**Requested by WalrusAircraft**

This is the Big Roy 1080 requested by WalrusAircraft. Okay, he wanted it built out of structural wings, but I'm not good at that, so he'll have to play with this one while he waits. The Big Big Roy will hopefully be available sometime before Christmas. :/

The Versatile Model 1080 was designed and built in 1977. There is some suggestion that the design was aimed at the Australian market as Australia possesses many large farms with all acreage in one block. A very large tractor in Australia would pose fewer problems than it would in North America where large farms have their land base in a number of scattered blocks. This means farm machinery must move on roads. Large tractors and their associated machinery pose significant problems in road transport.

There is also suggestion that tractor manufacturers were engaged in a battle for bragging rights for the largest and most powerful tractor. In 1977, Steiger Tractor was experimenting with their Panther Twin ST650 of 650 horsepower and Big Bud was bringing out the Big Bud 747 tractor with 760 horsepower. Versatile’s Model 1080 was their entry in this competition.

But whatever the reason behind the Model 1080, the President and General Manager of Versatile, Roy Robinson, decided Versatile needed a high horsepower tractor and issued orders that the Model 1080 was to be designed and built. What emerged from the designers drafting table was a four axle horsepower tractor powered by a Cummins KTA-1150 diesel engine that generated 600 horsepower. The four axles mounted a total of eight 30.5 X 32 tires. The 1080 design reversed conventional four wheel drive tractor design as the engine is located at the rear of the tractor. A modern, spacious cab is located ahead of the engine compartment with a 550 gallon fuel tank located ahead of the cab. The cab is accessed from either side through sliding doors and ladders that slide into the body of the tractor when not in use. Vision to the rear of the tractor from the cab is very limited as the engine compartment was quite tall. To allow vision to the rear a closed circuit TV system was installed with a dustproof 120 degree camera pointing down at the drawbar and a 9 inch TV monitor installed in the dash where the operator could easily view the TV. In 1977 this was definitely cutting edge technology!

The tractor is over 30 feet long, 11 feet high and weighs over 30 tonnes when ballasted for field operations.

The tractor articulates between the second and third axle. The articulation joint, as well as allowing movement from side to side which was necessary for steering, also allows for vertical movement of 10 degree plus or minus. This movement is necessary to allow the tires to remain in contact with the ground as the tractor moved over uneven ground. The tractor will steer 40 degrees to one side or the other.

The four axle design, however innovative, was the tractors downfall. While the four axle design allows enough rubber on the ground to use the engine horsepower while allowing the tractor to remain fairly narrow, the result was all four tires on either side run in the same track and cause severe soil compaction problems within this track. Versatile’s Model 1150 which appeared after the Model 1080 and featured 475 horsepower, reverted to the standard four wheel drive tractor design. The 1150 either uses very wide tires installed as duals on all axles or mounts triple tires on all axles. Todays four wheel drive tractors are approaching 600 horsepower and either use triple tires “all the way around’ or use the newly emerged rubber track design.

The Model 1080 never entered production and the tractor at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum remains the single example produced. The tractor was donated to the Museum in the 1980s along with other pieces from Versatile.

Where did the nickname “Big Roy” come from? Roy Robinson the President and General Manager of Versatile instructed the engineers to design and build the Model 1080. Mr. Robertson stood 6 foot, 4 inches and was a larger than life character with a standard attire of cowboy boots and Stetson hat. It was a natural therefore to name the Model 1080 “Big Roy”.

Throttle up to start. Activators 1-3 engage higher gears. They must be used in combination. Fortunately, with this model, you don't have to worry about starting as soon as you spawn. You can sit and admire my handiwork for a while. The fenders, which were almost the hardest part, rub on the tires. This keeps them from rolling too fast. It makes them stick while you are driving, but it is not prohibitively sticky. If you don't like how they stick, press 6 to jettison them. Use yaw to steer. It doesn't like to turn sharply, so be careful. You can also use roll in conjunction with yaw to assist in slightly sharper turns. If you start drifting, which is quite possible and surprisingly fun, use roll in the opposite direction of yaw to help.

I hope you enjoy this tractor. It was a lot of work and was incredibly frustrating. Those fenders were just stupidly difficult. Personally, I think Andrew Garrison hired some kind of orangutang to program the wing rotation and auto-stick program. Maybe one of the devs did it while they were half asleep, I dunno. But those fenders, man... They pushed the big version of this back from late September to December or January.