a CARWARS supplement

Aerial Combat in the 21st Century

by Craig Sheeley
Edited by Loyd Blankenship, Mike Hurst and Steve Jackson
Cover by Jeff Magniat
Illustrated by Karl Martin
Car Wars original design by Chad Irby and Steve Jackson
Loyd Blankenship, Managing Editor
Carl Anderson, Production Manager
Typography and Layout by Loyd Blankenship & Kerry Havas
Maps and Diagrams by Carl Anderson
Creative Interference: Robert Hayden, Charles Oines.
Playtesters: David Platt, Wallace D. Greer, Phil Morrissey, Marvin Lowe, Matt Fairliegh, Eric Larsen, New Omaha Vehicular Association [NOVA] (Tim
Jacques, Norman McMullen, Don Jacques, Jay Chladek), Southern California Civilian Armor Regiment [SCCAR] (Sean Wadey, Brian Irvine, Chris Rice, Rick
Brower); Flame, Laser And Gauss Gun Specialists [FLAGGS] (Martin Poteralski, President), Carlos McReynolds, Mike Montgomery, Greater Orlando Duellists
[GODS] (John M. Hurtt, Dave Hyde, John Hyde, and others) and Robert Eikel.
Table of Contents
AERODUEL 1
AIRCRAFT IN 2040 2
AIRCRAFT CONSTRUCTION 4
Fixed-Wing Planes 4
Body Types 4
Propellers 6
Power Plants 6
Plant Accessories 6
Gas Engines 6
Jet Engines 7
Jet Accessories 8
Aircraft Fuel 8
Weapons 9
Landing Gear 9
Dischargers 9
Turrets 9
Helicopters 10
Construction 10
Power Plants 10
Weapons 10
Accessories 10
Airships 12
Body Types 12
Power Plants 13
Weapons 13
Accessories 13
Other Fliers 15
Autogyros 15
Ca rplanes 15
Hoverplanes 15
Balloons 16
Gliders 16
Hang Gliders 17
Parachutes 17
Rocket Packs 17
Aircraft Accessories 18
AERODUEL MOVEMENT 20
Fixed-Wing Aircraft Movement 20
Air-to-Air Scale 20
Stall Speed 20
GLOC 23
The Sound Barrier 23
Storms 23
Wing Checks 25
Falling and Crashing 25
Rotary-Wing Aircraft Movement 26
Auto-Rotation 26
Rotor Checks 27
Airship Movement 28
AERODUEL COMBAT 30
New Weapons 30
Targeting Modifiers 31
Damage Allocation 32
Firing Arcs 32
Weapons Fire 33
Anti-Aircraft Defenses 35
CHARACTERS AND SKILLS 36
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE 36
SAMPLE AIRCRAFT 37
SCENARIOS 38
ACCESSORY LIST 40
COUNTER TEMPLATES 41
INDEX 44
CHARTS AND TABLES INSERT middle of book
Car Wars is a registered trademark and Aeroduel is a trademark of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. Aeroduel is copyright 0 1990 by
Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ISBN 1-55634-170-9
STEVE JACKSON GAMES
Car Wars, Aeroduel, Autoduel, AADA, the AADAlogo, the all-seeing pyramid, and the names of all products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are trademarks or registered trademarks
of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license. Car Wars Aeroduel is copyright 1990 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States.
AIRCRAFT IN 2040
History and
Development
In 1904, the first powered airplane was patented by the
Wright brothers. Within a few years airplanes were a craze that
spread worldwide. And only ten years after the first flight, men
were taking aircraft to war.
The development of warplanes parallels autoduel develop-
ment with curious accuracy. At first, all the contesting aer-
oduellists had were improvised hand weapons lengths of
chain, wrenches, pistols, whatever was handy.
Soon, proper weapons began appearing. Machine-guns were
mounted to the rear cockpits of spotter aircraft or whichever
end didn't mount the propeller, since no way had been found to
shoot through it without destroying it. The machine-guns
proved to be properly lethal, but two-seaters lacked the maneu-
verability of single-seat aircraft. The French tried to mount the
machine-gun firing over the prop arc but the mount was cumber-
some, like a pintle-mount MG in a driver-only car. When the
interrupter gear was invented, fighter planes appeared with
front-mounted machine-guns, similar to Joe Harshman's first
autoduelling car.
World War I ended before aircraft could advance further. In
the twenty years between world wars, more developments did
occur: metal monoplanes, better engines, development of the
first bombing computers. When World War II began, airplanes
were both large and deadlier. The single-engine biplanes of the
first war were replaced by monsters mounting up to four engines
that could fly up to 1,600 miles to deliver their bombs and still
return to their home airfields.
World War II was a rapid development period for aerial
weapons: guided bombs, radar, remote-controlled weapons,
bomb-dropping techniques of all kinds, new construction tech-
niques and jets appeared during the conflict.
The wars of the late 20th century took these developments
and expanded on them. Fighters turned into swept-wing jets,
hurtling across the sky at trans-sonic speeds. Strategic bombing
was rendered obsolete by the nuclear missile. Air-to-air missiles
appeared, bringing a new lethality to aerial combat at ranges
previously undreamt of. For a time guns were replaced by mis-
siles in the belief that no aircraft would get close enough to use
guns against a missile-armed craft. The Vietnam conflict dis-
pelled the misconception and guns once again became standard
weapons for combat aircraft.
Support and Transport
On the civilian scene, airplanes replaced airships over 100
years ago as the primary passenger and cargo hauler. When the
airship Hindenburg experienced a still-mysterious hydrogen
fire, airships were abandoned for years. Cargo and passenger
airplanes took over, growing steadily larger and more numerous
until they reached 200 tons and larger, powered by massive
fuel-gulping jet engines to push them through the sky.
This era ended when the fuel ran out. The monster jets still
exist, languishing in hangars or stripped for parts and
construction material.
Airships returned with gratifying swiftness. They had been
revived in the late 1990s as cheap vertical-lift transport vehicles.
The crash of the cargo jets was the signal for mass airship con-
struction to fill the gap swiftly.
Helicopters fared well from their introduction in the latter
half of the century. Since helicopters were capable of landing
and taking off from previously impossible landing locations, the
military found immediate uses in moving men and supplies
swiftly, without roads or airfields. Civilian use was similar,
using helicopters to get in and out of small areas.
The gunship was born when military designers put weapons
on helicopters, enabling them to provide aerial fire support with
a long loiter time and the ability to hide on the ground if neces-
sary. The gunships' potent anti-tank weapons almost pushed the
AFV from the field for a time.
Introduction

2
The Present Day
When petroleum sources ran out, aircraft propulsion systems
were adapted to the new fuel-cell technology. Helicopters
adapted easily, and gunships and transport choppers roamed the
skies within a year of the fuel-supply collapse. Due to a scarcity
of safe airfields, airplane use declined. When airship transport
opened up supply lines and ground protection improved, air-
planes joined their rotary-winged companions in the air.
Airships never left the scene. Inexpensive and economical,
they thrived through the Food Riots and the madness that fol-
lowed. The sight of an airship's stately progress across the sky
became as common as jet contrails had been before fuel ran out.
As demand for fuel declined, jets began to reappear, operat-
ing on hoarded fuel. Rare but extremely fast, a jet is the mark of
too much money and not enough to do with it. Typically, jets are
owned by corporations and other wealthy organizations.
Fly The Unfriendly Skies: Private Wars
The breakdown of government control was the last step in
the total deregulation of all airlines. Government regulation of
the aircraft used by companies and corporations had been on the
decline since the 1980s. Some companies used the deregulation
process to acquire lightly-armed aircraft and surplus military
jets (although the jets were usually unarmed and used for high-
speed travel).
When the Free Oil States seceded from the Union, many
powerful and wealthy companies in Texas, Oklahoma and Lou-
isiana seized the opportunity to expand their power. Some
bought combat aircraft from Free Oil armories, some stole air-
craft and several aircraft companies merely "lost" completed
models off of the shipment inventory. Other factions set about
arming commercial flyers with jury-rigged weapons and ma-
chine-guns a popular option for militia and independent
raider units.
The Second Civil War was marked by totally unbalanced
aerial action either the skies were free of aircraft as both sides
hoarded their resources (fuel for the Federals, aircraft for the
secessionists) or aswarm with one side's aircraft, pummeling
whatever unfortunate forces were beneath the aerial armada.
Rarely did actual air-to-air combat occur the heaviest aerial
combat arena was Wichita, Kansas and the oil fields to the south-
west. The combat took place at the beginning of the war, when
both combatants were strongest. The Federals used too much
irreplaceable fuel during the operation and the secessionists
discovered that their Air National Guard surplus aircraft were no
match for the latest in Air Force technology.
Few of the corporate aircraft saw much use in the years to
follow. They sat on the ground as a threat, using their precious
fuel only when absolutely needed. The Food Riots exhausted
many fuel caches, and more were depleted in the anarchic mad-
ness that followed. Fewer and fewer aircraft had the fuel or the
parts to get aloft.
The situation changed when conditions stabilized and fuel-
cell aircraft began to appear on the scene. Helicopters were the
first fuel-cell aircraft in manufacture and almost everyone
bought them immediately their usefulness had been proven in
wars for the last six decades. Corporate air flotillas began build-
ing back up.
When major airplane manufacturers began production of
fuel-cell airplanes and microplanes (formerly called ultralights),
the corporate air barons grabbed more air power. Air shipping
companies acquired immense air fleets to protect their trade
routes and airship investments, as more and more valuable car-
goes traversed the nation via gasbag.
Competition for routes and customers moved from price
wars to air wars in record time, using the logic that the only
good competition was destroyed competition. Independent ae-
rial pirates appeared to plague the air transport companies, fur-
ther justifying transport company policy of shooting at anything
within range and fostering accusations of corporate sponsorship
of various pirate groups.
Today, aerial combats range with frequency equal to high-
way fire-fights. The major difference is that the airborne
destruction is not often covered by live cameras a dogfight is too
dangerous a place for a news chopper, since anything in the air
becomes a target in such conflicts. The heaviest areas of conflict
are declared Combat Zones by the Federal Aviation Agency -
updates on zone locations are available via satellite uplink at all
times, but most pilots know to avoid the direct-line courses
linking major cities. These minimum-mileage routes are the
ones most heavily used by cargo-carriers and the aircraft that
prey on them, like pirates of old lurking along the trade currents.
The only relatively safe havens are airports, heavily-armed bas-
tions of sanctuary.
Many aircraft vary from these straight-line paths, attempting
to avoid the combat that heavy airship convoys bull through.
The most expensive passenger fares are with the convoys, so
most travelers take the off-routes too.
Government
Involvement
Most government involvement consists of restricting air-
space over valuable and secret installations (enforced at gun-
point, either by anti-air defenses, fighter aircraft or both) and the
ever-present eyes of the SDI spy-sats. The U.S. Aerospace
Force controls the network and tracks the entire hemisphere (and
a great part of the rest of the world, but not so closely), follow-
ing every flight and often aborting kill-sat intervention when the
near-AI targeting computers think they see a missile. Nothing is
so disconcerting as receiving a radio call from SDICOM asking
for aircraft identification, and no aircraft hesitates to identify
itself failure to do so means that a kill-sat might be allowed to
its job . . .
The SDI records are supposedly Top Secret and not available
to anyone outside SDICMD or the high ranks of the USAF.
However, operator bribery has occasionally resulted in informa-
tion release. To date, security measures have prevented any un-
authorized use of the kill-sats themselves.
Military aircraft far outclass those available to civilian
forces. To the average aeroduellist, military jets are to be
avoided they strike at unbelievable ranges and monstrous
speeds, often without warning. Often the target aircraft barely
detects the incoming missile on its radar before it hits: modern
missiles carry their own ECM. They travel at 1,000+ mph and
shred civilian "warplanes" like cheese only fools fight the
military.
3 Introduction
Maximum Wing
Type Cost Weight Load Spaces(F/W) DP
Small $150,000 5,000 lbs. 25,000 25/7 30
Large $ 250,000 9,000 lbs. 40,000 45/8 35
Armor
HC

