King Cobra

Cobra Mk.VI
Size (W×H×L)	140m×30m×75m
Cargo capacity	25 TC
Cargo bay extension	Yes
Maximum speed	0.4 LM
Manoeuvrability	Roll: 2.5 Pitch: 1.0
Energy banks	4
Energy recharge rate	Good (4.0)
Gun mounts	Fore, Aft Port, Starboard
Missile slots	4
Shield boosters available	Yes
Military shields available	Yes
Hyperspace capable	Yes
OXP or standard	OXP
Available to player	Yes
Base price	260000 Cr

Background

The dark story begins five years earlier, when Cowell & McRath invited tenders for the MkV Cobra. Following the success of the MkIV, Isis Interstellar were widely regarded as being favourites in the competition, despite strong competition from other designers, including the Winter Haven Corporation. Winter Haven Corp had been a long-time bitter rival of Isis Interstellar, but the true level of animosity between the two companies was about to be revealed...

... Rowell & McGrath hastily aborted the MkV and opened bidding on the MkVI contract. Still recovering from the massive loss of the Latius facility, Winter Haven Corp did not submit a tender, and in fact only two other ship builders did - perhaps others were somewhat leery of creating any type of competition for Isis Interstellar, given past events. In any event, Isis Interstellar won, and the ship itself at least lived up to expectations and squashed any ideas that Isis Interstellar had won by default simply to placate them.

Read the complete story on Purgatori's king cobra page.

Overview

Cobra MkVI ~ King Cobra

The King Cobra has been one of the most successful of Isis Interstellar's civilian ships. Released to critical acclaim, and recipient of the prestigious Which? Space Ship of the Year Award, the vessel's orders outstripped production for almost an entire year, resulting in Isis Interstellar buying up the famous production facility of Toomaney-Ephen Ships to keep up w/ demand : fully refitted w/ customised construction robots created by Griff Industries the facility was finally able to make supply meet demand, and the King Cobra became the best selling ship for two years in a row. Additional attention was directed to the ship when it featured heavily in the TV show Space Lane Truckers, following the fortunes of VanSickle Transport, whose fleet comprised mainly of the Cobra Mk VI.

Description

The King Cobra is a mix of past and present. Sharing a very similar silhouette to the much-loved MkIII, the MkVI is slightly slimmer, but wider and longer, providing a more stable and spacious trading platform. Taking the innovations from past creations, the MkVI shares both the powerful but slim line engines of the MkIV, and the separated fuel/cargo scooping system of the Phantom : a standard cargo scoop in the nose directs canisters and escape capsules into the cargo hold and two large collection/filtration units on the wings are used to scoop fuel and pump it directly into the tanks in the wingtips.

Equipment

Initially, the ship was designed to use a new type of pylon weapon, the ASM-12B Jida missile, a high-speed, ECM-ruggedised weapon that Isis Interstellar were developing. Delays in the destruction tests however resulted in a reworking of the pylons so that the MkVI could use standard ordnance. The Jida came online a few months later, slightly redesigned to be able to be carried on any normal pylon.

The King Cobra is a mix of past and present. Sharing a very similar silhouette to the much-loved MkIII, the MkVI is slightly slimmer, but wider and longer, providing a more stable and spacious trading platform. Taking the innovations from past creations, the MkVI shares both the powerful but slim line engines of the MkIV, and the separated fuel/cargo scooping system of the Phantom : a standard cargo scoop in the nose directs canisters and escape capsules into the cargo hold and two large collection/filtration units on the wings are used to scoop fuel and pump it directly into the tanks in the wingtips.

Further enhancements included a dedicated CorCom terminal for trading whilst docked, and an in-flight information console.

Isis Interstellar produced their own bespoke escape capsule for the MkVI. The entire cockpit area is actually an inbuilt capsule : if disaster strikes, the area is sealed, explosive bolts blow out the retaining shell plates and ejector charges fling the capsule clear of the main hull. Faster and stronger than a normal capsule, pilots ~ and passengers ~ can be assured of a better chance of survival should the unthinkable happen.

Interior

Inside, as ever Isis Interstellar raised the bar for efficiency and luxury. The cockpit is designed to be comfortable and spacious, and as safe as possible. New HUD software was supplied by a then-little-known, highly-innovative company, CommonSense 'Outside-the-Box' Design Studios Ltd., who had previously been making a name for themselves on the independent circuit. The partnership w/ Isis Interstellar was only the first of many big projects that CommonSense became linked w/, allowing them to develop into a powerful and well-respected contributor to the space trading community.

License

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

Downloads

On the official cobra mk6 page you can download the current version.

Use this mirror if the official site is down.

About

Isis Interstellar is a subsiduary of Isis International. It produces ships and stations among them the well-known Vampire fleet. It has licenses to build some of the recent Cobra ships.

Authors

Killer Wolf on BBoard
CommonSenseOTB