A small advanced single-seat fighter and amphibious assault vehicle.

Credits:
The CHIMERA (named for a mythical creature part winged lion, part mountain goat, and part sea snake) is an amphibious assault vehicle capable of operation in the air, on land, or on the water. The craft is consistent in design with the other planes of the Archon Chancellery. Of course, all the actual modifications are the products of you wonderful folk here on SimplePlanes. Special thanks go out to the usual suspects: Seme4ka, dfsjoe, and Spefyjerbf--and many others whose identity is not known to me, but whose talent is deeply appreciated.

Background Story:
Around the middle of the eighth cycle of the XIX Dynasty, the Archon Chancellery was approached by a new client with a request to build a small plane that would act as a tug to deliver an armored attack vehicle directly to the battlefront. The Chancellery considered this proposal and ultimately rejected it, countering instead with a single lightweight aircraft of moderate capabilities combined with an integrated amphibious armored vehicle: the CHIMERA. The Chancellery utilized a modified lifting body concept, incorporating a blended wing/body design, including the CONSTELLATION integrated engine system, powered by the UMBRA dark energy reactor. This gives the vehicle virtually unlimited range together with VTOL capabilities. The resulting aircraft has a cruise speed of Mach 0.75, with augmented speeds of just under Mach 1.

The CHIMERA features a variety of weapons systems, highlighted by a nose mounted MAGNETAR mass driver barbette. The CHIMERA's other weapons include: twelve HOUNDSTOOTH short-range air-to-air missiles mounted on twin wing pods; twelve TALON air-to-ground missiles housed in a pair of wing mounted weapons pods; a pair of STAR LANCE high capacity wide beam Maser cannons mounted in the nose; and finally, a pair of dual STAR FIRE - STAR BURST anti-aircraft laser systems mounted in the wingtips, one firing forward and the other rearward.

Activation Groups:
1 - Engages the CONSTELLATION integrated engine system, which includes an enhanced gyro-stabilization unit (on whenever AG-1 is active), and activates either the POLESTAR engine boosters (VTOL bar up) or the GRAVITON anti-gravity VTOL motor (VTOL bar down).
2 - Activates the twin STAR LANCE high capacity Maser Cannons.
3 - Engages the MAGNETAR barbette.
4 - Activates two HOUNDSTOOTH short-range Air-to-Air missile pods, each consisting of six radar seeking missiles (Guardian based--12 total).
5 - Activates two wing mounted Air-to-Ground weapons pods, each consisting of six TALON AG missiles (Cleaver based--12 total).
6 - Activates the STAR FIRE and STAR BURST anti-aircraft wingtip laser pods.
7 - Activates "Mountain Goat" mode, which releases the barbette gimbals (elevation controlled by TRIM and traverse by yaw) and the internal combustion engine drivetrain.
8 - Deactivates all active sensors (shown by extinguishing the various engine and running lights) and the passive gyro-stabilization system.

Gear Up/Down - raises and lowers the pontoons and activates the landing lights.

Designer's Notes: PLEASE READ

This vehicle is intended to operate in one of three separate modes: land, sea, or air.

--The airborne (Lion) mode uses the standard control system for an Archon Chancellery aircraft: Throttle controls the main engines; AG 1 with VTOL down activates the vertical flight engine; and AG 1 with VTOL up activates afterburner boost. Taw, pitch, and roll operate normally.

--To use surface (Mountain Goat) mode, first land the aircraft, bring it to a stop, and deactivate the flight engines (throttle to zero, VTOL to zero, AG 1 deactivated). Next activate AG 7 and slowly move the VTOL lever up. Steering is done with the yaw controls. The vehicle can be moved in reverse by moving the VTOL lever down.

--Waterborne (Sea Snake) mode can be the most difficult, as it is easy to overpower the vehicle's hydrodynamic capabilities. Keep water speeds low! The craft will float on its own, however use of the pontoons will help keep the missiles far enough above sea level to avoid malfunctioning. Propulsion is best provided by activating AG 1 (up) and using the secondary boost jets on low power to move the plane.