Cost/Wt.
3

30/14
1

30/14*
FIXED-WING PLANES
The first powered aircraft were fixed-wing planes, which fly
by using thrust to push air over a fixed lifting foil. This differs
from helicopters and autogyros, which use a rotary foil, and
airships, which using lifting gas.
Body Types
Airplanes are built in the same way as cars and other vehi-
cles. They are more expensive due to the materials used in the
construction of their frames and wings microplanes, for in-
stance, are made of carbon-fiber/aluminum composites, and air-
planes are made of carbon-fiber/plastic/steel alloy. Jet fighters
substitute titanium for steel.
When designing airplanes, the components are Body Type,
Power Plant, Propellers (unless the aircraft is a jet), Tires,
Weapons and Accessories. Unless otherwise noted, aircraft have
six armor locations: Front, Left, Right, Back, Top and Under-
body. Armor is available in all of the types used for land vehi-
cles. Armor types cannot be mixed on the
same vehicle.
All aircraft bodies may be streamlined
and have sloped armor (wing spaces are not
affected by this). Microplanes may use Im-
proved Tail Assemblies and Maneuver
Foils (see p. 18). Airplanes may mount ma-
neuver foils and may use Improved Tail
Assemblies.
The number of Maneuver Foils an air-
craft can mount depends on size and type.
Small, medium, large and cargo
microplanes can mount one pair. Large
cargo microplanes can mount two pairs.
Airplanes (of any size) can mount up to two
pairs. Small jet fighters can mount two
pair. Large jet fighters can mount three
pairs.
Type
Small
Medium
Large
Cargo
Large Cargo
Microplane Body Types
Cost Weight
Maximum
Load Spaces(F/W)
Wing
DP
$2,500 200 lbs. 3,000 7/1 5
$3,500 350 lbs. 4,500 10/2 8
$5,000 550 lbs. 6,000 14/3 10
$6,500 600 lbs. 8,500 14(+8)/3 12
$8,000 800 lbs. 10,000 20( +16)/4 16
HC
Armor
Cost/Wt.
4 11/5
3 13/6
3 18/9
2 22/11
1 30/14
Airplane Body Types
Type
Small
Medium
Large
Cargo**
Large Cargo***
Cost Weight
Maximum
Load Spaces(F/W)
Wing
DP HC
Armor
Cost/Wt.
$4,000 450 lbs. 6,000 10/ 2 12 3 14/7
$6,000 700 lbs. 10,000 18/3 16 2 20/10
$9,000 2,000 lbs. 16,000 26/6 20 1 30/14
$30,000 3,000 lbs. 30,000 40( + 30)/10 30 0 30/14*
$100,000 4,500 lbs. 65,000 70( + 30)/15 40 0 30/14*
*Armor cost/wt per section.
**Has ten sections to the fuselage, just like a trailer. Requires at least two propellers or jets to fly.
***Has eighteen sections to the fuselage, like two trailers! Requires at least three propellers or jets to fly.
Jet Fighter Body Types
*Has ten armor locations.
Construction 4
Jet Frames
Jet fighters are high-performance, specially G-stressed air-
frames built for the rigors of speed and acceleration. They are
more-or-less custom-built and automatically include the follow-
ing in their construction: Improved Tail Assembly, Swept
Wings and Streamlining. The cost, weight and space of these
options are built into body cost, weight and space figures.
Frame Composition
Microplanes are composed of lightweight assemblies and
take double damage from rams and collisions. Airplanes are
made of similarly light materials but are more durable and resis-
tant to impact. Jet fighters are made of expensive plastics and
high-strength, low-weight metals. Airplanes and jet fighters
take standard damage from rams and collisions. No fixed-wing
aircraft may be modified for a carbon-aluminum frame, since
they're already composed of equivalent materials.
Spaces
Aircraft have two kinds of spaces, Fuselage (F) and Wing
(W). Fuselage spaces are used as are Body spaces in other vehi-
cles. Wing spaces are the number of spaces in each wing avail-
able for mounting weapons, propellers, jets and/or accessories.
EWPs may also be mounted on the wings.
Wings
Each aircraft has two wings. Wings are lifting foils and
provide weapons mounts as well. Spaces given on the Body
Type table are per wing.
Microplane wings are extremely flexible and durable be-
cause of their lightweight construction. They take damage like
metal armor. A Wing Check (see p. 25) must be made in any
turn a wing suffers two or more points of damage. Microplane
wings cannot be armored.
Airplane and jet fighter wings are less resilient but tougher,
taking damage like metal armor but at one point less i.e.,
airplane/jet fighter wings take damage on a damage die roll of 5
or 6; 4,5 or 6 if the attacking weapon is a burst effect (3-6 from
HESH). A Wing Check must be made in any turn a wing suffers
four or more points of damage.
Airplane/jet fighter wings can be armored. Wing armor has
a Cost/Wt. of $20/5 per wing space of the airplane's wings. It
must be applied to both wings equally and is limited to 40 points
of armor (or 8 points of metal).
Example 1: The BB-17B (Large Cargo airplane) has 4 points
of metal armor on each wing, for a total of $2,400 and 3,000 lbs
(a ton and a half of armor!).
Example 2: A large airplane with 40 points of plastic armor
on each wing would have six spaces on each wing, each with 200
lbs. of armor, for a total of 1,200 pounds per wing. Total cost
would be $9,600, plus 2,400 pounds.
Plastic wing armor essentially adds DP to the wings, suffer-
ing damage in the same way wings are damaged. Do not make
Wing Checks for wing damage until plastic wing armor is gone.
Metal wing armor protects against wing damage but any
damage penetrating metal armor causes a Wing Check. The air-
plane in the example above would have to sustain 5 or more
points of wing damage in a single attack to take any actual wing
damage. However, metal wing armor is destroyed just like reg-
ular metal armor. For example, if a burst weapon attack hitting
4 points of wing armor had two die rolls of 5 or 6, the wing
would sustain no damage but the metal armor would be reduced
to 2 points.
Wing Modifications
All aircraft wings can have the following modifications:
Heavy Lift +25 % of body cost, +10% of body weight.
Allows the aircraft to take off with a greater load, reduces stall
speed by 20% and top speed by 20%. When figuring accelera-
tion (and the ability to fly at all), use 70% of the aircraft's
weight. Jet Fighters may not mount Heavy Lift wings.
STOL Wings +20% of body cost, + 10% of body weight.
A modification of Heavy Lift Wings, Short Take-Off and Land-
ing Wings reduce stall speed by 33%. They also reduce HC by
2 (minimum 0). They can be combined with Heavy Lift Wings.
When combined, stall speed is reduced by 40%, top speed is
reduced 20% and HC is lowered by 2 (minimum 0). Jets can not
have STOL wings.
STOL wings may be combined with Swept Wings (below),
bringing stall speed back to normal.
Swept Wings +25 % of body cost, +5 % of body weight.
These wings (which include delta wings) reduce drag and in-
crease maximum speed by +50%. Stall speed increases 33%.
Heavy Lift and Swept Wings may not be combined. Remember,
jet fighters automatically have Swept Wings.
Variable Wings +100% of body cost, +20% of body
weight. (Jet fighters pay 100% of body cost and 10% of body
weight for variable wings.) Variable wings allow an aircraft to
angle the wings for either normal wing or swept wing perfor-
mance. Angling the wings from normal to swept configuration
(or vice versa) is a firing action on the first turn and takes four
turns after the first to take effect. While the wings are changing
configuration, treat wing effects as if the wings were in the
former configuration if changing from swept to normal, the
aircraft behaves as a swept-wing until the change is complete,
and vice versa.
Forward-Swept Wings +400% body cost, +10% of body
weight. (Jet fighters pay only 5 % of body weight for this modi-
fication.) These wings reduce aircraft stability immensely, mak-
ing a highly maneuverable aircraft. An aircraft with
forward-swept wings must have at least one pair of maneuver
foils. Forward-swept wings reduce HC by 2, increase stall speed
by 50%, increase top speed by 50% and reduce the difficulty of
any maneuver by 2. Combined with the effect of the maneuver
foils, this gives the aircraft -D2 on maneuvers under 60 mph and
-D3 on 60+ mph maneuvers. If the power plant aboard a for-
ward-swept wing aircraft ever fails, the aircraft goes into an
immediate spin that cannot be corrected. Forward-swept wings
cannot be combined with any other wing type.
Extra Wing Turns the aircraft into a biplane (or triplane).
Any number of extra wings may be added to an aircraft. Each
extra wing consists of another Left wing and Right wing, each
with regular wing DP for the appropriate aircraft. Airplane and
jet extra wings can be armored normally. Extra wings do not add
to wing spaces. A biplane can have its wings fore and aft rather
than stacked on top of each other this makes no difference.
Wing DP remains unchanged; each additional wing lowers
stall speed and maximum speed by 20%. HC is +1 for the first
additional wing only. Weight and cost vary according to body
type, because larger aircraft require more massive wings. Small,
medium and large microplanes add 20% to body cost and weight
per additional wing. Small airplanes, cargo and large cargo
microplanes add 40% to body cost and weight. Medium and
large airplanes add 200% to body cost and weight. Cargo and
large cargo airplanes add 300% to body cost and weight.
Flying Wings Adds 0 to wing space (round up) while
maintaining the same fuselage size. Adds 20% to lift, and in-
creases the difficulty of all maneuvers by +D1. +250% body
cost and +25% of body weight.
5 Construction
Propellers
Microplanes and airplanes require propellers and power
plants; jet fighters don't use them. Propellers are a plane's
"wheels," transforming power from the power plant into
thrust. Jet engines shoot their power directly out the stern as
thrust.
Planes require at least one propeller; some require more, and
all may use multiple propellers. Propellers may be mounted on
the wings, on the front or back of the fuselage, and in wing and
body-mounted EWPs. Planes with three or more propellers lose
1 from HC (unless HC is already 0, in which case there is no
loss). Microplanes may mount no more than three propellers.
Planes mounting propellers on the wings must balance the
mountings symmetrically. Propeller mountings must be identi-
cal for each wing if an aircraft mounts a propeller F on one
wing, it must mount another propeller F on the other wing.
Propellers can be mounted forward and backward on wings it
is possible to have an aircraft with four propellers, two wing-
mounted F and two wing-mounted B.
Any plane losing one or more propellers suffers an immedi-
ate D4 hazard. Thereafter its HC drops by 2 until the propeller
is replaced.
Propeller armor adds its DP to the propeller's.
Propellor Types
Microplane Propeller $250, 200 lbs., 1 space, 4 DP.
Propeller armor costs $5 and weighs 2 lbs. per point, maximum
10 points.
Airplane Propeller $600, 250 lbs, 2 spaces, 10 DP. Pro-
peller armor costs $20 and weighs 5 lbs. per point, maximum 20
points.
Ducted Cowlings $250, 20 lbs., no space, adds 2 DP to
propeller. When added to all propellers on a plane the power
plant's power factors are increased by 15 % for purposes of ac-
celeration, top speed and maximum load. Ducted cowlings are
larger than regular propellers and easier to target.
Tilt-Rotor $100, 75 lbs., 1 space each. These may be
mounted on any microplane or any airplane of large or smaller
body style. Tilt-rotor-equipped propellers must be mounted on
the wings, aimed forward. Tilt-rotors swivel up to take off and
land and tilt forward for regular flight. Switching between the
flight modes is a firing action, taken in the acceleration phase.
Tilt-rotors may have ducted cowlings. Acceleration in take-off
mode is reduced by 10 mph; a tilt-rotor with an acceleration of
0 or less cannot take off!
A tilt-rotor aircraft in take-off/VTOL mode behaves just like
a helicopter with a maximum speed of 50 mph. Tilt-rotor aircraft
moving faster than 50 mph in VTOL mode must make a Wing
Check with a +1 per 5 mph over 50 mph. Such aircraft must
continue to make such Wing Checks every turn they are in
VTOL mode and exceeding 50 mph.
Tilt-rotors may not be EWP-mounted.
Power Plants
Microplanes use car power plants and gas engines. Airplanes
use gas or fuel-cell aircraft power plants or jets (small airplanes
can use car power plants or gas engines). Jet Fighters use jet
power plants exclusively.
Aircraft power plants (see top of next page) are identical to
Helicopter plants in the Compendium. They can only be used to
power helicopters and airplanes; since most of the power is
routed directly to the prop(s), the power use is different from
