Dunames Lopez
Megalomaniac CEO of Star Tours
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To provide a new version of Dunames' podracer
- Image Source: [X] Adam Ostridge
- Canon Link: N/A
- Primary Source: Gyaban 787
- Manufacturer: Ringovinda StarYards
- Affiliation: Dunames Lopez
- Model: Gyaban 789
- Modularity: Yes
Production: Unique
- Material: Duraplast, starship components
- Classification: Podracer
- Role: Racing vehicle
- Size: Average
- Weight: Light
- Minimum Crew: 1
- Optimal Crew: 1
- Propulsion: Repulsorlift, turbofans
- Speed: Very High (Extreme when boost is activated)
- Maneuverability: Very High (High when boost is activated)
- Armaments: Very Low: 2x Korriban heavy machineguns
- Defenses: Very Low
- Squadron Count: None: 1
- Passenger Capacity: 0
- Cargo Capacity: Very Small
- Inertial compensator
- Microrepulsors
- Reverse thrust: used for braking
- Particle shield: used to protect the pilot from pests
- Locator beacon: if the pod has crashed, it can be activated to locate the pilot
- Afterburner: allows boosts to be made (speed +1, maneuverability -1)
- Boosts can increase speed
- Superior speed and maneuverability
- Armed to deal with pests
Weaknesses:
- Does not absorb ramming or weapons fire very well
- Limited afterburner fuel
- Machineguns have limited ammunition (ca. 150 rounds each)
- The machineguns must not be fired in a turn
DESCRIPTION
By virtue of Dunames being one of the First Order's most prominent podracer pilots, she was allowed to outfit any weapons she wanted, especially after her victories on Lanteeb and Phu. It was found during the Boonta Eve Classic that the repeater blasters used up to this point were too power-hungry to be reliably used, but the need for firepower was evident there too, thanks to the various pests that litter podracing courses. For this reason, slug machineguns were used. So, in essence, the Gyaban 789 is a glass cannon, capable of damaging enemy podracers but with very limited ability to take hits from other podracers. As with podracers with retractable, front-mounted weapons that are axis-mounted, it cannot fire at opposing podracers when the weapons' lines of fire aren't obstructed by the pod's own engines.
The Gyaban 789's cockpit is notorious for resembling a squid due to the disposition of the fairings, which are designed for improving aerodynamics. The lateral fins on the engines are actually used not only for thrust vectoring and hence turning, but also for cooling, allowing it to house cooling pumps so that it can be made to maintain boost for as many as twenty seconds which, in a podrace, is an eternity. However, for each second under boost, at least an extra second of cooldown is required. Thus the Gyaban 789, like the Gyaban 787 on which it was based, tends to rely more on its speed than actually having a high durability, especially since the UH-2015 turbines, providing 89 kN (kilonewtons) of thrust each. With the TibannaX fuel in use for the afterburners, the thrust achieved can reach as high as 140 kN for each unit. The top fin on the turbines house the afterburner fuel, while the bottom fin houses the fuel tanks for regular operation of the engines. Compared to the UH-2014A used in the Gyaban 787 and 788, the UH-2015 features better braking, eliminating the braking problems that plagued the old pod.
Given that thrust vectoring allows the exhaust gases of the turbine to be redirected to suit the needs of handling, this proves to be a boon for its maneuverability, while the cooling fins, as well as the fins at the rear of the pod, also act as control surfaces for the pod, especially at lower speeds, allowing it to remain mostly consistent in maneuverability performance over the whole range of speeds the pod can achieve.
