Flying machine
From WoWWiki
Flying machines, a product of gnomish and dwarven ingenuity, are mechanical marvels that serve alongside the famed Wildhammer Gryphon Riders of Aerie Peak to form the backbone of Alliance air power.
While flying machines predate the First WarLG 78, the earliest observed usage of flying machines in battle came during the Second War. Gnomish inventors, present in many Alliance settlements, constructed these craft and put them into the field. Unarmed and basically unarmored, they acted as spotters and scouts. Their ability to spot orcish turtle submarines was invaluable to the Alliance fleets. Ones skilled in flying them are called Aces.
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Development
Gnomish Development
The invention of the flying machines can be credited to the Gnomes. The first pilots of these craft were gnomes as well. Gnomes had built sky-engines and whirligigs as early as the before the First War. They were suitable for scouting.LG 78 Some of these earliest known types were autogyros, a type of hybrid aircraft with a lift rotor and a pusher propeller. Originally they were all referred to as 'Flying Machines', although the subsequent invention of other flying machines has made this term ambiguous.
The most famous tiny gnomish flying machines were the gnomish copters. The gnomes themselves have recently come out with the gnomish biplane (apparently a new version of the single winged sky-engines seen during the first war), a small static wing flying machine armed with forward mounted machine guns. There are even fabulous flying machines like gnomish airships.MM&M 163
Dwarven Development
After the second war, the Dwarves designed their own type of flying machine, the Dwarven gyrocopter. Heavier then the original models, the dwarven version replaced the single pusher prop with two wing mounted impellers, and mounted weaponry. Large enough to accommodate a dwarven pilot, they were still poorly armored.
During the Third War the dwarven design was revisited. This new model was dubbed the Dwarven flying machine. Eliminating the lift rotor altogether, the improved version depended on wing mounted engines for lift but offered a significant improvement in protection for the pilot. Equipped with bombs and guns, these craft were slow moving but quite powerful.
After the third war, the integration of gnomes into Ironforge provided the dwarves with additional technical assistance in developing their flying machine design. The latest model of dwarven flying machine is similar to the previous version, with dual props on a monowing design with attached water sponsons; however it appears to lack the tilted rotors of its predecessor. Smaller and presumably carrying lighter armament, these new versions operate from an automated launching/dispatch facility buried deep inside Ironforge's Military Ward.
Other Alliance Development
Other alliance development includes the scout balloons.
Goblin Development
Goblins created zeppelins.
Engineer Flying Machine
In Patch 2.3, engineer-only Flying Machines were released. They come in both epic and non-epic versions. It has the tiltable wing turbine/propeller rotors of the Dwarven Flying Machine, and a retractable lift rotor for higher altitudes. In action, it looks like this.
Gallery
 Early Gnomish sky-engines? |
 Dwarven Gyrocopter |
 Dwarven Flying Machine |
 Latest dwarven Model |
 Gnomish Biplane |
 Engineer's Flying Machine |
Categories: Gnomes | Dwarves | Lore | Units | Flying Machines