ground vehicles. Microplanes use variations of the car power
plants.
Power Factors
A power plant's power factors get the aircraft off the ground
and provide acceleration:
5 mph Acceleration: Power Factors = V2 up to (but not
including) 3/4 aircraft weight.
10 mph Acceleration: Power Factors = 3/4 up to (but not
including) aircraft weight.
15 mph Acceleration: Power Factors = aircraft weight up to
(but not including) 1 V4 times weight.
20 mph Acceleration: Power Factors = 1144 times aircraft
weight up to (but not including) 1 times aircraft weight.
25 mph Acceleration: Power Factors = 1 times aircraft
weight (only possible with jet engines).
When calculating acceleration, power factor modifiers such
as ducted cowlings, superchargers, platinum catalysts, and so on
are additive. For example, an aircraft equipped with a power
plant modified for PCs and SCs and ducted cowlings would
figure the power factor boost for the plant modifications, then
increase the result by the ducted cowling factor.
Example: A 10,000 lb. medium plane with a small aircraft
power plant and regular propellor would have an acceleration of
10 (8,000 PF is more than 3/4 weight, but still less than weight).
This same plane adds PCs and SCs (adds 15%, bringing it to
9,200 PF), plus ducted cowlings (an additional 15 % increase on
the modified PF, bringing it to 10,580 PF) for an acceleration of
15.
When the aircraft is taxiing, heavy lift wing modifications to
the aircraft's weight are ignored. If the aircraft's power factors
are less than half the aircraft's weight, it has an acceleration of
2.5 mph.
Top speeds for electric plants are doubled, yielding the fol-
lowing formula: (720 x Power Factors)/(Power Factors + Air-
craft Weight). Top speeds for the power plants are calculated
before adding top speed bonuses for streamlining and Swept
Wings. Top speed for gas engines uses the following formula:
(480 x Power Factors)/(Power Factors + Aircraft Weight).
Plant Accessories
Overdrive cannot be used. Turbochargers, superchargers,
etc., do not add their acceleration bonus to planes; they only
increase top speed. Aircraft mounting wheels that are not re-
tractable must have wheelguards for streamlining each miss-
ing wheelguard (each aircraft should have at least three)
subtracts 10 mph from top speed. Aircraft may use rocket boost-
ers, increasing acceleration up to 10 mph for cargo planes and
microplanes and up to 10 mph for all other fixed-wing aircraft.
Like all vehicles, aircraft take three seconds to power up.
An aircraft with fuel-cell power figures its range according
to the following formula: Each power plant has Power Units
equal to (50 x spaces). PU are consumed at (PU x (Current
speed -75)) divided by (10,000 x (maximum speed/ 240)).
Swept-wing aircraft have 75 % of normal range, due to the
loss of lift.
Gas Aircraft Engines
Gas aircraft engines (see table, top of next page) can be
Blueprinted, use Tubular Headers, Turbochargers, Supercharg-
ers and Nitrous Oxide boost.
Base MPG is figured at cruising speed 60% of the
aircraft's top speed. For every 20% of Top Speed above cruising
speed, reduce the MPG by 10%. MPG can never be worse than
30% of Base MPG.
For every 10% of Top Speed below cruising speed, increase
MPG by 10%, to a maximum of 120% Base MPG.
Construction
Aircraft Power Plants
Type Cost Weight Spaces DP PF
Mini $10,000 2,500 8 16 5,000
Small $15,000 3,000 10 20 8,000
Standard $20,000 3,500 13 26 14,000
Super $25,000 4,000 16 32 20,000
Type Cost Weight Spaces DP PF Base MPG
Mini 19,000 1,000 8 18 7,000 15
Small 30,000 1,500 11 24 14,000 9
Standard 45,000 1,900 15 27 24,000 6
Super 65,000 2,250 18 36 30,000 4
Oversize 100,000 3,000 22 45 40,000 1*
*(Max acceleration 5 mph)
When a gas engine takes one or more DP of damage, roll 2d-3, plus 1 per 5 points of damage
and consult the Engine Critical Damage Table.
Jet Engines
Type Cost Weight Spaces DP PF Base MPG
Standard 15,000 300 1 1 1,000 5
High 45,000 300 1 1 2,000 1
Gas Aircraft Engines
Engine Critical
Damage Table
2 or less - Smoke pours out of the exhaust pipes, giving the
crew a good scare and making for dramatic gun-camera pictures.
No other effect.
3-4 - Minor damage. The engine may break down later.
Roll 2d-4 on this table after each full hour that the motor is run.
Repairing the engine is an Easy job.
5-Medium damage. The engine may break down. Roll
2d-3 on this table after each full ten minutes that the motor is
run. Repairing the engine is a Medium job.
6-7-Heavy damage. Roll 2d-2 on this chart every 30
seconds. Repairing the engine is a Hard job.
8-Cooling system. Warning lights indicate overheating.
After 10 seconds, the engine may seize up - roll 1d each turn
after the ten-second warning. On a roll of 6, the engine seizes up
and stops running. It cannot be repaired.
9-Oil system. After three seconds, roll 1d each turn. On a
roll of 6, the engine seizes up and is unrepairable. If the engine
has a turbocharger, it seizes up on a roll of 5 or 6. After five
seconds, warning lights indicate loss of oil pressure. Please note
that the engine may seize up without warning during the fourth
and fifth seconds. If the engine is shut down before it seizes up,
it may be repaired at 10% of the engine's original cost. Such
repairs are a Medium job.
10 - Fuel system. The engine will shut down after d+3
seconds. The engine might catch on fire. Roll 2d each turn until
the engine is shut off or stops for lack of fuel. On a roll of 11 or
12, the engine catches on fire.
11 -The engine destroys itself, taking five seconds to turn
into useless junk. All engine power functions (acceleration,
laser power) are lost immediately. It cannot be repaired.
12 or better - The engine is on fire.
Jet Engines
Jet engines are different from any other power plant in that
they are both the power plant and the engine. Typically, power
plants only provide power for separate electric engines. Jets
consume their fuel and throw the resulting energy out the tail-
pipe.
Any fixed-wing aircraft can be fitted with jet engines, al-
though jet fighters are specifically built for the purpose.
Microplanes and jet fighters cannot have jet engines mounted on
the wings - microplane wings are too frail and jet fighter de-
signs are useless unless the engines are placed in the fuselage -
but airplanes may mount jet engines on their wings. Jet engines
may be mounted in wing and tail-mounted EWPs. Jet engines
must be mounted back.
There are no standard-size jet engines, since they must be
custom-fitted to the aircraft. There are two standard types of jet
engines: high-performance and standard-performance (see table,
above). The actual engines are built by adding spaces to the
engine until the desired power factors are reached. For instance,
a 16,000 PF HP jet engine would weigh 2,400 lbs, take up 8
spaces and cost $360,000.
An aircraft can mount more than one jet engine. Unlike
regular power plants, multiple jet engines combine their power
factors into a single power factor. These engines must be con-
structed separately.
The advantage of having multiple jet engines is that if one is
damaged the other(s) can continue to function, keeping the air-
craft aloft. Certain airplanes require multiple engines (cargo and
large cargo airplanes). Jet engines mounted in wings must be
mounted in matched pairs, like weapons or propellers. A jet
engine mounted in the fuselage may be any size, and need not
match the wing engines. Multiple fuselage engines must match
each other.
The jet engine in the above example could be made into two
separate engines with ease - each engine would have 8,000 PF,
weigh 1,200 lbs., have 4 DP, take up 4 spaces and cost
$180,000. To get the same performance with three engines
would require two standard engines with 5,000 PF ($75,000, 5
DP, 5 spaces, and 1,500 lbs. each) and one HP engine of 6,000
PF (weighing 1,200 lbs. with 3 DP, taking up 3 spaces and
costing $135,000).
Fuel Efficiency
Jet engines are very thirsty fuel users. The Base MPG is
listed for 450 mph cruising speed (or 60 % of the aircraft's max-
imum speed, whichever is lower). If the aircraft goes faster than
7 Construction
cruising speed, the Base MPG is lowered by 10% per 5 % of Top
Speed over cruising speed to a minimum of 30% Base MPG. For
every 5% of Top Speed under cruising speed, the Base MPG is
raised by 5 % to a maximum of 120% Base MPG.
Base MPG is the same no matter how many engines a jet
aircraft has.
Top speed for a jet aircraft is determined by the following
formula: (1,000 x PF)/(PF + Aircraft Weight).
Jet Accessories
Jet engines cannot use any accessories except Afterburners
or Vectored Thrust.
Afterburner. Weighs 10% of engine weight, takes up 2
spaces, costs 50% of engine cost. Only High-Performance en-
gines can mount an afterburner. An afterburner increases the
power factors of the jet when it is activated. Activating an after-
burner counts as a firing action; turning an afterburner off
counts as a firing action. Afterburners are activated and turned
off in the acceleration phase.
When an afterburner is activated the engine's power factors
double. This doubling holds as long as the afterburner is turned
on. When the afterburner is running, the jet engine uses one
gallon of fuel per turn per afterburner-equipped engine.
Jets with afterburners have two acceleration ratings and max-
imum speeds. One is for standard use and one is for when the
afterburner is activated.
Vectored Thrust +20% of the jet-engine spaces, +50%
of the jet-engine cost. Cannot be fitted to jets with wing-
mounted engines. Allows the jet aircraft to hover, move back-
wards and make vertical take-offs and landings like a
VTOL/helicopter. To use VT, the aircraft must have an acceler-
ation of 20 mph before afterburner calculations. When hovering
or moving on vertical thrust the aircraft has an acceleration of 5
mph and a maximum speed equal to its horizontal stall speed.
Maximum backwards speed is 5 mph. Fuel is used at 2 gallons
per second per engine when using VT.
VT can be used in maneuvering at speed see the Viffing
section on p. 22.
Jet Engine Damage
Jet engines are not as tough as gas piston engines. Each time
a jet engine takes damage, roll 1d and refer to the following
table.
Jet Engine
Critical Damage
1-2 No apparent effect. The engine requires repair of lost
DP, an Easy job.
3 Power shutdown. The engine stops working and the
aircraft loses the engine's thrust. The pilot may attempt to restart
the engine, hoping that it's merely a flameout. Roll d on a
1-3, the engine restarts. On a 4-6, the engine remains dead until
repaired. Repairing the engine is a Medium job.
4 Engine fire. The engine is on fire, and may be extin-
guished by on-board fire extinguishers. Repairing the engine is
a Medium job.
5 Engine destroys itself. Shattered turbine blades hurtle
from the exhaust, a nerve-racking process that lasts 1d turns.
The engine can't be repaired; it must be replaced.
6+ The engine explodes, doing damage to the aircraft. If
the engine is mounted in the fuselage, the damage affects inter-
nal components. If the engine is mounted in the wing, the dam-
age is applied to the wing. If the engine is mounted on an EWP,
the damage is applied to the side armor or wing, as appropriate.
The engine does 1 point of damage per engine space.
EWP-mounted engines do 1 point of damage per 3 engine spaces. The
engine no longer exists to repair.
Aircraft Fuel
Microplanes with gas engines use regular gas/alcohol fuel.
Airplane/helicopter gas engines use a higher-octane, more ex-
pensive fuel. It weighs the same as regular fuel but costs $100
per gallon.
Jets use even more expensive fuel. It weighs 6 lbs. per gal-
lon, like regular fuel, but costs $250 per gallon.
Fuel tanks are constructed as per the Compendium rules for
gas tanks (see below). Space constraints make for small internal
fuel tanks, so most gas-burners and jets use Drop Tanks (see
Accessories, p. 18).
Gas Tanks
The gas tank is a separate component from the gas engine,
and is drawn separately on the vehicle record sheet. A gas tank
can hold any whole number of gallons even one.
The number of spaces a gas tank takes up is the same for
every type. A tank of 5 gallons or less takes up no space; 6- to
15-gallon tanks take up 1 space; 16- to 25-gallon tanks take up 2
spaces; 26- to 35-gallon tanks take up 3 spaces, and so on. If
multiple gas tanks are used, calculate the space taken up using
the total capacity of the combined tanks. Gas tanks are available
in four types:
Economy Tank Weighs one lb. per gallon and costs $2 per
gallon of capacity. The economy tank has 2 DP.
