Traveller Vignette 004

I'd flown Falcon-6 atmosphere fighters in the war; they had exceptional performance, but also a fearsome reputation as widow-makers. Over a quarter of those made were lost in accidents, because the price of that high performance was that they were very unforgiving to fly, a real ensign-killer. The main engine's rotating mass had a strong gyroscopic effect pulling out of manoeuvrers in atmosphere, dragging the nose out of line. You could correct it by using the rudder hard if you expected it, but let it get away from you, and it quickly developed into an irrecoverable spin.

Worse, hard manoeuvring distorted the airflow to the engine, and could cause compressor stall. Put both of those together at low level and a pilot unfamiliar with the type could find himself simultaneously out of airspeed, altitude and luck. I flew one for three years, and referred to it mentally as “the bitch”. But if you survived long enough to get the hang of one, it'd kill anything else in the sky.

I hadn't flown one since I left the service, but the patron wanted a pilot with experience on the type, and I was too broke to turn the job down without at least hearing him out.....

Comments

  1. NeilAugust 31, 2022 at 7:31 AM

    (Author's note - This is intended to give a piece of equipment a little more character; players will usually want the highest performance kit, but in the real world high performance often comes at a cost in other areas. Perhaps the type has higher than standard speed and climb, but applies a -1 DM to skill rolls as it is hard to fly?
    It can also lead into a scenario. Why does the patron need a pilot rated for a high performance fighter? Is he trying to steal one, rebuild a crashed wreck, or use one for some form of heist or piracy?)

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