Ask the Authors (Fandemonium)

[Elizabeth Christensen]

It's NEVER nice to tease a whumper....we know the best ways to hurt someone.

Hmm -- you make an excellent point. Cool sig, too ...

While I'm here, apropos of nothing, mind if I use this space to illustrate the strange conflict that sometimes crops up when I can't decide whether I'm watching Atlantis as a fan or an author?

So, in "Travelers" last Friday (no spoilers, I promise), there was a line that immediately got a strong reaction from me on multiple levels. Some of you can probably guess which line: Sheppard saying "I've pulled 11 Gs in an F-16 without passing out."

On the face of it, that's a cool line. I mean, I've worked on the F-16 program for five years, so the idea of Shep flying one of our birds is inherently spiffy. Granted, the spec limit is 9 Gs, and that's precisely because of human performance limits, but maybe he was talking about an instantaneous G-load, not a sustained one. <shrug>

Thing is, the line presents a bit of a canon concern, at least to me. Sheppard's a helicopter pilot; that's ironclad canon from the pilot episode. In that ep he claimed to have flown just about everything with a rotor, up to and including the Osprey, which I find unlikely due to its operational test schedule and what little we know of his career path, but at least that's an analogous aircraft type. The F-16? That's a fixed-wing fighter. Completely different flying qualities, controls, and mission. Transitioning from fixed-wing to rotors or vice versa is very rare in the Air Force; it's a waste of resources. Also, when would Shep have found the time to train and qualify in both types? Pilot training is a pretty long process, and we have a good idea of what Shep was up to for the past couple of years before Atlantis.

As a fan, I can say, "Wow, he can fly anything," and think he's cool. (Of course he's cool. He's Sheppard.) As a devotee of stubborn, engineering-minded practicality, though, I don't quite buy it. So, in the future, if I needed to write something that referenced Shep's Earth-based flying career, would I count the F-16, or not? Realism, or on-screen statements?

Earlier in this thread, I said I considered anything said on-screen to be primary canon, so I can't just throw out the F-16 reference like it never existed. However, I think there's some wiggle room here. Thus, if the subject ever comes up, I'm going to operate on the assumption that Shep once got an incentive ride in the backseat of an F-16D and thus wasn't actually flying it himself. And the 11 Gs? Well, he was exaggerating, just like his ever-increasing Wraith body count in "Sateda."

And now you've seen the extreme wonkishness that goes on in my head. Back to your regularly scheduled thread now ...

[JMSwallow]

Oooh! I'd best be on my bestist behavior when reviewing the book then! Do I know you as James Swallow (she wonders, checking her address book - I know I can be scatty but not usually that bad)?

We've met a couple of times in passing at cons; clearly I'm less memorable than I thought I was! But you know what those things are like, everyone's going somewhere else and it's all a bit "Hi! & Goodbye!"

Apart from Diane Duane, who you aren't, I thought the only media writer I knew was Paul Cornell (first met him at the Hugos in 2005) but your biblograpy in the back of the book looks not quite right for Paul.

I am not Diane or Paul, no! Although I am mates with both of them. James Swallow isn't a pen-name (I have been asked if it is a few times), it's the one I was born with. I'm the real thing, raw and unfiltered!

[Alipeeps]

Thanks, Ali, I hope you enjoy it.

And I hope to have some interesting writing news to break to y'all in the coming months. Watch this space...

Ooooh, intruiging!

Just got back from a couple of days in Blackpool and my sister and I took the opportunity to visit the Dr Who Exhibition there! It was cool....

Hmm -- you make an excellent point. Cool sig, too ...

While I'm here, apropos of nothing, mind if I use this space to illustrate the strange conflict that sometimes crops up when I can't decide whether I'm watching Atlantis as a fan or an author?

So, in "Travelers" last Friday (no spoilers, I promise), there was a line that immediately got a strong reaction from me on multiple levels. Some of you can probably guess which line: Sheppard saying "I've pulled 11 Gs in an F-16 without passing out."

On the face of it, that's a cool line. I mean, I've worked on the F-16 program for five years, so the idea of Shep flying one of our birds is inherently spiffy. Granted, the spec limit is 9 Gs, and that's precisely because of human performance limits, but maybe he was talking about an instantaneous G-load, not a sustained one. <shrug>

Thing is, the line presents a bit of a canon concern, at least to me. Sheppard's a helicopter pilot; that's ironclad canon from the pilot episode. In that ep he claimed to have flown just about everything with a rotor, up to and including the Osprey, which I find unlikely due to its operational test schedule and what little we know of his career path, but at least that's an analogous aircraft type. The F-16? That's a fixed-wing fighter. Completely different flying qualities, controls, and mission. Transitioning from fixed-wing to rotors or vice versa is very rare in the Air Force; it's a waste of resources. Also, when would Shep have found the time to train and qualify in both types? Pilot training is a pretty long process, and we have a good idea of what Shep was up to for the past couple of years before Atlantis.