Heavy-Duty Tank Weighs two lbs. per gallon, and costs
$5 per gallon of capacity. The HD tank has 4 DP.
Racing Tank The racing tank utilizes compartmentaliza-
tion and a sponge-like substance that holds the fuel and keeps it
from sloshing and leaking. The result is that even if the tank is
breached, fuel loss will be V4 that of the economy or HD tank.
Racing tanks weigh five lbs. per gallon and cost $10 per gallon
of capacity. The racing tank has 4 DP.
Duelling Tank This top-of-the-line tank is for duellists
who want to take as few risks as possible. The duelling tank has
the same internal safety features as the racing tank, and it's more
heavily armored. The duelling tank weighs 10 lbs. per gallon
and costs $25 per gallon of capacity. The tank has 8 DP.
When gas tanks are hit, they take damage like any compo-
nent. If a duelling tank (for instance) takes 5 hits of damage, it
has 3 DP left. After the tank is breached, roll I die and multiply
the result by 20% (5% for racing and duelling tanks) that is
the percentage of the tank's capacity that leaks out of the tank
(see also Fire and Explosion on Compendium p. 31). If the tank
is still holding fuel, it now has half the original tank's DP. If the
breached tank takes damage in excess of its (new) DP again, it is
automatically destroyed and all gas is lost.
Fuel A gallon of fuel weighs 6 lbs.
Tank type DP Wt./gallon $/gallon
Economy 2 1 lb. $2
Heavy Duty 4 2 lbs. $5
Racing 4 5 lbs. $10
Duelling 8 10 lbs. $25
Construction
Weapons
Aircraft mount weapons in the fuselage and wings. Wing
armament must be pointed forward or backward. Armament
mounted in the same area as a propeller, firing through the same
arc, costs $500 more per weapon for the synchronization with
the propeller. One weapon may be mounted in the propeller hub,
but still costs $500 more for counter-rotation fittings. Turrets
and EWPs may be mounted T and U on the fuselage; those
mounted U must be taken from cargo spaces if the aircraft has
cargo spaces. Back-mounted fuselage weapons must also be
taken from cargo spaces if the aircraft has cargo space.
No more than 1/3 of the total spaces in an aircraft can be
devoted to weapons that fire from any one side (round down).
Wing-mounted weapons must be mounted in matching pairs
if there are three MGs in the left wing firing F, then there
must be three MGs in the right wing firing F, too. Weapons may
be mixed in the wings for example, an RL and an MML could
be mounted in each wing. Each mixed pair must fire the same
direction the RLs in the example might fire F and the MMLs
fire B, but the matched pairs would fire the same direction.
Microplanes cannot mount high-recoil weapons in their
wings. ATGs, ACs, GCs, HACs and Tank Guns cannot be
mounted in microplane wings or in microplane EWPs. No
microplane may mount a Tank Gun or HAC.
Airplanes may mount ACs, ATGs and GCs in their wings
and in their EWPs. They may mount TGs F or B in their fuse-
lages, although firing such a weapon is a D4 hazard at any time!
HACs must be mounted in the fuselage, and firing it is a D2
hazard if the airplane is smaller than Cargo. Airplanes mounting
ATGs suffer a D2 penalty every time they fire an ATG to any
direction except F or B unless the airplane is larger than
Large, in which case there is no recoil penalty.
Jet fighters have the same weapon mounting rules as non-
cargo airplanes. They may fire HACs and ATGs without any
penalties.
Other Exterior
Equipment
Aircraft may mount EWPs and turrets, according to the Tur-
ret Table (see below). Aircraft may mount turrets on the top and
the bottom of the aircraft, as many as they could normally mount
on the top. No EWPs can ever be mounted anywhere but on
Top, Underbody or Wings (wing-mounted EWPs are under the
wings).
Landing Gear
Every aircraft requires landing gear. Microplanes require
three motorcycle wheels; airplanes require three car wheels. Jet
fighters, cargo and large cargo airplanes require six truck tires.
(While some "real-world" cargo planes require more than six
wheels, they require large, gas-hog engines and have fallen out
of use in 2040. The maximum cargo weight of an Aeroduel
plane is 65,000 lbs. large, but well able to get by with six
wheels).
Appropriate wheelguards may be added to the wheels to
protect and streamline them (microplanes use cycle
wheelguards, airplanes and jet fighters require regular
wheelguards). Only three wheelguards are necessary on the
six-wheel aircraft, the wheels are grouped in pairs. All aircraft
may mount retractable landing gear see Accessories, p. 18.
Microplanes and airplanes under 5,000 lbs. may mount Off-
Road Suspension (at standard cost) and Off-Road Tires in order
to take off from and land on off-road/unpaved surfaces. A plane
without OR tires will take 1 point tire damage per Phase they are
in contact with an unpaved surface. Planes without OR suspen-
sion take this damage directly to the underbody the wheels
collapse!
Microplanes and airplanes may mount a tailwheel or skid
instead of one (or 1/2 total number, whichever is greater) of the
required sets of wheels (1 wheel most of the time, 2 wheels on
large landing gear assemblies). The tailwheel/skid weighs and
costs half as much as one standard wheel of the size appropriate
to the aircraft. Tailwheel/skid aircraft are limited to 30-degree
turns while taxiing.
No Landing Gear
Aircraft landing without wheels on a paved surface (a belly
landing) will take 2 points damage to the underbody per Turn,
decelerating 20 mph per Turn, until the craft stops. On an un-
paved surface, damage is 1 point per Phase. In either case, there
is a Fire Modifier of 2, Duration 0 (it catches fire on a 2 on 2d).
Dischargers
Aircraft may mount dischargers on body and wings. Only
two dischargers may be mounted Back and none may be
mounted Front. Sides, top and bottom may mount two discharg-
ers per 20 body spaces. Wings may mount two dischargers (on
the bottom/trailing edge of each wing) per four wing spaces,
rounded up. This is a good way to carry chaff to fool those
radar-guided missiles . . .
Turret Tables
Microplane Turret Table
Body Maximum Maximum Number
Type Turret Size EWP Size Of Mounts
Small None 1-space 1 T, 1 U
Medium 2-space 2-space 1 T, 1 U
Large 2-space 2-space 1 T, 1 U
Cargo 3-space 3-space 1 T, 1 U
Large Cargo 4-space 4-space 2 T, 2 U
Airplane Turret Table
Body Maximum Maximum Number
Type Turret Size EWP Size Of Mounts
Small 2-space 2-space 1 T, 1 U
Medium 3-space 3-space 1 T, 1 U
Large 3-space 4-space 2 T, 2 U
Cargo 4-space 5-space 2 T, 2 U
Large Cargo 4-space 5-space 2 T, 2 U
Jet Fighter Turret Table
Body Maximum Maximum Number
Type Turret Size EWP Size Of Mounts
Small 4-space 5-space 1 T, 1 U
Large 4-space 5-space 2 T, 2 U
EWPs may, of course, be mounted on the wings. An aircraft
may mount as many EWPs on each wing as it may mount top
turrets.
Aircraft may mount up to two special EWPs on the tail of the
aircraft, one on each side. These EWPs may only mount propel-
lers or jets.
9 Construction
Helicopters
Fast, maneuverable and versatile, helicopters are the most
numerous air vehicles of the 21st century. Their ability to carry
heavy weights and land nearly anywhere makes them the most
useful aircraft of the age, serving as cargo carriers, passenger
haulers, attack craft and rescue ambulances. They're harder to
maintain than airplanes, don't have nearly the range and are far
more expensive, but their usefulness is worth the shortfalls.
Construction
Helicopters follow construction rules similar to other aerial
vehicles. The factors of cost, weight and space must be carefully
balanced to build an effective helicopter.
Helicopters only have five basic components: body style
(which also determines rotor diameter), power plant, weapons,
armor and accessories. Helicopters do not have suspension,
chassis or tires. The maximum weight is strictly a function of the
power factors of the power plant (see below).
Helicopters come in four basic types. Note that the base
handling class goes down as the helicopters get bigger.
The numbers in parentheses under "Spaces" indicate the
amount of cargo the helicopter can carry. Spaces designated for
cargo cannot be used for helicopter components (except where
noted below).
Rotor DP indicates the number of damage points the
helicopter's rotor have. The first number is for the main rotor;
the second is for the stabilizing rotor.
The one-man helicopter can be purchased in a "stowaway"
construction. For an extra $1,000 the helicopter can be broken
down into component parts. It has a hinged fuselage and folding
rotors and fits into any cargo area holding 13 spaces. The assem-
bly or breakdown process takes a tool kit and 15 minutes.
Helicopters may be specified as having doors on either or
both sides. Opening a door is a firing action for a standing
gunner or passenger. When a door is open the helicopter is
treated as if it has an open sun-roof on that side.
Power Plants
Helicopters use aircraft power plants and gas aircraft engines
(see p. 7).
Acceleration and top speed for helicopters is computed dif-
ferently than other aircraft, as most of the helicopter's power
goes to keeping the helicopter in the air. If a helicopter's power
plant's factors are less than the helicopter's weight, the helicop-
ter cannot lift off the ground. If the factors are more than the
helicopter's weight but less than 1.5 times its weight the helicop-
ter has a straightaway acceleration of 5 mph. If the power factors
are 1.5 times the helicopter's weight or greater, the helicopter
has a straightaway acceleration of 10 mph.
Helicopter top speed is computed with the following for-
mula: (300 x Power Factors)/(Power Factors + weight). Heli-
copter power units are consumed at a rate given by this formula:
(PU x current speed)/[20,000 x (maximum speed/100)]. On
the average, a helicopter can travel about 200 miles at 100 mph
on a full charge.
Helicopters need armor in six locations: Front, back, right,
left, top and under. The main and stabilizing rotors are not
protected by armor. All the usual types of armor are available
for helicopters and mixing types is not allowed except for com-
posite metal/plastic.
Weapons
Weapons work for helicopters just as they work for other air
vehicles. Helicopters can use dropped weapons if they are close
enough to the ground. Like other aircraft, paint sprays, smoke-
screens and FCEs work normally, but the helicopter needs to be
within 7 feet of the ground V2" in ground scale and
moving below 150 mph to use oil jets, spike-droppers and
minedroppers. Above that height and speed, the action of the
rotors and velocity spread dropped weapons too much to be
effective.
Vehicular weapons may be mounted on the helicopter's
front, sides, back and underbody. They may not be mounted on
the helicopter's top because of the main rotor. Turrets may only
be mounted on the underbody. Turrets cover front, side and
back arcs of fire (and cover the under arc if bought as universal)
and are protected by the underbody armor. Side and underbody-
mounted weapons may be mounted in cargo spaces. Back-
mounted weapons must be mounted in cargo spaces, if the
helicopter has cargo spaces to begin with. One weapon may be
mounted to fire through the helicopter's rotor, This weapon is
fixed to fire straight up, as if it were firing on automatic. Only
one of the following weapons may be so mounted: MG, HMG,
AC, GG, FG, or any kind of Laser. For an additional $1,000, a
laser mounted in the rotor hub may be given a regular Top firing
arc by the addition of a special focusing lens.
Like all aerial vehicles, helicopters have three-dimensional
arcs of fire. See p. 32 for a full explanation.
Helicopter
Accessories
Many accessories used by helicopters are those used by other
vehicles. With logical exceptions (such as wheelguards, etc.)
most of the accessories listed elsewhere are available for use by
helicopters. The listings below are those accessories that may
only be used by helicopters or have special uses on helicopters.
Helicopter Body Types
Body size Price Weight Spaces HC Rotor DP Armor
One-man $10,000 500 13 3 3/3 16/8
Small $20,000 800 19 2 5/3 20/10
Standard
Transport
$40,000
$80,000
1,200
2,000
24( + 6)
24(+17)
2
1
6/4
8/4
30/14
35/17
Construction 10
Turrets and EWPS Spaces, weight and cost as per tur-
ret/EWP size and type. The table below notes the size of acces-
sory mountable on each helicopter body size. Please note that an
EWP mounted on the underbody precludes the mounting of a
turret in that area.
Helicopter Turret Table
Body Size

