Blogs

Following a request for more information about the Viper mkVII, the CAG, Lt. Mik Mo Morelake has found the following. 

Colonial Viper mkVII.

The Viper mkVII is the most modern starfighter used by the CDF for space and air superiority.  It is a single seat fighter,  slightly larger than the mkII, but still small enough to fit a Battlestar's launch tubes. In addition to it's fighting role it can also be used for recon, anti-ship and air to ground attacks. 

Dimensions:

Length 32.3ft, 9.86m

Height 9.68ft, 2.95m

Wingspan 18.4ft, 5.6m

Power:

Fusion reactor,  life span 20 years, powers  all on board systems. 

3 Voram thrust engines, fuelled by Tylium, with reverse thrust and nozzle vectoring for additional manoeuvring agility. 

Dradis:

Range of detection up to 400 miles in atmosphere,  40,000 miles in space. It is a complete battle management system able to track up to 72 targets continuously,  and direct attacks against 24 targets simultaneously. 

It also has a terrain following feature for low level flying. 

An ESM function detects Dradis emissions from other sources and provides an attack warning. Decoy and flair countermeasures are carried on board. 

A low level laser navigation system is also fitted to the Viper mkVII for emission free attack without using Dradis.

Armaments:

3 MEC-A12 30mm Thraxon electromagnetic mass accelerator cannons, with 1000 rounds each,  one mounted in each wing and one in the tail fin. Rate of fire is 20 rounds per second,  in 10 round bursts. Range up to 1200m in atmosphere or 9600m in space. 

Ventral weapons bay can carry up to 8 Lighting Javelin medium range AAMs, or 1 anti-ship nuclear cruise missile. 

One hard point under each wing can mount 1 long range AAM, 2 Javelins,  or 4 short range "dogfight"AAMs. Other stores for air to air, or air to ground attacks can also be carried. 

Performance:

In atmosphere maximum acceleration is 9G, normally restricted by the on board computer to 7G for pilot protection. The Viper mkVII can achieve escape velocity, mach 32.6, in three minutes. 

In space maximum acceleration is 9G. Normal cruise velocity is 1G to conserve fuel. Maximum endurance is 64 hours at 1G, 60 minutes at 7G continuous,  or 15 minutes at 9G.

Further information may be found by searching Colonial Viper mkVII in your search engine. 

Hello to all new Colonial citizens and warriors. My name is Tony Carvell, Ensign in the Raven Air Wing, and I wish to impart a few pearls of wisdom to you all. I joined the BFC via the Internet where I came across the Battlestar Raven website,  a few years ago. There was the recruiting poster of Commander Adama saying "enlist now", so I did. I then also joined Perseus Squadron as a Viper pilot. On my personal page the BFC crest duly appeared,  overlaid with the Raven crest. All well and good I thought. 

Then a year or so later I was informed that I  was not a member of the Battlestar Raven! Though I had enlisted through the Raven website,  this didn't connect with the Battlestar Raven group. 

So having joined the BFC in whatever capacity you choose,  please make sure that you join each group (ship, squadron, section or interest) that you wish to be properly enrolled in the fan club. 

Thank you for your attention, 

Ens. Tony "Aeneas" Carvell, Perseus Squadron

Ok folks we have a busy year of events coming up! First is Cleathorpes Comicon 15th April, we have 2 Chrome Cylons plus Cylon Six also some BDUs crew going to that event. Second event in April is EmCon Nottingham 29th/30th April, this event has Jamie (APOLLO) Bamber going so there should be lots of BSG costumers. See you there DLG.

 http://battlestarfanclub.com/group/bsguk

When I got out of the academy on picon, they assigned me to the battlestar themistocles;I found myself the driver of A gently used Viper Mk.III with thor squadron;I had qualified in the Mk.II,but, I found this quite an upgrade! Even as A nugget,this was just too good! Thor squadron raised A lot of hell with the cylons;This is where I bagged my first 17 confirmed kills.

When I moved on to the Battlestar Raven(where I transitioned to the Mk. VII),the chief of the themistocles promised to take good care of her;Unfortunately,about A year later,I found out some nugget cracked her up bad on landing,and she was only good for spare parts;Oh well....

THE KIT: BAD-AZZ 1/32 VIPER MK.III

This is what I got for christmas recently;This, to date, is the only kit of of the Mk.III available; It is very nicely molded in resin,and worth the $250 price tag;It comes from JT graphics,which is right now doing some re-organizing;Jeff Walclawski,the owner, mostly specializes in decals;however, he does have some resin kits in his catalog,including BSG subjects;Among those,he has A 1/2500 galactica(RDM),which he says is humongus!

This particular subject was easier than I thought it would be;And quite enjoyable; Not A lot of cleaning up of the parts;Not too many parts to begin with;Again credit to the one who molded the parts; The instructions are quite easy;However, make sure you are paying attention to the direction of each part as you are installing it; For instance,make sure you don't install the high engine backwards,like I almost did.

Not A lot of filling and sanding required;But, as you will need super glue for this hog, adequate ventilation is A must! The only thing I did different was replace the kit seat with A quickboost F-14 seat,as it looks much better; My only complaint about the construction was the canopy: You get A resin frame,and A clear vacuform mold; You have to cut the excess clear to fit the frame and trim it to fit,A very dodgy operation;And to make sure the canopy will fit afterwords; The Decals are nice,but on the very thin side,easily torn; Patience is definitely required here.

The colors I used were model master dark sea blue,for pre shading, then, hitting the individual panels with medium grey.

Overall, A good addition to my collection;Now, i'm going to have to get A basketball case for this hog!

Congratulations to all the new Ensign Pilots (salutes). It is tradition for newly commissioned officers attaining flight status to pay a cubit to the enlisted person rendering a first salute to them. Payments will be received in Joe's Bar, preferably before you get shot up by the Toasters. Also congratulations those attaining "Top Gun" status. And a special OORAH to the Pointy Nosed Viper Jocks and Rabid Raptor Drivers of the Raven Battle Group, you rock.  - Paul "Iceworm" Oakley, 1ST SERGEANT, NCOIC, Battlestar Raven Marine Detachment.

Hello Colonials,

A few weeks ago I sent the word forth about this special event set for Saturday May 20th.

For the background on this (if some of you missed it), Richard was a great lover of Japanese steakhouses & hot sake!

I attended many of these group dinners as I'm sure a lot of you have...great fun.

In his honor, on May 20th we will have a gathering in Los Angeles of all interested fans to pay tribute to Richard, talk story (an expression of his), remember & pay tribute to him.

Not with sadness, but with happiness at what he gave the fans & the world.

I invite everyone who can host one of these events in their locality to give me a shout out on this, we would really like to see multiple events.

For all of you in the Los Angeles area who would like to attend, please email me at richardhatchcelebrationday@yahoo.com

so I can get an accurate count...let's try to have all the submissions in before May 10th so I can submit a reservation.

I'm studying a start time of 7pm (and no I have not selected a steakhouse as of yet), but there are a lot to choose from in L.A.!

(Benihana's is a good candidate though!).

Everyone will be paying for their own dinner...so for those thinking of organizing one of these bear that in mind...just set up an email dedicated to this event and I'll post it up for all interested fans to see!

So Say We All!

Shawn O'Donnell

President

Battlestar Galactica Fan Club