As a fan, I can say, "Wow, he can fly anything," and think he's cool. (Of course he's cool. He's Sheppard.) As a devotee of stubborn, engineering-minded practicality, though, I don't quite buy it. So, in the future, if I needed to write something that referenced Shep's Earth-based flying career, would I count the F-16, or not? Realism, or on-screen statements?

Earlier in this thread, I said I considered anything said on-screen to be primary canon, so I can't just throw out the F-16 reference like it never existed. However, I think there's some wiggle room here. Thus, if the subject ever comes up, I'm going to operate on the assumption that Shep once got an incentive ride in the backseat of an F-16D and thus wasn't actually flying it himself. And the 11 Gs? Well, he was exaggerating, just like his ever-increasing Wraith body count in "Sateda."

And now you've seen the extreme wonkishness that goes on in my head. Back to your regularly scheduled thread now ...

Ah yes, the "Sheppard can fly anything" issue has been oft discussed with various folks weighing in on the likelihood - or not - of anyone being trained to fly both rotary and fixed wing aircraft. So you are not alone in your fan vs real world reactions..

[Gate Geek]

Hmm -- you make an excellent point. Cool sig, too ...

While I'm here, apropos of nothing, mind if I use this space to illustrate the strange conflict that sometimes crops up when I can't decide whether I'm watching Atlantis as a fan or an author?

So, in "Travelers" last Friday (no spoilers, I promise), there was a line that immediately got a strong reaction from me on multiple levels. Some of you can probably guess which line: Sheppard saying "I've pulled 11 Gs in an F-16 without passing out."

On the face of it, that's a cool line. I mean, I've worked on the F-16 program for five years, so the idea of Shep flying one of our birds is inherently spiffy. Granted, the spec limit is 9 Gs, and that's precisely because of human performance limits, but maybe he was talking about an instantaneous G-load, not a sustained one. <shrug>

Thing is, the line presents a bit of a canon concern, at least to me. Sheppard's a helicopter pilot; that's ironclad canon from the pilot episode. In that ep he claimed to have flown just about everything with a rotor, up to and including the Osprey, which I find unlikely due to its operational test schedule and what little we know of his career path, but at least that's an analogous aircraft type. The F-16? That's a fixed-wing fighter. Completely different flying qualities, controls, and mission. Transitioning from fixed-wing to rotors or vice versa is very rare in the Air Force; it's a waste of resources. Also, when would Shep have found the time to train and qualify in both types? Pilot training is a pretty long process, and we have a good idea of what Shep was up to for the past couple of years before Atlantis.

As a fan, I can say, "Wow, he can fly anything," and think he's cool. (Of course he's cool. He's Sheppard.) As a devotee of stubborn, engineering-minded practicality, though, I don't quite buy it. So, in the future, if I needed to write something that referenced Shep's Earth-based flying career, would I count the F-16, or not? Realism, or on-screen statements?

Earlier in this thread, I said I considered anything said on-screen to be primary canon, so I can't just throw out the F-16 reference like it never existed. However, I think there's some wiggle room here. Thus, if the subject ever comes up, I'm going to operate on the assumption that Shep once got an incentive ride in the backseat of an F-16D and thus wasn't actually flying it himself. And the 11 Gs? Well, he was exaggerating, just like his ever-increasing Wraith body count in "Sateda."

And now you've seen the extreme wonkishness that goes on in my head. Back to your regularly scheduled thread now ...

Why the shifty eyes there?? Worried about a whumper attack or something?


Ah...I see you hit on a subject that has been oft discussed. My take on that comment was that he was a backseat rider in the F-16. I find it unrealistic that he could fly anything (as much as the fan girl in me wishes it true)...


11Gs......man, the most I ever pulled was 6Gs doing arobatics in a bi-plane. THat was fun!!

I guess in the end, it's all how well you can spin coolness with realism.....

[Elizabeth Christensen]

Why the shifty eyes there?? Worried about a whumper attack or something?

Preeeee-cisely.

11Gs......man, the most I ever pulled was 6Gs doing arobatics in a bi-plane. THat was fun!!