Max. Turret Size

Max. EWP Size

One-man

1 space

2 spaces
Small

2 spaces

3 spaces
Standard

3 spaces

4 spaces
Transport

4 spaces

4 spaces
Skids No weight, space or cost. Two of these are standard
equipment on all helicopters; the helicopter stands on them when
it is on the ground. Skids are targeted at -8 to hit and their DP
varies: 8 DP per skid for one-man and small helicopters, 12 DP
per skid for standard and transport helicopters.
Skid Stretchers No space, 25 lbs., $300, 2 DP. Skid
stretchers are man-sized cylinders attached to the skids for the
purpose of carrying extra people or cargo. Each one adds one
space to those of the helicopter, up to a maximum of an extra two
spaces, but those spaces cannot be used for anything except
carrying cargo or people. The stretchers are unarmored and tar-
geted like pedestrians (-3 to hit).
Co-axial Counter-Rotating Rotor System (CACR) 20% of
body cost, 400 lbs, 2 spaces. Replaces the stabilizing rotor and
adds another blade to the main rotor; both blades have the DP
specified for the main rotor. The CACR increases maximum
speed to 250 mph and adds 1 to HC (maximum HC is still 3).
If the rotors are hit by damage, roll randomly to see which
rotor was hit. When one is destroyed, treat the damage as if the
helicopter lost its stabilizing rotor. The CACR system works
like a stealth system as long as the helicopter stays under half
speed and acceleration, except that the range of hearing is 6"
(90').
Extra Rotor Blades Each extra main rotor blade costs
$1,000 and weighs 200 lbs. Each extra stabilizing rotor blade
costs $250 and weighs 50 lbs. Unmodified rotors have two
blades per rotor; up to three more per rotor may be added for a
maximum of five per rotor.
Each extra blade adds 1 DP to the rotor DP. In addition, any
helicopter with four or more blades on its main and stabilizing
rotors adds 1 to its HC (maximum HC is still 3). If combined
with CACR, each rotor must have the same number of blades
and there is no HC benefit from having four or more blades on
each rotor.
Rotor Armor The armor increases rotor DP. Main rotor
armor is twice the cost and half the weight per point of one point
of the helicopter's armor. Stabilizing rotor armor is 1.5 times
the cost and half the weight per point of one point of the
helicopter's armor. Main rotor armor repair is three times as
costly; stabilizing rotor armor is twice as costly to repair. Rotor
armor must match the helicopter's armor, unless the helicopter
has only metal armor, in which case rotor armor may be any type
of plastic (rotor armor may not be metal). A maximum of 10
points of armor may be applied to any rotor.
Dusting
A helicopter can "dust" a ground vehicle. If a helicopter
drops to within 1" of a ground target over any terrain but the
most scrupulously clean arena asphalt, the area is "dusted" -
the blades kick up a nasty cloud of dust, gravel, trash and other
materials, with the basic effect of a very large smokescreen. Put
a smokescreen counter directly under the helicopter over a V2"
by 1" area. This could stays under the helicopter as long as it's
within 1" of the ground, moving wherever it moves, and is
otherwise like a smokescreen in all respects. The "dusting"
extends upward 1/2" from the ground.
Destroying Smoke and Paint Clouds
Any helicopter larger than one-man size can dispel a smoke
or paint cloud by flying close to it. Small helicopters disperse
any smoke or paint cloud within 1". Standard and transport
choppers disperse clouds within 2". Double these distances for
a cloud directly below the helicopter. However, a chopper
which disperses a paint cloud by flying underneath it is treated
as though it had entered the cloud; the paint is sucked down by
the rotors and coats the windshield.
Grasshoppers
The Grasshopper is an uncommon combination of helicopter
and automobile. It is a mid-sized, sedan or luxury car body
which is modified to accommodate the extra helicopter equip-
ment. This modification costs $15,000 extra. The equipment
consists of a folding rotor assembly issuing from a sliding roof
panel; a tail rotor issues from the rear of the car. Because of this
conversion equipment, no turrets may be mounted on a Grass-
hopper except a pop-up turret mounted under. Grasshoppers
may have no top-mounted weapons.
The rotor extension takes a full turn to activate, during
which time the roof panel slides back, the rotors emerge and
extend to their full length. To take off the rotors must spin for
three seconds on the fourth second the grasshopper may take
off. Its acceleration and maximum speed are determined accord-
ing to regular helicopter weight versus power factor rules.
Grasshopper ground speed and acceleration are based on regular
automobile weight versus power factor rules most grasshop-
pers are quite fast. Grasshoppers may use only mini or small
helicopter power plants. The power plant takes up the normal
amount of space and the rotor conversion gear takes up 1 space.
Driver skill is used to drive the grasshopper on the ground
and Pilot skill is necessary to fly it in the air. Once in the air, the
grasshopper acts like a helicopter. Both the main and stabilizing
rotors are targeted at -6. The main rotor has 5 DP and the
stabilizing rotor has 3 DP. The grasshopper's aerial HC is 2;
ground HC is determined by the suspension. Grasshoppers may
use rotor armor and maneuver foils but may not use CACR,
extra rotor blades or retractable landing gear.
11 Construction
Airships
Airships were the first true powered aircraft, introduced
over 150 years ago. They were the only aircraft in the skies until
the invention of the powered airplane. Airships survived as
cargo and passenger carriers, capable of much greater range than
any of the airplanes of the period. Then their fortunes declined
with the destruction of the Hindenburg almost a century ago.
Few airships remained in use and even fewer were built.
Interest in heavy-lifting bodies airships rekindled to-
wards the end of the last century, when new technology made
airships feasible cargo-haulers. The interest in airships contin-
ued at an even greater pace after the fuel crunch in the early 21st
century. Today, airships move most of the heavy cargo across
the world's continents, the aerial equivalent of ocean-going
cargo ships.
Airship Body Types
Cntrl Prop Env
Size Price Weight Max Wt Spaces Armor $/Wt DP DP DP HC
Micro $ 10,000 2,000 12,000 20 14/7 3 3 6 2
Small $ 20,000 3,000 20,000 40 50/ 25 4 5 10 2
Medium $ 50,000 4,500 30,000 60 80/40 8 8 16 1
Standard $100,000 8,500 50,000 110 140/70 10 10 20 1
Large $150,000 12,000 75,000 150 200/100 15 16 32 1
Transport $180,000 25,000 100,000 180 240/120 20 20 40 0
Super $ 250,000 50,000 250,000 240 300/150 25 24 50 0
Body Types
Airships have five main components: envelope, gondola,
power plant, weapons and accessories. The gondola is the main
body to which equipment is fixed; the envelope is the gasbag
which provides lift.
There are three kinds of envelopes: Non-rigid (blimps);
semi-rigid; and rigid (dirigibles). The table above is for fully
rigid dirigibles. To convert the statistics to the other types, mod-
ify the statistics as follows:
Non-rigid A non-rigid airship is nothing more than a
gondola fastened to the bottom of a gasbag. Such an airship is
limited to Medium size or smaller. The base price is reduced by
50%. The envelope has only 3 DP in any size and maximum
speed is reduced 50%. They can be deflated and stored, to be
reinflated with relative swiftness (see below).
Semi-rigid A semi-rigid airship is a gondola that provides
a strong keel for the gasbag. Because of this, semi-rigid airships
have multiple gas cells in the bag, making the envelope more
resistant to damage. They are limited to Large size or smaller.
The base price is reduced by 25 % and the max weight is raised
50%. They have V3 envelope DP and only 75% maximum
speed. Semi-rigid airships cannot be streamlined.
Spaces in airships are usually used for cargo, but are also
used for power plants, weapons, crew, etc. The spaces are all in
the gondola. The envelope is over ten times as large, but the area
is filled with buoyant gas.
Armor cost and weight figures are for the gondola. The
micro and small gondolas have six armor locations. The other
gondolas have ten armor locations, like a trailer, even though
most of them are much larger than any trailer. Armor can be any
of the usual types, with no mixing allowed except for
metal/plastic composites.
Only rigid airships can be streamlined, at the usual cost and
spaces lost. This moves the gondola inside the gasbag at the
bottom and has no other effects other than the streamlining.
Airships are normally propelled by four ducted fans (al-
though this may be reduced; see below). Each fan has DP equal
to the Prop DP listed. Each prop the airship loses lowers the HC
by 1 (minimum 0). An airship that has lost half of its props loses
half of the power factors provided by the airship power plant.
Airship props are -4 to hit and may be armored (see p. 13).
Airships may have as few as two fans, or as many as 10 % of
the airship spaces (round down). Fans must be mounted in pairs.
If an airship has only two fans, reduce the body weight by 400
lbs. and reduce body cost by $1,500. Each pair of fans added
weighs 400 lbs. and costs $1,500.
Envelope DP is the damage-absorbing capability of the gas-
bag. When the envelope has taken 1/4 of its DP, the airship
begins to lose altitude at 1/4" per turn. When half of the envelope
DP are destroyed, the altitude loss is V2" per turn. The airship
loses altitude at 1" per turn when 3/4 of the envelope DP are
gone. When all envelope DP are gone the airship falls freely (see
Falling, p. 25). Envelopes can be armored (see below).
Envelopes take full damage from flamethrowers; all other
weapons pass through, doing relatively little damage. Burst-ef-
fect weapons tend to explode inside, their radius of effect puny
compared to the envelope's interior. Non-flamethrower weap-
ons do 1 point of damage per damage die (i.e., a Vulcan would
do 2 points, no matter what kind of ammunition it was using. A
Heavy Rocket would do 3 points, etc.).
Control DP is the amount of damage that the airship's con-
trol surfaces can sustain. Control surfaces take only half damage
from weapons fire. When their DP is gone, the airship can
perform no maneuver greater than D2 difficulty. An airship with
no control surfaces may still rotate, since rotating uses the fans
rather than control surfaces.
Construction

