Made a slight change to my entry to make the weight a bit saner. Also:
Host: "... first up on this week's show, we have lead engineer Hank Ward and design consultant Tom Rutley from the Viper Interceptor project here to talk about their entry in the Zig Replacement Contest. Welcome to the podcast, gentlemen."
Hank: "Glad to be here, Joe."
Host: "So, fellas... You're not exactly shooting for a like-for-like replacement here, are you? I mean, with a few minor design tweaks you could fit a brace of Zigs inside the Viper; in fact, didn't Tom do just that a few times in the war with the original Cobra?"
Tom: "Only as cargo, but yeah. And we most certainly aren't going for a like-for-like replacement, otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to sign on with the project as a consultant. The Zig was a wartime expedient, and the product of extreme desperation to boot; we needed to put together a comprehensive, professional air force with standardised equipment in a big hurry and on a tight budget, and you know the old saying."
Host: "Fast, cheap, good: Pick two."
Tom: "Got it in one."
Hank: "The Zig's not that bad in a lot of ways, of course; it's fast, it's easy to fly and easy to fix. But a lot of compromises had to be made, the big one being the lack of armour."
Host: "But didn't its speed and manoueverability make up for it?"
Tom: "Not really. The Zig's what gamers would call a One Hit-Point Wonder; punch a hole just about anywhere in the fuselage proper and you'll hit something important. And you can punch a hole in those things with nothing fancier than a gimpy- sorry, a General Purpose Machine Gun, like an M-60 or similar. A proper anti-aircraft weapon would turn a Zig into confetti."
Host: "Fortunately, the Boskones didn't have many of those."
Hank: "They didn't, but they ain't the only bad guys in town."
Host: "You're thinking of the 'Danelaw?"
Tom: "Not necessarily, although it's not just the nice stable First World countries back Earthside who are getting into the 'wavetech business. But one of these days were going to find ourselves with a peer competitor to the Convention out here, be it a major power from Earth, one of our factions that's decided to go it alone or even an alien race. That requires different weapons and tactics to fighting a loose coalition of warlords and gangsters."
Host: "Thank you, Tom. So, moving on to some of the more technical aspects of the design proposal. Hank, could you tell us a little about the Viper's capabilities...?"
Host: "... first up on this week's show, we have lead engineer Hank Ward and design consultant Tom Rutley from the Viper Interceptor project here to talk about their entry in the Zig Replacement Contest. Welcome to the podcast, gentlemen."
Hank: "Glad to be here, Joe."
Host: "So, fellas... You're not exactly shooting for a like-for-like replacement here, are you? I mean, with a few minor design tweaks you could fit a brace of Zigs inside the Viper; in fact, didn't Tom do just that a few times in the war with the original Cobra?"
Tom: "Only as cargo, but yeah. And we most certainly aren't going for a like-for-like replacement, otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to sign on with the project as a consultant. The Zig was a wartime expedient, and the product of extreme desperation to boot; we needed to put together a comprehensive, professional air force with standardised equipment in a big hurry and on a tight budget, and you know the old saying."
Host: "Fast, cheap, good: Pick two."
Tom: "Got it in one."
Hank: "The Zig's not that bad in a lot of ways, of course; it's fast, it's easy to fly and easy to fix. But a lot of compromises had to be made, the big one being the lack of armour."
Host: "But didn't its speed and manoueverability make up for it?"
Tom: "Not really. The Zig's what gamers would call a One Hit-Point Wonder; punch a hole just about anywhere in the fuselage proper and you'll hit something important. And you can punch a hole in those things with nothing fancier than a gimpy- sorry, a General Purpose Machine Gun, like an M-60 or similar. A proper anti-aircraft weapon would turn a Zig into confetti."
Host: "Fortunately, the Boskones didn't have many of those."
Hank: "They didn't, but they ain't the only bad guys in town."
Host: "You're thinking of the 'Danelaw?"
Tom: "Not necessarily, although it's not just the nice stable First World countries back Earthside who are getting into the 'wavetech business. But one of these days were going to find ourselves with a peer competitor to the Convention out here, be it a major power from Earth, one of our factions that's decided to go it alone or even an alien race. That requires different weapons and tactics to fighting a loose coalition of warlords and gangsters."
Host: "Thank you, Tom. So, moving on to some of the more technical aspects of the design proposal. Hank, could you tell us a little about the Viper's capabilities...?"