a stabilizing tail fin and rotor to keep it from spinning out of control.
That was the hope, anyway. Karis did one last walk-around and then settled herself into the pilot's seat and snapped her goggles down over her eyes. She'd managed to cart it up to the city (because where was the fun in flying it around the hangar?) and it was time to see if the damn thing worked. The zombie flicked a few switches and then pushed the ignition button. With a roar, the overhead rotor begin to slowly spool up and the turbine engines on either side of the craft roared to life.
Karis grinned. So far so good. After letting the craft idle for a few more minutes, she hauled on the stick and the craft lifted off - slowly. She didn't want to crash into anything, after all. She took it up about twenty meters and then pushed the nose down, the turbine engines swiveling to provide thrust. The ramshackle looking craft sputtered and rattled alarmingly, but seemed to be staying together (if only barely). She nosed it forward and then applied some more throttle.
The little craft shot down the broad expanse of one of the city's boulevards. She hauled over on the stick and rolled it, darting it down an alleyway in between a towering skyscraper and a castle that looked like it might've come out of a storybook.
A few more minutes of maneuvering and the little craft seemed to be sturdy enough - and it had speed and power to boot. She carefully brought it back to her take-off point and settled it down with a swirl of dust and debris. As the engine began to idle down, she stepped out of the open cockpit (the only nod to an actual canopy was a small windshield) and settled her hands on her hips.
"Beautiful."
That was the hope, anyway. Karis did one last walk-around and then settled herself into the pilot's seat and snapped her goggles down over her eyes. She'd managed to cart it up to the city (because where was the fun in flying it around the hangar?) and it was time to see if the damn thing worked. The zombie flicked a few switches and then pushed the ignition button. With a roar, the overhead rotor begin to slowly spool up and the turbine engines on either side of the craft roared to life.
Karis grinned. So far so good. After letting the craft idle for a few more minutes, she hauled on the stick and the craft lifted off - slowly. She didn't want to crash into anything, after all. She took it up about twenty meters and then pushed the nose down, the turbine engines swiveling to provide thrust. The ramshackle looking craft sputtered and rattled alarmingly, but seemed to be staying together (if only barely). She nosed it forward and then applied some more throttle.
The little craft shot down the broad expanse of one of the city's boulevards. She hauled over on the stick and rolled it, darting it down an alleyway in between a towering skyscraper and a castle that looked like it might've come out of a storybook.
A few more minutes of maneuvering and the little craft seemed to be sturdy enough - and it had speed and power to boot. She carefully brought it back to her take-off point and settled it down with a swirl of dust and debris. As the engine began to idle down, she stepped out of the open cockpit (the only nod to an actual canopy was a small windshield) and settled her hands on her hips.
"Beautiful."