Ooh, neat -- would love to do that one of these days. Our plane is definitely not certified for aerobatics ...

[Gate Geek]

Preeeee-cisely.

Well, just write lots of Shep whump in the books and there will be no worries.

Ooh, neat -- would love to do that one of these days. Our plane is definitely not certified for aerobatics ...

If you get the opportunity, ya gotta do it!! I won a radio contest some years ago to go flying with the Stearman Squadron (Red Baron pizza) when they were in town. I was the only one who didn't get sick (I even had plenty of pizza before going up). It was sooo great cause it was an open cockpit too, so you got the wind rushing and there is nothing between you and the sky (or the ground). *happy sigh*

A friend of ours owns a bi-plane and hubby arranged for me to go for a ride as an anniversary present. SWEET!! Wish I would've taken those flying lessons I was offered all those years ago.

Anyways, getting off topic here.......but its so much fun though.

[Princess Awinita]

Well, just write lots of Shep whump in the books and there will be no worries.

Add a lot of Teyla Whump into that and I'm a happy Whumper!

[JMSwallow]

I got my box of author copies yesterday, which means that my new Stargate SG-1 novel Relativity is now out in the big wide world, despite (as I was reliably told) the shipping guys leaving a ton of them sitting on the docks at Liverpool for a week. Huzzah.

Relativity is set toward the end of the seventh season of the show and it features the return of not one, but two, count 'em, two of SG-1's old adversaries.

I'd also like to thank Rachel Cooper for her generosity; Rachel is a fan from Tennessee who bid for a "walk-on" part in the novel, as part of a charity auction at the Pegasus 2 convention.

The book is available from Amazon here or direct from the publisher here.

[Elite Anubis Guard]

Frack, I'm getting behind on my reading. I still haven't read Entanglement or doubt Blood Ties (is that it?). I blame DH Press. I'm a busy busy guy in the Alien/Predator community - I'm publicity rep on the biggest site, amongst other things - one of which is novel reviewer. I review all their A/v/P related stuff and along with a recent re-emergence of my obession for Halo and it's novels...I haven't had much Stargate time.

*hangs his head in shame and pop's over to Fandy's site*

Odd, it isn't on the site.

[Alipeeps]

Yup; Doctor Who - 'Peacemaker' will be out at the end of the year.

It's not my first Doctor Who writing, though; I also wrote the audio drama 'Singularity' and short stories in the Doctor Who Short Trips anthologies 'Dalek Empire', 'Destination Prague' and 'Snapshots'. I have another DW audio drama due out later this year called 'Old Soldiers' and next year I'm writing a 'Cyberman' miniseries...

Just pre-ordered my copy of Peacemaker together with the other 2 Dr Who novels due for release at the same time.

[Alipeeps]

Frack, I'm getting behind on my reading. I still haven't read Entanglement or doubt Blood Ties (is that it?). I blame DH Press. I'm a busy busy guy in the Alien/Predator community - I'm publicity rep on the biggest site, amongst other things - one of which is novel reviewer. I review all their A/v/P related stuff and along with a recent re-emergence of my obession for Halo and it's novels...I haven't had much Stargate time.

*hangs his head in shame and pop's over to Fandy's site*

Odd, it isn't on the site.

Blood Ties isn't published yet.. it should be shortly. Casualties of War is perhaps the one you were thinking of? That's the most recent SGA novel published....

[Elite Anubis Guard]

Yeah, that's the one. Like I said, been out of touch.

[Gate Geek]

I picked up my copy of Relativity at O'Hare airport on Thursday morning. Good thing too, as my flight was delayed twice. I'm glad I had something enjoyable to pass the time. I'm about half way through and am enjoying it very much!!

[Elizabeth Christensen]

I picked up my copy of Relativity at O'Hare airport on Thursday morning. Good thing too, as my flight was delayed twice. I'm glad I had something enjoyable to pass the time. I'm about half way through and am enjoying it very much!!

Seriously? Meaning the Stargate books are being carried by Hudson Booksellers (or some other airport shop)? Sweet.

I'll be on a layover there next Tuesday, so I'll have to poke my head into one of the shops ...

[Gate Geek]

Seriously? Meaning the Stargate books are being carried by Hudson Booksellers (or some other airport shop)? Sweet.

I'll be on a layover there next Tuesday, so I'll have to poke my head into one of the shops ...

Seriously!! They had several different SGA and SG1 novels. Not sure which book store I got it at though. It was next to a food court in the AA gate area. Not sure if that helps much.

My friend I was flying with bought Casualties of War only to have it go missing from our hotel room. GR!