Airplane silencers and other plausible tech

[sholio]

philomytha posted recently about a WW1-era pulp novel in which the hero has an airplane silencer and it occurred to me that this sounds EXACTLY like a maguffin that would be perfect for the "but why are they actually there??" handwave in Biggles fic that kicks off the mission. I can't believe it's not in any of the actual books.

And then it occurred to me that crowdsourcing a list of maguffin ideas also might be fun, considering that about 90% of the fic I write that has any casefic plot at all basically starts out with "first they're lost in the woods and then someone almost drowns and then the other person breaks a leg..." and eventually meanders around to "Wait, why are they there, anyway?" There are only so many secret labs and abandoned WW2 munitions bunkers that you can have characters investigate before something new is needed. And it might be a nice fandom resource to have handy for everyone to use.

So we've got airplane silencers, what else?

(Edit: I think I may have mistakenly implied "things from real movies/books" - I really just meant anything you can make up off the top of your head that's period-appropriate! They can be inspired by something from a real canon but they don't have to be ...)

p.s. Signups for Hurt/Comfort Exchange close in 4 hours if you want to slip one in there ...

Comments

[sovay]

a WW1-era pulp novel in which the hero has an airplane silencer

It does not have a plausible MacGuffin at all, but the sfness of this invention reminds me to ask if you have seen Q Planes (1939), otherwise known as the weirdest of the British pre-WWII espionage comedy-thrillers I have encountered hands down; it's actually spy-fi, with international villains and mysteriously disappearing top-secret test flights and a death ray, also a nice assortment of vintage aircraft. Laurence Olivier is one of the test pilots, Valerie Hobson the plucky reporter undercover at the airfield, Ralph Richardson her brother the whimsical intelligence agent who's never seen without his bowler hat or his umbrella even when he's cooking Italian. I'm very fond of it. It is readily available on YouTube and also hilariously on the Criterion Channel. It's nuts.

[sholio]

I not only haven't seen it, I haven't even heard of it! I must check it out; thank you for the links.

[sovay]

I not only haven't seen it, I haven't even heard of it! I must check it out; thank you for the links.

You're welcome! Enjoy! It turned up a dozen years ago in the course of discovering Ralph Richardson and I have cherished it ever since.

[philomytha]

That sounds incredible, I also must watch this!

[sovay]

That sounds incredible, I also must watch this!

Hooray! Enjoy!

[philomytha]

Excellent question! Masters of the Air has a bit about the latest bombsight that improves the accuracy of bombing, that was quite a fun bit of airplane-related tech.

[sholio]

Ooh, an extra special bombsight seems like something Biggles might have to protect the plans for; I love that.

(I don't know if my phrasing implied that they had to be from real canons but I've gone back and edited to try to make it clearer that I'm mostly just fishing for any sort of idea here as a kind of crowd-sourced list that the fandom might refer to if they're in need of a maguffin. It doesn't have to be from an actual book or movie!)

[philomytha]

Or maybe Biggles is asked to test out an experimental plane or bit of airplane kit, and Bad Guys are trying to steal it?

[sholio]

Ooh, that is an excellent one!

... Biggles geeking out over an experimental plane would also be adorable.

[sovay]

Or maybe Biggles is asked to test out an experimental plane or bit of airplane kit, and Bad Guys are trying to steal it?

The Teckman Mystery (1954) is in many ways not very good, but it opens with the fantastic hook of an experimental plane that appears to have crashed but may really have been stolen and either way no one knows what's become of it or its pilot: I just ended up wishing it had headed a film that actually knew how to plot.

[sovay]

any sort of idea here as a kind of crowd-sourced list that the fandom might refer to if they're in need of a maguffin. It doesn't have to be from an actual book or movie!

There's always the evergreen "carrying top-secret materials, don't lose that briefcase while delirious in the woods after almost drowning."

[sholio]

Excellent and classic!

[sheron]

That's neat!

[madripoor_rose]

Secret fuel formulas? Looking for a missing presumed crashed plane?

...ufos? I'm still hoping one of y'all writes Biggles Goes To Mars from Good Omens, hee!

[sholio]

They should 100% have to find a crashed UFO! That really sounds like something that they'd be hired to do, even if it was actually like a crashed Russian spy plane or someone joyriding, though.

[sheron]

" There are only so many secret labs and abandoned WW2 munitions bunkers that you can have characters investigate"

I am here for 1000 of this cake pls.

[sholio]

I feel like I've written at least 500 of those cakes at this point ... (But it's also a good one.)

[sheron]

But it's one of my favourite cakes...

[anna_wing]

Untappable radios
Super-camouflage paint that basically makes planes invisible
A cheap and plentiful new non-flammable gas for dirigibles
A secret enemy base located on a giant dirigible
Any synthetic wonder-material or technological breakthrough that has major military-industrial applications
A secret heir to the throne (either of the UK or of some important allied, colonised or enemy nation)
The only copy of a Secret Treaty (this one is very traditional)
Serious blackmail material that would have Global Implications if revealed, usually involving the Monarch, the Consort or the heir to the throne (also traditional)
Giant ants (also traditional)
The answer to the Irish Question

[sheron]

oooo these are great!

[via_ostiense]

Super advanced technology that makes planes invisible

[aella_irene]

I've been reading Nevil Shute, who was an engineer, and here are some he uses:

1) What has happened to this person I served with who has moved to a distant location?
2) What has happened to this plane/yacht that has vanished in the middle of nowhere with Important Things on board?
3) What is going on in this dispute between engineers over whether X part is safe or not, and did it cause a crash? (tolerances, the key word is apparently tolerances. and metal fatigue.)

[aella_irene]

Source for things that can Go Wrong with planes: AdmiralCloudberg's plane crash series

[moon_custafer]

Testing a new bit of equipment under Extreme Conditions, if you want to send them to Antarctica or someplace (this was basically the purpose of Operation Highjump).

A supposedly-defunct numbers station has suddenly begun broadcasting again, what’s going on there? For extra fun maybe have it that amateur radio hams were the ones to initially discover this.

Earthquake/landslide has shifted the geography of a border area in some small but significant way and a survey needs to be done asap.