12
Power Plants
Airship power plants are special, long-endurance fuel cells
that cannot be used in any other kind of vehicle.
Airship Power Plants
Size Price Weight Spaces DP Power Factors
Micro $5,000 2,000 12 24 10,000
Mini $10,000 4,000 16 32 14,000
Small $15,000 6,000 20 40 24,000
Medium $18,000 8,000 22 44 32,000
Large $30,000 10,000 25 50 47,000
X-Large $75,000 30,000 30 60 67,000
Super $100,000 50,000 45 80 125,000
All airships accelerate at 5 mph you just can't get that
large a body moving any faster. If an airship doesn't have at least
V2 its weight in Power Factors, it doesn't accelerate at all.
An airship can decelerate at up to 15 mph per turn (the wind
resistance of the envelope helps instead of hurts).
Example: An airship traveling at 20 mph could slow to 15,
10, or 5 mph in one turn.
Airship maximum speed is determined according to this for-
mula: (Power Factors x 285)/(Power Factors + Weight).
Airship range is 800 miles at 55 mph. Each 10 mph faster
lowers the range by 10% to a minimum range of 50% (400
miles). Each 5 mph slower raises the range by 10% to a maxi-
mum range of 120% (960 miles).
Heliumversus
Hydrogen
Airships usually use expensive helium to nullify their mass.
The element is expensive because it is obtained only from he-
lium fields located in west Kansas, Oklahoma and south Texas,
or from nuclear fusion plants. And fusion plants don't produce
very much of it.
The advantage of helium is that it doesn't burn. It has less
actual lifting power than hydrogen and is harder to come by, but
it doesn't burn. Envelopes have a Burn Modifier of +0.
Those wishing to fill their airships with hydrogen may do so
at their own peril. Using hydrogen lowers base body cost by 5 %
and adds 10% to maximum weight; it also lowers gas mainte-
nance costs by 90% (see Gas Cylinders, below).
Hydrogen burns nicely when mixed with oxygen and
sparked. Hydrogen-filled airship envelopes take full damage
from any weapon capable of causing a fire (flamethrowers, la-
sers and incendiary weapons of all kinds) and have a fire modi-
fier of +6. If the airship actually catches fire, roll 2d for damage
to the envelope each turn rather than 1 point! Hand-held fire-ex-
tinguishers won't have any effect on fires like this. Regular and
heavy-duty fire extinguishers can extinguish these fires nor-
mally.
Weapons
Airships mount weapons in their gondolas, treating the gon-
dola like a vehicle for mounting purposes. Naturally, gondolas
can't mount weapons on their Top facing. Gondolas can mount
turrets, EWPs and bomb racks Micro gondolas are limited to
two-space mounts and Small gondolas are limited to three-space
mounts. Medium gondolas are limited to four-space mounts;
larger gondolas may use mounts up to five-space size. Micro and
Small gondolas may have two such mounts; larger gondolas may
mount up to three turrets/EWPs/bomb racks. If an airship has
three turret/EWP/bomb racks, the first two use the OF armor
rating. All three mounts are staggered for unrestricted field of
fire.
Rigid airships can have Top and Side-mounted weapons,
affixed to the structure supporting the envelope. These weapons
are mounted on the center-line to maintain balance. Only two
weapons may be mounted per side and two more on the top
(turret mounts are counted as one weapon per turret, no matter
how many weapons are actually in the turret). Only non-signifi-
cant-recoil weapons may be mounted there (no ATGs, TGs, GCs
or HACs). Normally these weapons are mounted in universal
turrets for best effect. Any weapons mounted on top or sides
count as double weight to account for the strengthening of the
frame at this point. For instance, a rigid airship mounting two
four-space universal turrets on top, one with an AC and maga-
zine and the other with four SAMs, would have to give up 4,230
lbs. of its maximum weight capacity. Note that the AC could
have extra magazines, or the SAMs could have rocket maga-
zines, all below in the envelope. The amount of material that can
be below in the airship's envelope is practically unlimited, but
the weight adds up.
The reason top and side-mounts are common is that the en-
velope of any airship sharply restricts its firing arcs. Gondola
weapons may not shoot at any target higher than the gondola's
altitude (for simplicity, the airship's altitude is considered to be
the gondola's altitude). This makes the gasbag very vulnerable.
The gasbag towers over the gondola. Envelope sizes are
detailed below:
Envelope Size Table
Airship Envelope Envelope Cubic
Size Length Diameter Inches
Micro 17" 3" 120
Small 20" 4" 250
Medium 24" 5" 470
Standard 29" 6" 820
Large
Transport
32"
34"
6"
7 "
905
1,310
Super 50" 10" 3,925
Airship Accessories
Airships can use nearly any accessory helicopters and air-
planes can. Certain accessories, like maneuver foils and im-
proved tail assemblies, are not available. Airships don't have
landing gear, either.
Prop Armor $20, 5 lbs. per point. Each airship prop can
be armored to a maximum of 10 points per prop. Can be made in
any of the standard armor types except metal.
Envelope Armor 5% of base body cost, 2 % of base body
price per point. Envelope armor is automatically fireproof. (The
gas inside isn't unless you're hauling helium hydrogen-filled
ships still risk the danger of catastrophic fire.) Airship envelopes
can be armored to a maximum of their regular envelope DP -
that is, the envelope DP can be effectively doubled with armor.
Envelope armor can be made laser-reflective for an additional
10% cost.
Burst-effect weapons have full effect against armored enve-
lopes!
Gas Cylinder $50 empty (+$5 for hydrogen, +$50 for
helium), 200 lbs., V2 space, 2 DP. A single cylinder holds
enough gas to inflate one cubic inch of an airship's envelope.
High-Speed Compressor Pack $4,000, 800 lbs., 5 spaces,
4 DP. This heavy-duty compressor can be used to fill gas cylin-
ders. Up to ten cylinders can be filled at a time; it takes 20
minutes to fill a cylinder. The main use for this is to fill extra
13 Construction

lifting gas cylinders. Helium costs $10 per cylinder refill and is
usually available only at airship stations. Hydrogen can be ob-
tained from any airport fueling stop and costs $5 per cylinder.
Microplane Harness $1,000, 500 lbs., 2 spaces. Can be
installed on the bottom of any airship with 30 or more internal
spaces, one per 40 spaces. It is a harness for carrying a micro-
plane underneath the vehicle in flight, converting it into an aer-
ocarrier. To use it, the microplane (outfitted with the proper
hooks, $200, no weight or space) flies 1" underneath the carrier
and matches speed with it. The harness is lowered and the
microplane flies into it, latching onto the hook in front of the
cockpit (a D5 maneuver). The other hooks latch automatically
and the plane is secured in the harness. The plane is then
winched up to the belly of the carrier, which takes 5 seconds.
Control loss during the hooking procedure means the plane
failed to latch, and must try again. There is no other penalty for
the control loss.
Microplane harnesses require the purchase and installation
of two winches in addition to the harness, for raising and lower-
ing the plane and harness. The winches may be used for other
things as well, such as raising and lowering cargo, when there's
no plane in the harness.
Once in the harness the plane is carried along with the carrier
ship as exterior cargo. The microplane's crew may go inside the
larger carrier if they wish. The microplane may be recharged
from the airship's power supply, weapons reloaded and other
expendables replaced and repairs made although no wing or
underbody weapons may be reloaded and no wing or underbody
repairs may be made.
A microplane may be carried as interior cargo. This takes
additional spaces equal to double the microplane's spaces. A
microplane carried as interior cargo may be fully serviced, if
tools and supplies are available.
Launching a microplane from the harness takes 5 seconds.
On the first second the lowering process begins. The next three
seconds have the microplane lowering; the microplane's engine
may be turned on during this time, warming up. On the fifth
second the harness is detached allowing the plane to fall free, a
D3 maneuver. The plane is moving at the carrier's current speed
and may accelerate immediately.
Carriers may not mount weapons in armor locations used to
mount microplane harnesses. Underbody weapons cannot be
used until all planes are detached and the harnesses returned to
"up" position (which takes one second after the planes have
detached).
Solar Panels 1 DP, $1,000, 100 lbs., 2 spaces. The panel
is protected by top armor (but only when not deployed) and can
be mounted on any vehicle that can mount a turret. When de-
ployed, each panel automatically positions itself for top effi-
ciency, recharging 20 power units per panel per hour in daytime
under clear skies (half that under partly-cloudy skies). It takes 1
turn to deploy or retract and can be targeted at -2.
Rigid airships can mount solar panels atop the envelope.
These panels weigh 150 lbs. per panel instead of the regular 100
lbs. per panel, because of the need for extra bracing. An airship
can mount solar panels all along the top of the envelope this
is the envelope length times V3 the envelope diameter, rounded
down. For example, a large airship has room for [32 x (6/3)] =
96 solar panels!
Airship-mounted solar panels cannot be "retracted" beneath
armor, and can always be targeted. Any shot hitting the enve-
lope from above hits a solar panel on a 1d roll of 4-6. Any shot
hitting the envelope from the side hits a solar panel on a 1d roll
of 6. Solar panels can't be hit from underneath, front or back.
These solar panels do not block the mounting of turrets atop
the envelope.
Airship Counters
The airship counters and templates (pp. 41-42) are given in
air-to-air scale. Ground-scale counters for even the smallest of
airships are too large to fit on the counter sheet!
The templates provide outlines for the different-sized enve-
lopes, and may be photocopied for personal use only.
Construction

