UFO technical questions

>
> Hi Jason,
>
> These are areas of especial interest ares of mine, hope the following helps:
>
> --- In [hidden email], Jason Sweet <hurdlehawk@> wrote:
>
> 1. How exactly do the SKY aircraft re-dock?  Are the rocket nacells also used as flotation devices when the craft lands in the water?
>
> A: Never explained in the show, but we do know from a few episodes (Ordeal etc.) that Sky/Diver combinations CAN re-dock at sea. Best educated guess is that Skyx (we know from the show that there at least 4) skims in to a sea landing, submerges to a fixed point, and then Diverx manoeuvres (as it probably has more thrusters positional controls etc. than Skyx) into place behind Skyx and then manoeuvres and re-docks.
>
> 2. Also concerning the SKY aircraft, I know that the pilot enters a chute to get into the aircraft - and you can see him being raised into the cockpit, but what happens in-between? Does he scramble to the seat from the chute?
>
> A: Again, never explained in the show. But, my guess is that the pilot 'drops' into his seat at the end of the chute (just as with Virgil Tracy in Thunderbird 2) and is then elevated into position in the cockpit. If you watch the show, the vertical elevation of the Skyx pilot looks smooth, and mechanical.
>
> 3. I also have the same question on how a pilot enters a moon-base interceptor. We all know that he goes down a chute into the bay area, but where then does the pilot go once he does this?  Does the chute take him into the take-off and landing dock to where he simply climbs into the interceptor?  If so, is the landing dock pressurized before he climbs in?
>
> A: Once again, never explained in the series. This particular question has been raised before, and I believe the consensus and my best guess is that the Interceptor Pilot slides down a chute, and into his pilots seat which is housed in a pressurized self-contained rescue pod (similar to an F-111). Obviously, the Interceptor pilots do not wear spacesuits, so something such as this must be the case. Also, as may be seen from many of the episodes it is clear that the pilots do not 'change' once they are seated in their craft.
>
> I believe that the Interceptor Pilot's Pod is then in some way inserted/installed into a waiting Interceptor. Whether the Interceptor itself is normally housed in a pressurized or unpressurized 'bay/hanger' will always be open to question. But, the fact remains that the Interceptors will need to be serviced, re-fueled, re-armed, etc. so it makes sense that the Interceptors would need these services in a practical (shirtsleeves) and hence pressurized people-friendly environment, then once completed, await the Pilot/Module once a red alert has been sounded.
>
> This would imply that there would be an airlock between the people friendly Moonbase (maintenance) side, and the open to Moon atmosphere 'hostile' side. The air volume of the Interceptor launch bays is huge, and would be impractical if not impossible to pressurize/de-pressurize, on a regular basis. Also, there is no indication of pressurization when the crater floors slide open, and at the speed they open would suck just about everything out of the Interceptor bays.
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Regards,
>
> Griff
>

>
> Another thing to consider based on the episodes: I viewed a cutaway section of Skydiver and it seems that the end of the slide leads into the aircraft and the pilot moves through a narrow hallway to the seat. In the episodes the pilot appears to raise up suggesting the seat rises into the cockpit. As for the Interceptors I think Griff is correct. I thought the pilot enters into the aircraft but blueprints of the Interceptors show the engines and mechanics-there is no way to slide into the craft from the rear. From the pics I have seen of the bases that rise to the surface I don't see any visible equipment that would move the pods into the Interceptors which is too bad because that would have been cool to see.
>
> --- In [hidden email], "griffwason" <griff@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Jason,
> >
> > These are areas of especial interest ares of mine, hope the following helps:
> >
> > --- In [hidden email], Jason Sweet <hurdlehawk@> wrote:
> >
> > 1. How exactly do the SKY aircraft re-dock?  Are the rocket nacells also used as flotation devices when the craft lands in the water?
> >
> > A: Never explained in the show, but we do know from a few episodes (Ordeal etc.) that Sky/Diver combinations CAN re-dock at sea. Best educated guess is that Skyx (we know from the show that there at least 4) skims in to a sea landing, submerges to a fixed point, and then Diverx manoeuvres (as it probably has more thrusters positional controls etc. than Skyx) into place behind Skyx and then manoeuvres and re-docks.
> >
> > 2. Also concerning the SKY aircraft, I know that the pilot enters a chute to get into the aircraft - and you can see him being raised into the cockpit, but what happens in-between? Does he scramble to the seat from the chute?
> >
> > A: Again, never explained in the show. But, my guess is that the pilot 'drops' into his seat at the end of the chute (just as with Virgil Tracy in Thunderbird 2) and is then elevated into position in the cockpit. If you watch the show, the vertical elevation of the Skyx pilot looks smooth, and mechanical.
> >
> > 3. I also have the same question on how a pilot enters a moon-base interceptor. We all know that he goes down a chute into the bay area, but where then does the pilot go once he does this?  Does the chute take him into the take-off and landing dock to where he simply climbs into the interceptor?  If so, is the landing dock pressurized before he climbs in?
> >
> > A: Once again, never explained in the series. This particular question has been raised before, and I believe the consensus and my best guess is that the Interceptor Pilot slides down a chute, and into his pilots seat which is housed in a pressurized self-contained rescue pod (similar to an F-111). Obviously, the Interceptor pilots do not wear spacesuits, so something such as this must be the case. Also, as may be seen from many of the episodes it is clear that the pilots do not 'change' once they are seated in their craft.
> >
> > I believe that the Interceptor Pilot's Pod is then in some way inserted/installed into a waiting Interceptor. Whether the Interceptor itself is normally housed in a pressurized or unpressurized 'bay/hanger' will always be open to question. But, the fact remains that the Interceptors will need to be serviced, re-fueled, re-armed, etc. so it makes sense that the Interceptors would need these services in a practical (shirtsleeves) and hence pressurized people-friendly environment, then once completed, await the Pilot/Module once a red alert has been sounded.
> >
> > This would imply that there would be an airlock between the people friendly Moonbase (maintenance) side, and the open to Moon atmosphere 'hostile' side. The air volume of the Interceptor launch bays is huge, and would be impractical if not impossible to pressurize/de-pressurize, on a regular basis. Also, there is no indication of pressurization when the crater floors slide open, and at the speed they open would suck just about everything out of the Interceptor bays.
> >
> > Hope this helps,
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Griff
> >
>

