28XX  |  Background

Vytal began developing the RennSport 9 in 28XX under the internal codename 'King Paimon', in accordance with their naming structure.

Development of the RS9 was initially not a consideration for the 28XX development season, as the company was focusing on refining their existing RennSport 8 series (which, at the time, was on its nth upgrade cycle). Plans were reshuffled that year for multiple reasons:

1. The team behind Vytal's testbed platform* had engineered significantly improved technologies that were not compatible with the RS8 series. 

2. While the RS8 series was engineered with a future-proof philosophy, rival teams in the HSRL were either nearing completion of their next-generation racing-craft, or had already announced it as part of their 28XX+1 season.

Vytal Technical Director Adelaide Neumann would submit the 'King Paimon' proposal in Q1 of 28XX, which was later approved and started around Q2 of the same year. This would be the first project fully under the engineering direction of Adelaide Neumann**.

Project 'Paimon' was largely developed at Vytal's home facility in Erios' Bethean mountain range, with secondary development efforts being performed by the Stuttgart facility in the German region of the U.E.A. Practical testing outside of simulation work was done late into the project by the two Arctara AG pilots, Alano Ramos and Tokkyu Miyahira.

In its entirety the project took ~24 months to complete, and the RennSport 9 was introduced in the 28XX+2 season.

Engineering changes between generations (vs. RennSport 8)

Multiple changes were considered and applied during the development of the RennSport 9. The most significant of these changes is the switch to an RSEC-specification dual-hull setup, which had not been seen from the team since 27XX with the RennSport 5.

In theory, a dual-hull setup allowed for an increase in performance on paper (better straightline & braking). However, the nature of the chassis also meant decreased agility. This was seen with the RennSport 5, where the ship would keep up in the straights, but lose in corners. These traits were usually fine on high-speed tracks like Bethea and Tulcanne, but caused issues with the pilots on more technical tracks like ROD's Fantasia venue and Mirage. Mono-hull setups had inferior theoretical performance, but were more agile. The added agility ended up being more beneficial compared to the performance ceiling, which caused Vytal-Arctara to switch to that chassis type for editions 6, 7, and 8 of the RennSport series.

The RennSport 9 uses a dual-hull setup, which brings back the issues that came with the RennSport 5. However, using technology derived from the 'Seire' project, the RennSport 9 incorporates equipment such as active wings and an RSCS system instead of standard control surfaces and VTOL systems to compensate for the lost agility. The ship is also significantly smaller than the RennSport 8.

The bodywork of the RennSport 9 was also designed with a different philosophy. While both the 8th and 9th editions have a sleek silhouette, the RennSport 9 has a more streamlined, curved body - whilst the RennSport 9 has more angular, violent bodywork.

Isolated propulsion performance between the RennSport 8 and 9 is largely identical, however the RennSport 9's HF-1 system incorporates the RSCS system for better maneuverability and performance in corners, while the RennSport 8's XTA-1 system incorporates a standard VTOL system.

The overall performance of the RennSport 9 can be described as snappier and more agile compared to the RennSport 8, while being quicker and easier to fly.

Development Methods

For the most part, Vytal had developed the internal components of 'Paimon' through the RennSport Ex testbed, using the modular system created for the 'Seire' program. The bodywork was handled separately (but influenced by the 'Seire' program) at Foundry α in Stuttgart's aero facilities. 

Practical testing happened occasionally during the late months of the project, with Alano and Tokkyu flying RennSport 9 prototypes around Bethea Speedway. Separate testing also occurred in between Bethea Speedway tests at Research on Demand in Mpumalanga, Nea-Africa, Terra - with reserve/testing pilot Jane Doe*.