Comparison of a Formula X ship to a Public Spaceship
Formula X spaceships are fire breathing, highly tuned speed machines, compared to refined, quiet, comfortable public ships, but just how different are they? To answer this question, they can be separated by a number of different categories:
Purpose
A racer is an out-and-out racing machine; a public spaceship is designed to transport one or more people from one destination to the next, which essentially differentiates the two ships in terms of their intended function, and from there the main differences become apparent.
Engine
Power compared to vehicle weight. The lighter and more powerful a spaceship is, the faster it goes; a very simple concept, and one which is taken to the extreme in comparing a Formula X racer to a public ship. The top racers have (as at the end of the 2298 season) an engine producing in excess of 15,000 THz. The list of Formula X championships above shows how the racers have gained more power over the years, along with becoming lighter and lighter, as more research is put into the ships to make them more efficient with better and lighter materials. A public ship has an engine of typically 500 THz, although the most powerful have over 2,000, but although this seems a large enough number, they are much heavier than the racers, the lightest public ship on sale today is the Fellucia Siesta at 29 tons, three times the weight of a typical racer. The highest power-to-weight ratio of a public ship was the Sunstar Type C which featured 200 THz per ton; pretty impressive, but compared to a Formula X machine of nearly 2,000 THz per ton, puts that into perspective…
Shape and design
As a racer only exists to race, the design is totally uncompromised. The shape of a racer is purely dictated to by the necessities of accommodating the highly tuned and powerful engine and specialised turbine and thruster units. The cockpit is also located in the most strategic position to allow the pilot the best view to give him or her the ability to position the ship in the most advantageous way during a race, and also of course to minimise the risk of hitting their fellow competitors, which is an ever-present risk in close-quarter racing. A public ship, on the other hand, is designed to minimise engine and thruster noise and vibration, so the accommodation is generally placed as far away from the powerplant as possible. Also, the windows for the people on board are usually placed to allow them to see outside, for the best views of planets and moons.
Living accommodation
This of course is where a public machine has one up over the racers. Public machines are generally very comfortable and feature living quarters for the travellers, including sleeping facilities. A racer has none of these accoutrements. Of course, it does not need them, as they are used in races that take typically less than an hour, a pilot won’t have time to think about relaxing. Public ships that are designed to go long distances, for example travelling from Earth to Mars, a sleeping provision is essential.
Pilot flying aids
A public ship can fly itself, indeed some owners don’t ever venture into the cockpit, or captain’s bridge. On the other hand, a racer has no pilot aids at all or even an autopilot; they have to fly and control the ship all the time. The essence of the sport is to make it a true test of a pilot's flying skill.
General flying comfort
Featuring state of the art soundproofing, to the point shown in the fantastically expensive and luxurious Gilberns where any thruster noise is completely removed from the living quarters, public ships are nice places to be in when on a long-distance journey. A Formula X spaceship, however, has no soundproofing at all, or in fact any filtering out of the sensation of flying. A pilot wears a special racing suit with a helmet, which features built-in soundproofing, without which, they would be totally deaf within ten minutes, with the ship on full power. A racing ship is an incredibly noisy place to be.
Ease of flying
With the autopilot on, a public ship can fly itself. A racer, however, does not have one, and along with the vibrations and sensations of the ship filtering directly to the pilot, a racer is an incredibly difficult machine to fly smoothly. In fact, to fly one, it is a legal requirement to have a special licence, as in the wrong hands a racer could be a lethal weapon; the slightest movement of the controls can cause the ship to veer violently off course. For the pilots who fly these machines, they describe them as the ultimate test of man and machine. It is not difficult to see why. Flown well, with the ship well set up and balanced, with the pilot in complete control, is a symphony of perfect mechanical and biological harmony.
Performance
An obvious one really, a racer is much, much faster than a public ship. If you think public ships are fast, prepare to have this idea of what ‘fast’ is, to be completely re-programmed. As a guide, a typical public ship can cruise at around 200,000mph, close to the legal speed limit of 300,000mph, which is surely fast by anyone’s standards. For maximum performance in a public legal spaceship, one has to look at the Sunstar Type C which was sold between 2274 and 2280, which hit 1.2million mph in official top speed tests. the Britus, regarded as a Formula X machine for the public to use, could hit close to the million mph mark. All very impressive, but how does this compare to a racer? Well, when you look at the average speeds across the various courses, you begin to realise what these monsters can do. During 2298, the five-lap Earth to Moon race was won by Silas Volante with an average speed of just over 2 million mph. Also, the maximum speeds hit on this race were believed to be over 3 million mph. It is not just terminal velocity though where a Formula X ship impresses; it is simply the way the machines accelerate. They increase speed at phenomenal rates, in fact with so much violence, if the pilots were not wearing head gear that holds the head firmly, they would actually suffer neck fractures…!
Cost
Public spaceships come in at around Cr 100,000, to well over Cr 1m, but if that is beyond budget, the second hand market can offer good money savings. A well used, older ship can cost from around Cr 20,000, which is remarkable value when you think of what these machines can do. Even more remarkable when you compare them to a racer. The costs for a retired Formula X racer are totally off the scale. To give you an idea, the best funded teams such as Britus are funded to the tune of Cr 100 million per year, a truly staggering amount. Of course, a huge amount of that money goes into research and development, as the teams are constantly moving their ships forwards in terms of engine power, aerodynamics and general setup. So how much would a racer cost to buy? Naturally, you cannot purchase a current racing ship, when they have finished racing for the season, most are placed into storage or held by the team’s factory; some of them go on to be displayed in museums. Some of them do become available from time to time on the open market. Of course, many of the teams are reluctant to do this as some of the technology used are highly guarded secrets, but of the ones that come up for sale, the general consensus is a starting price of Cr 1m, that is for a ‘basic’ racer. For a ship with one or two race wins you can easily double or treble that amount, and then for an overall championship winner, budget for over Cr 10m. And as for servicing and running costs, well if you need to know then you probably can’t afford it…’eye-watering’ is a word that springs to mind…
So, those are the basics… Probably best leave them for the racetrack, and take something else out for the pint of milk!