14
Other Fliers
Airplanes, helicopters and airships are not the only things in
the air. Other devices share the skies with the more common
fliers. Some of these devices are basic, like gliders others are
more complex, like jet-packs. All are detailed below.
Autogyros
Autogyros look like helicopters but have little or no power
to the rotor. Rotation to provide lift is supplied by forward
motion, so autogyros are not VTOL but STOL aircraft.
Autogyros are built on microplane and airplane bodies.
Body weight is reduced 25%. Autogyros cannot use wing op-
tions but are automatically STOL, with a stall speed reduction
(see p. 20) of 33%. They have no wings, so they don't worry
about wing options, mounts or DP.
Autogyros use a rotor to supply their lift instead of wings.
The rotor limits the size of autogyros; the largest body type that
can be converted to autogyro is Large Airplane. Autogyros
don't need or have a stabilizing rotor they have regular air-
craft tails. Autogyro rotors can be armored and may have extra
blades installed. They cannot use CACR. Autogyros are limited
to a maximum speed of 250 mph and a maximum HC of 3. An
autogyro uses the HC of its aircraft body type or 3, whichever is
lower. Main rotor DP is determined as follows.
Autogyro Rotor DP
Microplane Body Type DP Airplane Body Type DP
Small 3 Small 4
Medium 4 Medium 6
Large 5 Large 7
Cargo 6
Large Cargo 6
Autogyros must mount a propeller either F or B (props may
be mounted F and B if desired) to propel the vehicle.
As usual, wheels must be added for landing gear. Autogyros
make rolling take-offs and landings.
Autogyros mount weapons F, R, L, B and U. Turrets may be
mounted U only. Unlike airplanes, autogyros may mount side-
mounted weapon EWPs.
Autogyro acceleration and deceleration are identical to
microplane and airplane rules.
Autogyros maneuver like microplanes, except that they
don't have to bank to turn. Autogyros climb like microplanes,
but the amount of speed used to climb may never exceed the
amount of speed used for forward motion. Autogyros dive like
helicopters. An autogyro that drops below stall speed begins
auto-rotation (see p. 26).
When an autogyro suffers control loss, roll on Crash Table
7. Every time a Wing Check is called for, make a Rotor Check
instead, using the rules on p. 27.
Carplanes
Cars that convert to airplanes have been around for almost
100 years. An attempt was made in the 1950s to mass-produce
and market airplanes that turned into cars for road travel the
project fell through because of mass disinterest. With aerial
travel being the safest way to get around, due to poorly-main-
tained highways, the carplane is experiencing a resurgence in
popularity.
Carplanes are constructed from sub-compact, compact and
mid-size auto bodies. They are built normally, except that the
body costs double this buys the wing and tail assembly with
the fold-up modes necessary and the power plant costs $1,000
more, to cover the dual-purpose mode of use. A carplane re-
quires four tires, a power plant, space for the driver (and passen-
gers if desired), weapon(s), a propeller (mounted F or B no
wing-mounted props on carplanes) and a trailer hitch. The wing-
and-tail trailer requires two motorcycle wheels; the assembly
weighs 10% of the carplane's maximum allowed weight (includ-
ing modifications for chassis strength).
When on the ground, the carplane is separated into two
parts. The main body is the car. The wing and tail assembly is
folded into an odd-looking trailer that is towed behind the car.
When preparing for flight, the wing and tail assembly is un-
folded and fastened to the car body. Fastening or removing the
assembly requires 10 minutes, or 5 minutes if the driver has an
assistant. The trailer wheels are attached to the car while in
flight.
Carplane wings have no weapons spaces and cannot mount
EWPs or bomb racks; they exist solely for the purpose of pro-
viding lift. Sub-compact wings have 4 DP and the tail has 6 DP.
Compact wings have 7 DP and the tail has 20 DP. Mid-size
wings have 9 DP and the tail has 13 DP. Carplane wings take
damage like microplane wings; tails take damage regularly.
Carplanes can't mount any turrets except for a pop-down
turret mounted U; the top of the vehicle has the wing-mounts on
it.
On the ground, carplanes maneuver and fight as cars, their
HC determined by their suspension. In the air, carplanes have an
HC of 2 and maneuver like microplanes. They land and take off
as airplanes. Carplanes have two accelerations and two maxi-
mum speeds listed one each for car and plane modes. Car-
planes have a stall speed of 50 mph.
Hoverplanes
An idea introduced in the late 20th century, hoverplanes are
hovercraft that sprout wings and convert into ungainly but fly-
able aircraft. Only one-man and small hovers may be converted
this way; the conversion doubles the cost of the body, takes up
V4 of the body spaces (rounded up) and weighs V3 body weight
(rounded up). This provides a pair of retractable wings and a
special stabilizer assembly for the hovercraft. The stabilizer is
always out, serving as the hovercraft's steering mechanism -
this also serves as a vertical stabilizer when operating in hover-
craft mode. The wings fold in and out of the hovercraft body.
Extending or retracting the wings is a firing action the wings
take two turns to fully extend or retract. The wings cannot carry
weapons and take damage as microplane wings. One-man hover
wings have 5 DP, small hover wings have 8 DP. The stabilizer
is protected by the back armor. Hoverplanes may mount weap-
ons normally.
Hoverplanes behave as hovercraft on the ground. They be-
have as microplanes in the air, with an HC of 1. Hoverplane stall
speed is 50 mph. They are treated as pusher aircraft (with the
props mounted back) and use their normal fans to propel them on
the ground and in the air. Hoverplanes require two acceleration
and maximum speed ratings one for hover mode, one for
plane mode.
15 Construction
Balloons
Balloons are a popular surveillance device, and have been
for over 100 years. They require little power, are easy to main-
tain and cheap to buy. Some people use balloons for travel, but
only on short joy-rides they are at the mercy of the wind and
can't carry enough armament and armor to survive much. Most
balloons hang above towns and cities, armed with cameras and
radar.
Gas-Cells Balloons are constructed from gas-cells con-
tained within an envelope. Each gas-cell costs $200, weighs 25
lbs., and provides hot-air lift for 125 lbs. Any number of cells
may be linked together to form a balloon, theoretically. The
practical limit is 15 cells. Each cell is a separate lifting body and
has its own 5 DP.
Cells take damage like airships, except that burst-effect
weapons do full damage (the cells are so close together that the
weapon rounds hit enough resistance to trigger the fuse).
If enough cells are destroyed that the balloon's lifting capac-
ity dips below its payload (basket and tether plus the weight of
the cells) the balloon begins to fall (see Falling, p. 25). The rate
of descent is 5 mph per 100 lbs. (round up) that balloon lift falls
short of payload weight up to terminal velocity. Remember that
for each 1" of altitude loss, tethered balloons shed 15 lbs. of
payload 15 feet of cable is lying on the ground and no longer
counts against the balloon's payload weight. Balloons are nor-
mally treated as stationary targets. Falling balloons are not sta-
tionary.
The templates for balloon counters are provided on pp. 41-
42. These may be photocopied for personal use only.
If desired, a balloon's cells could be filled with hydrogen or
helium for non-powered lift. Calculate the balloon's counter
area to determine how much the lifting gas would cost, using the
costs given on p. 13. Subtract $150 per gas cell if the balloon's
cells are not equipped with air-heating gear.
Baskets Most balloons lift a basket. This is the armored
box that contains the equipment the balloon mounts. Baskets
come in two sizes: Regular ($250, 200 lbs., 3 spaces for equip-
ment, armor cost/wt $10/4 lbs. per point) and Large ($400, 200
lbs., 5 spaces for equipment, armor cost/wt $15/6 lbs. per
point). Baskets have six armor facings, as usual, and can use any
kind of armor. The regular basket can mount a 1-space turret U
and the large basket can mount a 2-space turret U. A balloon can
only have one basket, which is represented by a V2" by V2"
counter suspended V2" beneath the balloon counter.
Tether $100 and 15 lbs. per 1" (15') of length. To pro-
vide power and communications, balloons use an armored elec-
tric cable to anchor them to the ground. The cable has 12
non-cumulative DP the cable must be severed cleanly in one
shot to cut it, and is -8 to hit. This is because the damage has to
be on the same spot to cut the cable. Someone with an axe on the
ground could sever it cumulatively. So could someone shooting
directly at the cable on the ground at Vs" (2 feet) range.
Raising and lowering the balloon via tether takes a simple
electric winch on the ground. This winch costs $200.
The balloon is considered a stationary target. The tether is
not, since it moves in the breeze.
Barrage Cables $500, 500 lbs., no spaces. This accessory
hangs long cables from the balloon. The cables hang directly
under the balloon counter and cover an area equal to the counter
from the balloon's altitude down to 10" (150') beneath the bal-
loon. The cables cannot be destroyed there are too many of
them and ramming them is treated as a vehicle collision. The
tether cannot be targeted for 10" beneath the balloon; it's mixed
in with the other cable.
Balloons with the barrage option aren't worth much except
as aerial roadblocks. The cables obscure basket equipment, mak-
ing a basket useless. However, well-placed barrage balloons can
force attacking aircraft to stay clear of an area lest they run into
the balloons.
Free Flight
If a tether is released or broken, the balloon floats free on the
wind. With the power cut off, the cell air cools and the balloon
loses 100 lbs. of lift every 15 minutes. Cycle power plants may
be mounted in the basket to heat the balloon. A power plant
charge keeps the balloon aloft 15 hours per 100 power factors,
dividing by the number of cells in the balloon. For example, a
small cycle plant would keep a 1-cell balloon aloft for 60 hours
with its 400 PF. It would keep a 9-cell balloon aloft for 6 hours
and 40 minutes, or a 13-cell balloon aloft for 4 hours and 37
minutes, etc.
Balloons in free flight move in the same direction and speed
as the wind. They have no HC and can't suffer crash results. A
free-flight balloon may gain or lose altitude, if it has a power
plant and someone there to control it (remote control works as
well as live pilots). Balloons gain and lose altitude at 1/4" per
turn.
Gliders
Glider Aircraft
Another flying machine that relies on the wind, gliders work
on the opposite principle from balloons. They use the air for lift
instead of movement.
Gliders are microplanes, with the following modifications:
Half maximum load, no power plant or propellers and Heavy
Lift/STOL wings. Electrical equipment is kept running by an
on-board battery system. Lasers require a laser battery. Gliders
may be streamlined. They generally don't carry EWPs or bomb
racks because of the drag these objects produce. The wheels are
mounted in the body and take up 1 space; if the glider is stream-
lined, so are the wheels, automatically.
Gliders are used to carry cargo, or for the pleasure of flying
like a bird, unpowered except for the power of nature beneath
one's wings. They have to be towed into the sky by another
airplane or launched through the use of a catapult (see catapult
and tow cable, p. 17). They may only be landed by the glider
pilot a towed glider doesn't brake too well and tends to smash
into its tow plane when the plane decelerates.
Gliders fly the same way that microplanes do, except that
when a glider is not climbing, diving or in an updraft or down-
draft it loses V4" of altitude per turn. The only way a free-flying
glider has to accelerate is to dive.
Gliders can gain altitude by climbing, but this is costly in
terms of speed. They may gain altitude without speed loss from
thermal updrafts (see Storms, p. 23).
Powered Gliders
Although a powered glider would seem to be a contradiction
in terms, it is possible. A powered glider cannot weigh more
than half the microplane's listed maximum load and cannot have
an acceleration better than 10 mph. It must still have Heavy
Lift/STOL wings and must also include standard retractable
landing gear rather than the special glider landing gear above.
The advantage of a powered glider is its extended range (and
higher ceiling, although that rarely matters in Aeroduel). A
powered glider has double the range of a normal microplane
with the same engine.
Construction
16
Glider Accessories
Tow Cable $200, 50 lbs., 1 space, 1 DP. This is mounted
in the tow-plane, not in the glider it must be mounted B. It is
a very strong 3" (45') cable that attaches to the nose of a glider.
The cable allows an airplane to take off towing a glider treat
the glider as a car treats a trailer for purposes of airplane accel-
eration. The cable can be detached at any time. Detaching the
cable is a firing action. Once detached the glider is in free flight.
The cable is -10 to hit and has 10 DP.
Catapult $3,500, 2,000 lbs., 10 spaces, 10 DP. This is a
ground-mounted winch that reels in a glider's tow cable with
great force and speed, yanking the glider up to its stall speed.
The catapult provides 10 mph per turn acceleration for four
turns. The catapult includes the 150' (10") tow cable in its cost
and weight. A catapult can launch any aircraft up to 3,000 lbs.,
as long as the aircraft has no propeller mounted F and is
equipped with a tow hook.
A catapult exerts far too much force for it to be mounted on
any vehicle short of a large ship. Size and weight are included in
case it is carried as cargo. The catapult can be carried and set up
for use it does not have to be permanently mounted. Setting
up a catapult takes 30 minutes.
Hang Gliders
Hang Gliders $500, 60 lbs. and 1 space as cargo, 1 GE
when "carried," 2 DP. Hang gliders are unpowered single-
wing surfaces that hold one flyer. The pilot must take off from a
height to dive for the speed necessary to keep the glider in the
air. The pilot launches himself and the glider off a 50' tall (about
3") or higher cliff or building at running speed. The glider
has a stall speed of 15 mph, a maximum speed of 50 mph and an
HC of 2.
Once in the air, hang gliders climb like microplanes and dive
like helicopters. They may turn, shift and drift. They cannot
accelerate in any way except by diving, and lose V4" of altitude
per turn when they're not climbing or diving. Hang-gliders that
stall at 15 mph or lower must immediately dive to push their
speed back to 20 mph or more.
Hang-gliders, like their larger cousins, rely on updrafts for
most of their altitude gain. See p. 23.
When a hang-glider loses control, it stalls automatically.
Hang-gliders only take damage from flamethrowers and are
+1 to hit. The pilot underneath is at the usual -3 to hit.
Parachutes
Parachutes act like hang-gliders once they've deployed and
decelerated the wearer. Personal parachutes take 16" to deploy
from the holder; vehicular parachutes take 20" to deploy. Per-
sonal parachutes brake the wearer for the next 4"; vehicular
parachutes brake the cargo for 10". After the deployment and
braking, the parachutes are treated as hang gliders.
Parachutes are not as versatile as hang gliders, and they're
much harder to control. Personal parachutes have an HC of 1,
and vehicular parachutes don't steer or maneuver at all. Personal
parachutists may make shift, coordinated turn and veer maneu-
vers. Parachutes descend at V2" per turn when they're flying
straight. Since only personal parachutes can make the climb
maneuver, vehicular parachutes merely glide their cargo to the
ground gradually (which is better than smashing it all over the
ground). Vehicular parachutes glide in the wind direction at 5
mph slower than wind speed until the cargo hits the ground.
Personal parachutes may do the same, although they move at the
wind speed and may turn into other directions.
When parachutes are being used, it is important to determine
the wind speed and direction. This can be accomplished by die
roll (see p. 24).
Parachutes don't have a stall speed. They never move slower
than 5 mph, even if there is no wind.
Rocket Packs
Rocket packs are one-man rocket-propulsion units. Heavy,
short-lived and dangerous, they offer maximum mobility to the
individual fighter. They require the Rocket Pack Pilot skill; a
person without this skill has no chance of using one without
disaster. Rocket-pack pilots go through weeks of simulator
training before strapping on the real thing.
Each pack costs $10,000, weighs 100 lbs., takes up 1 space
if carried as cargo, and has 2 DP. Refueling a pack costs $100
per turn and requires a special high-energy fuel, available only
at military bases, Combat Zone supply areas, and some large
cities. A rocket pack takes up 3 GE when worn. It takes 60
seconds to put on a rocket pack; a quick-release harness allows
it to be removed in 5 seconds.
Rocket packs have an acceleration of 10 mph; they can also
decelerate at up to 15 mph (10 mph from the pack, 5 mph from
the body's natural wind resistance). They have only 60 turns of
fuel. On any turn when the pack is not activated, or when the
fuel is gone, the wearer decelerates by 5 mph and free-falls (see
Falling, p. 25). There is no "stall speed" - the user flies every
turn the pack is activated, and falls every turn it's off. Turning
the pack on or off is a firing action.
Rocket packs can rotate, shift, drift and make coordinated
turns and veers, but can make no more than two maneuvers per
turn no matter what the flier's current speed is. They can trade
speed for height, or vice versa, climbing and diving like an
airplane. Rocket packs have a maximum horizontal speed of 60
mph.
Should a rocket-pack flyer fail a control roll, he does not go
to any specific Crash Table. Instead, he is stunned one second
for every point by which the control roll is failed. He can do
nothing during this time not even turn the pack on or off.
Rocket pack wearers can only use pistols and other one-
handed weapons while in the air; the other hand is needed to
control the pack.
Rocket packs can be targeted at a -5 to hit. If the wearer is
hit, the pack may be hit. If hit from the front, there is no chance
of hitting the pack. If hit from the side, there is a 33% chance (1
or 2 on d) of hitting the pack. If hit from the rear, there is a
66% chance (1-4 on d) of hitting the pack. When a rocket pack
loses both its DP it blows up, doing 1 point of damage per turn
of fuel left in it in a 1" radius.
17 Construction
Aircraft Accessories
Aircraft Radio $1,000, no weight or space. Similar to a
long-range radio, but with a 200-mile range.
Bomb Bay $1,000, 100 lbs., 1 space. A bomb bay is a
large set of underbody-mounted doors through which large
equipment can be dropped or lowered. The bomb bay replaces
one underbody-mounted turret. Opening and closing it is a firing
action and takes until the end of the turn after opening or closing
is begun to accomplish for example, a bomber opening its bay
on turn 5 has to wait until the end of turn 6 to have it fully open.
When the bomb bay is open there is no underbody armor on the
aircraft (or that section of the aircraft, if it has multiple under-
body armor locations).
The advantage of a bomb bay is that bombs and other
dropped ordnance can be mounted and dropped as one all
bombs mounted in a bay are automatically linked without extra
cost. Regular bomb mounts are small, single-bomb "bays" and
must be linked to drop them simultaneously.
Bomb Rack Costs $100 and weighs 50 lbs. per space of
bomb capacity. Holds bombs externally on the underside of
aircraft. Cannot be mounted on a fuselage that has one or more
underbody turrets. Size limits for mounting are the same as
EWPs i.e., treat the BR as an EWP for mounting purposes. A
bomb rack is limited by spaces, not by bomb weight.
For instance, a Large Cargo airplane could mount up to two
five-space bomb racks on each wing, instead of EWPs. The
bomb racks could hold up to five regular bombs (or larger sizes,
up to one 1,000 lb. bomb per rack). Bombs mounted on bomb
racks can be any combination as long as the rack is large enough
to hold the bombs and the aircraft can carry the weight. For
instance, a 4-space bomb rack could carry four regular bombs,
one 500-lb. bomb and a cluster bomb, two cluster bombs and
two regular bombs, etc. as long as the combined size of the
bombs carried didn't exceed 4 spaces.
Bomb racks may be used to carry torpedoes for use against
water-borne targets.
Dive Brakes 5% of body weight and cost, no spaces. Dive
brakes allow an aircraft to safely decelerate up to 20 mph in a
turn, or decelerate 25 mph as a D3 maneuver.
Drop Tanks Since aircraft use so much fuel, they often
carry external tanks. They are built like regular fuel tanks but
mounted in EWP areas drop tanks replace EWPs. The maxi-
mum number of spaces per drop tank is double the maximum
size of the EWPs the aircraft can carry. For instance, a Large
Airplane could carry 2 3-space EWPs on each wing, or replace
them with 2 65-gallon drop tanks (6 spaces of fuel per drop
tank). The weight of the fuel would be 390 lbs. per drop tank;
the weight of the tank would depend on the tank's construction
(economy, heavy-duty, racing or duelling; see p. 8).
Jet Fighters may mount a special drop tank underneath the
fuselage. The tank carries 150 gallons on the small fighter and
300 gallons on the large fighter. The tanks are of racing con-
struction. The small jet tank costs $2,250 and weighs 750 lbs.
without fuel. The large jet tank costs $4,500 and weighs 2,500
lbs. without fuel. These body tanks are streamlined to match the
jet's streamlining.
These external tanks are called drop tanks because they can
be fitted with EWP ejectors and are frequently ejected when
empty. They are targeted like EWPs.
Gee Suit $1,000, 10 lbs., no space. The gee suit applies
pressure to the wearer's lower body and legs during high-gee
maneuvers, helping to resist GLOC (see p. 23). Adds 1 to the
GLOC die roll for the crewman wearing it. A gee suit can be
combined with body armor at a cost of $1,500. A gee suit cannot
be combined with improved body armor.
5-Space EWPs $4,500, weighs 750 lbs. Can only be fitted
to Cargo and Large Cargo Airplanes and Jet Fighters. Holds five
spaces of weaponry. Pod armor costs $10 and weighs 4 lbs. per
point to a maximum of ten points per pod, as usual. Aircraft can
only mount five-space EWPs on wings.
Improved Controls 300 % of body cost, 5 % of body
weight, 2 spaces. Improved computer-enhanced airfoil controls
add +1 to HC and negate controls rolls on DO maneuvers. An
aircraft with 1C does not have to make a control roll when it
executes a DO or less maneuver.
Improved Tail Assembly 20 % of the body cost and weight.
Must be mounted when the aircraft is built. Reduces the diffi-
culty of any hazard (not maneuver) by D1 when the aircraft is
traveling at 60 mph or more. Benefits are lost when back armor
is destroyed or aircraft moves at under 60 mph. Can be installed
on any microplane, airplane, autogyro, glider or helicopter. Jet
fighters are built with them already in the body cost/weight.
Maneuver Foils $3,000 and 300 lbs. per pair, no spaces.
Each foil of the pair has 3 DP. Microplanes, airplanes, grass-
hoppers, one-man and small helicopters may mount one pair;
huge cargo microplanes, small jet fighters, standard and trans-
port helicopters may mount two pairs; large jet fighters may
mount three pairs.
Maneuver foils reduce the difficulty of turning by D1 per
pair when the aircraft is moving over 60 mph (for helicopters
they reduce the difficulty of all maneuvers by D1 per pair). The
effect is cumulative per pair. DO maneuvers do not require Con-
trol Rolls.
Foils are mounted on opposite sides of the fuselage. They are
targeted at -2. If one foil of a pair is destroyed, the aircraft's HC
drops by 2 until the remaining foil is jettisoned (see below) or
destroyed. If an aircraft with multiple foil pairs has multiple
incomplete pairs destroyed, the HC loss is cumulative (for in-
stance, a standard helicopter with two pair of maneuver foils,
missing one foil per pair, has -4 to HC).
Foils can be arniored. The cost is $5 and 2 lbs. per point of
armor to a maximum of 10 points per foil. Each foil of the pair
must have the same amount of armor and the armor type must
match the aircraft's (unless the armor is metal, in which case the
foil may have metal or plastic armor).
Foils can be fitted with ejectors. This costs $600 per pair.
When fired, both foils in the pair are ejected and destroyed.
Treat the explosion as an anti-personnel grenade with a V2"
radius (V2" arc to the side of the remaining foil if jettisoning
only one foil). Jettisoning the foils is a D2 hazard but is useful
for ditching the HC penalty for an unpaired foil.
Personal Parachutes $200, 20 lbs. if carried as cargo, 2
GE, 4 DP. Personal parachutes are used when people bail out of
aircraft. (A person bails out by moving to a square which is
considered an exit a door or bomb bay and stepping out.)
Falling rates are described on p. 25. The parachute opens after
the person has fallen 16" ( 240'), brakes the descent for the next
4" (60'), then acts like a hang-glider (see p. 17). Parachutes
cannot climb without updrafts. Parachutes descend at 10 mph
unless they hit an updraft. An open parachute is +3 to hit, due
to its size, but may only be damaged by flame-throwers. A
person takes d-4 damage from landing.
Pontoons $500, no space, weighs half weight of normal
wheels, or 50 lbs. if the aircraft normally has skids. Replaces the
wheels or skids of landing gear with pontoons that allow the
Construction

