Flying machine

Flying machines, also known as aircraft, are a product of gnomish, goblin, and dwarven ingenuity. They are mechanical marvels that serve alongside the famed Wildhammer Gryphon Riders of Aerie Peak to form the backbone of Alliance air power.

Overview

Flying machines are by definition mechanical devices capable of flight. Gnomes, dwarves, and goblins have all been known to create flying machines, and they have been put to extensive use as weapons of war by the Alliance.

There are several general families of flying machines each corresponding to a specific mechanism being exploited in order to provide lift (the force which allows flight). Lighter-than-air flying machines, typified by goblin zeppelins, are machines which employ bags filled with gas to make them buoyant in the air. Heavier-than-air flying machines employ wing surfaces and movement to produce lift, either using a fixed wing, or a spinning rotor.

Since their invention, flying machines have been employed for all the same tasks for which flying creatures have been used, including personal transportation, combat, and observation.

History

It is known that flying machines predate the First War Template:Cite. By the time of the Second War, they were commonplace enough that most gnomish inventors were capable of constructing them on demand Template:Cite. Similarly, it was in this conflict that the horde encountered the goblin race and began to make use of their zeppelins Template:Cite. Although flying machines were initially employed as observers, by the time of the Third War they were frequently employed as combatants and transports Template:Cite.

Types

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.Template:Cite 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.Template:Cite

Even though Gnomeregan has fallen and the Gnomish race is scattered across the Alliance, their inventors continue to push the limit of their designs. Recent improvements in engine technology have given rise to the Gnomish Bomber. By removing the upper wings of their biplanes and retrofitting the engines, the gnomes have created a tandem seat bomber that the Alliance has used to great effect in Lake Wintergrasp.

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.

With renewed activity in Northrend, these dwarven marvels continue to take to the skies, providing much needed support to the Alliance in their campaign to take Lake Wintergrasp.

Other Alliance Development

While the human nations have largely steered clear of flying machines (preferring to employ ships and gryphons for communication and travel), the Alliance has experimented with scout balloons.

Goblin Development

While the Gnomes (and their Dwarven counterparts) have favored heavier then air designs, Goblins are known for their zeppelins, which were integral to the Horde's campaigns in the Second War. The subsequent end of their ad-hoc alliance with the Orcs freed the Goblins to sell their services in the Third War, and Goblin zeppelins were a common sight among Horde and Alliance armies. With the reconstruction of the Alliance fleet and the completion of the Deeprun Tram, Alliance use of zeppelins has declined. The Horde continues to employ them extensively.

A goblin flying machine may also exist as alluded in this quote, "Barkeep Hann still yearns for the days past spent racing around all of Azeroth in his tricked out goblin flying machine, accompanied by an over-sized furbolg friend."^{[citation needed]}

More recently, goblins have turned their engineering prowess to defeating their gnomish and dwarven counterparts by outfitting their familiar and time-tested shredders with anti-air weaponry.

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.

Wintergrasp Flying Machines

In Wrath of the Lich King, flying machines were included as siege vehicles. Two variants exist at the moment. Fighters are single seat flying machines that look identical to the dwarven flying machines seen in Ironforge and occasionally in quests or protecting cities in Outland. Bombers are tandem seat flying machines that are based on a stripped down version of the gnomish biplane. The second seat replaces the boiler, and the upper wing has been removed.

In addition, Alliance players flying by gryphon from Fizzcrank Airstrip will instead fly biplanes. The Alliance and Horde have also constructed flying Gunship bases for their assault on Icecrown.