KAC AF-1 Solentan
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| Type: |
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| Designer: | Kildare Aviation Company |
| Manufacturer: |
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| Development: | 1696 AN – 1698 AN |
| In service: | 1698 AN |
| Operators: | |
| Crew: | One |
| Length: | 15.24 m |
| Wingspan: | 14.02 m |
| Height: | 5.11 m |
| Empty weight: | 5,108 kg |
| Take-off weight: | 8,633 kg |
| Powerplant: | 2x Javelin Industries J89 Turbojet, 2,850 lbf of dry thrust each |
| Maximum speed: | 897 km/h |
| Range: | 1,442 km |
| Service ceiling: | 13,700 m |
| Armament: |
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| Unit cost: | |
| Status: | In service |
A seaplane developed by the Kildare Aviation Corporation, a subsidiary of the ESB Group (Apollonia) established in 1696 AN and based in the closed special zone of Port Nevermore. Designed to ensure local air superiority along the Dalmacijan coast, the off-shore islands and over the Hyperion Bay between Port Nevermore and the Mirkdale Peninsula of southern Arboria. An aircraft redeployable between any body of water would afford the forces of the United Thanedom of Dalmacija an immense advantage in the war of liberation to free Kildare of the tyranny of the Jing.
Originally conceived as a jet propelled seaplane for use by Honourable Company for communication and technology exfiltration work, the aforementioned utility of the airframe as an emergency fighter was quickly realised. The original prototypes were assembled under conditions of the utmost secrecy by captured engineers and technicians, formerly in the employ of Sokoku Industries and held under the supervision of Dr Merrick and the ESB Industrial Archaeology Programme at Port Nevermore. With the alternative of being handed over to the ethnic Kildari for torture and summary execution along with their families, the captured Jing worked diligently to produce the first six prototypes, built from captured Imperial Armed Forces components, within the simply remarkable span of ninety days.
After a couple of familiarisation flights, during which one of the airframes was wrecked whilst landing in unsettled sea conditions, the remaining five prototypes were evacuated to the Mirkdale Peninsula in Arboria. Evaluated by a constellation of aviation experts assembled from amongst the veterans of the Raspur Pact's Allied Production Matrix, several refinements on the original design were made. Production variants would feature Pact standard avionics and the Javelin Industries J89 Turbojet as the aircraft's powerplant.
With the peninsular quarantined and garrisoned by the 7th Vanguard Division, the Mirkdale Peninsula Development Authority began to build up the infrastructure for large-scale manufacturing of the seaplane during the course of 1697 AN.
Flown from anchorages in the Mirkdale peninsular the first Solentans began to arrive in Port Nevermore during the first months of 1698 AN, receiving there their armaments before transfer to the Talons of the Archon, the locally raised Humanist Vanguard forces tasked with the protection of the port area and the clearance of the last Jing holdouts along the fortified border with Arboria. By the first quarter of 1698 AN ninety-seven Solentans had passed inspection and been delivered to the Talons for operational service, organised into four "pursuit" squadrons.
In 1714 AN an order for eighty of the type was placed on behalf of the Western Natopian Demesnial Forces.