>
> On a slightly related question: if the Interceptor pilots are sliding directly from Moonbase into their ships, shouldn't the hatches covering the launch bay be visible in shots of Moonbase?
>
>
> Michael
>
> --- In [hidden email], "Don Drago" <thunderbass12@> wrote:
> >
> > Another thing to consider based on the episodes: I viewed a cutaway section of Skydiver and it seems that the end of the slide leads into the aircraft and the pilot moves through a narrow hallway to the seat. In the episodes the pilot appears to raise up suggesting the seat rises into the cockpit. As for the Interceptors I think Griff is correct. I thought the pilot enters into the aircraft but blueprints of the Interceptors show the engines and mechanics-there is no way to slide into the craft from the rear. From the pics I have seen of the bases that rise to the surface I don't see any visible equipment that would move the pods into the Interceptors which is too bad because that would have been cool to see.
> >
> > --- In [hidden email], "griffwason" <griff@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi Jason,
> > >
> > > These are areas of especial interest ares of mine, hope the following helps:
> > >
> > > --- In [hidden email], Jason Sweet <hurdlehawk@> wrote:
> > >
> > > 1. How exactly do the SKY aircraft re-dock?  Are the rocket nacells also used as flotation devices when the craft lands in the water?
> > >
> > > A: Never explained in the show, but we do know from a few episodes (Ordeal etc.) that Sky/Diver combinations CAN re-dock at sea. Best educated guess is that Skyx (we know from the show that there at least 4) skims in to a sea landing, submerges to a fixed point, and then Diverx manoeuvres (as it probably has more thrusters positional controls etc. than Skyx) into place behind Skyx and then manoeuvres and re-docks.
> > >
> > > 2. Also concerning the SKY aircraft, I know that the pilot enters a chute to get into the aircraft - and you can see him being raised into the cockpit, but what happens in-between? Does he scramble to the seat from the chute?
> > >
> > > A: Again, never explained in the show. But, my guess is that the pilot 'drops' into his seat at the end of the chute (just as with Virgil Tracy in Thunderbird 2) and is then elevated into position in the cockpit. If you watch the show, the vertical elevation of the Skyx pilot looks smooth, and mechanical.
> > >
> > > 3. I also have the same question on how a pilot enters a moon-base interceptor. We all know that he goes down a chute into the bay area, but where then does the pilot go once he does this?  Does the chute take him into the take-off and landing dock to where he simply climbs into the interceptor?  If so, is the landing dock pressurized before he climbs in?
> > >
> > > A: Once again, never explained in the series. This particular question has been raised before, and I believe the consensus and my best guess is that the Interceptor Pilot slides down a chute, and into his pilots seat which is housed in a pressurized self-contained rescue pod (similar to an F-111). Obviously, the Interceptor pilots do not wear spacesuits, so something such as this must be the case. Also, as may be seen from many of the episodes it is clear that the pilots do not 'change' once they are seated in their craft.
> > >
> > > I believe that the Interceptor Pilot's Pod is then in some way inserted/installed into a waiting Interceptor. Whether the Interceptor itself is normally housed in a pressurized or unpressurized 'bay/hanger' will always be open to question. But, the fact remains that the Interceptors will need to be serviced, re-fueled, re-armed, etc. so it makes sense that the Interceptors would need these services in a practical (shirtsleeves) and hence pressurized people-friendly environment, then once completed, await the Pilot/Module once a red alert has been sounded.
> > >
> > > This would imply that there would be an airlock between the people friendly Moonbase (maintenance) side, and the open to Moon atmosphere 'hostile' side. The air volume of the Interceptor launch bays is huge, and would be impractical if not impossible to pressurize/de-pressurize, on a regular basis. Also, there is no indication of pressurization when the crater floors slide open, and at the speed they open would suck just about everything out of the Interceptor bays.
> > >
> > > Hope this helps,
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > >
> > > Griff
> > >
> >
>