Hello and a Question

[Lord_Raptor]

Hi all been lurking for awhile and have read the forums with great interest and finally decided to add my two cents. I just picked up High Frontier and noticed something as I have read through this. The Bombard...are the holds that can carry 38 tons of cargo, what is its troop capacity? Originally I thought it could carry a Warmek Squad or amoured company, or a battalion of mech/mobile infantry.

 

[Purkle-chan]

Well a C130 can carry 19 metric tonnes of equipment, rgouhly half the Bombard. It can also carry, in place of pure cargo, 92 combat ready troops or 64 fully equipped paratroopers.

So the easiest thing to would be double those figures. As for carrying tanks or meks, you're not going to get that many of either inside one of these things. Plus, meks tend to be on the heavy side, so only your really small ones are going to be transportable.

 

[Lane Shutt]

Well a C130 can carry 19 metric tonnes of equipment, rgouhly half the Bombard. It can also carry, in place of pure cargo, 92 combat ready troops or 64 fully equipped paratroopers.

I've been thinking about the same problem.

The C-130 would be a colossal aircraft (based on length)
If you assume an aircraft can transport one unit the size category smaller, two units two sizes smaller etc. you get a capacity of 64 personnel.
The problem is you get 16 HMMWV sized vehicles which is about 11 more than actual.

I would say an aircraft equipped with cargo bay doors (dedicated transport) could carry a number of vehicles equal to (size difference ^2)/2 and loaded combat troops (size difference ^2) and lightly loaded personnel
1.5 x combat troops. Minimum would be one unit of one size class smaller.
Aircraft without a cargo door could transport personnel/ troops but no vehicles.

As a reality check I'll use the small aircraft I frequently ride in.
It is size medium and normally transports 6-8 passengers in seats. This would be equal to the lightly loaded personnel rating. However we pack in 12 people (nut-to-but) for short trips.

 

[Lane Shutt]

I've been working on the transport capacity problem and come up with a better system for load capacity. The system uses cargo points as a measure of volume.

A Transport aircraft has a number of Cargo Points equal to it's fuselage mass divided by ten, rounded up. The maximum size of a transported unit is one size category smaller than the aircraft. Max payload in tons still applies.

An aircraft may be designated as a heavy transport by paying 50% extra for the fuselage. This doubles the Cargo Points available.

Vehicles of Tiny size and above occupy Cargo Points equal to their Chassis mass divided by ten, rounded up.

Vehicles of personnel size or smaller occupy 1/2 cargo point is combat ready or 1/4 if crated.

Aircraft may be transported in another aircraft, such as helocopters shipped to a combat zone, at twice the normal number of Cargo Points and nust be partialy disassembled prior to transport.

A Cargo Point may also be used to transport personnel. Each point provides space for eight combat ready troops or twelve passengers.

Civilian transport use one cargo point per eight luxury or twelve normal passengers, this includes stored baggage.