18
aircraft to land on water. Pontoons cannot be retracted. They
have wheels in them to allow regular landings. Pontoons have 7
DP apiece; if one or both is destroyed, airplanes cannot land on
water without crashing (Crash Table 1). Helicopters with one or
more destroyed pontoons have three turns to take off again or
sink (aircraft of all kinds sink in approximately 10 turns). Pon-
toons are targeted at -3.
Radar Altimeter $100, no weight or space. Tells the pilot
the distance to the ground.
Radar-ProofArmor and Steathkote Aircraft pay 1 times
the listed cost and weight for Stealthkote or radar-proof armor.
This added increase covers the cost of shielding wings, propel-
lers and maneuver foils without detriment to the stealth function.
In order to fully protect an aircraft from radar detection, all
drop-tanks and EWPs must be treated with RPA or Stealthkote.
Aircraft carrying untreated drop-tanks, EWPs or bombs in bomb
racks lose the benefits of Radar-Reflective Armor and/or
Stealthkote.
Refueling Probe $1,000, 100 lbs., 1 space, 2 DP. A
refueling probe is necessary to transfer power or fuel from an-
other aircraft. It fits into the Refueling Drogue (see below). The
Probe counts toward the number of spaces taken up by front-
mounted weapons. Probes must be specified as to whether they
transfer power units or fuel. The probe can be targeted at -6 to
hit
Helicopter probes weigh 200 lbs. and are targeted at -3 to hit
because of their greater length.
Refueling Drogue $2,500, 300 lbs., 2 spaces, 5 DP. The
refueling drogue is the hose/cable used to transfer power or fuel.
Each drogue must be dedicated to either fuel or power-unit
transfer.
To transfer power or fuel, the drogue aircraft flies straight
and level and deploys the drogue, a 6" (90') hose that trails
below and behind the aircraft. An aircraft with a proper probe
matches up the probe with the drogue and the aircraft fly linked
by the hose/probe combination. This requires both pilots to
make a successful Piloting skill roll. Once this is accomplished
the drogue aircraft can pump fuel to the probe aircraft (1 gallon
per turn) or either aircraft can transfer power units to the other
(1 PU per turn).
During the transfer both aircraft are flying at the same speed
and course; the probe aircraft flies 1" (15') below the drogue
aircraft. This position makes air-to-air refueling hazardous for
helicopters their probes are three times normal length in order
to link up with the drogue outside of the rotor radius, and a
failed roll causes an immediate roll on Crash Table 4.
The refueling position also makes air-to-air refueling impos-
sible in bad weather or combat the aircraft are too vulnerable.
In non-combat situations, it can keep aircraft aloft far beyond
their regular fuel capacity.
Retractable Landing Gear $1,500, 150 lbs., 2 or 3
spaces. This converts fixed landing gear to retractable gear. The
2 spaces required for the gear may be taken from wing spaces,
meaning wing-mounted gear. All aircraft larger than 30 spaces
(including cargo spaces) require three spaces for their retractable
gear.
Helicopters with retractable gear have their skids replaced by
three HD car tires.
Landing gear wheels are targeted at -8 for microplanes, -6
for airplanes and helicopters and -4 for aircraft using truck tires.
Retractable landing gear adds 10 mph to top speed when
retracted.
Retracting or lowering the landing gear is a firing action and
takes one turn.
Search Radar $25,000, 200 lbs., 3 spaces. Search radar is
an improved radar set of the type used by warplanes, able to find
targets at up to 250 miles, as long as terrain does not intervene.
Radar jammers work against search radar on a roll of 1-2 on d.
Search radar uses 40 power units per hour of operation.
Solar Panels See p. 14.
Stealthkote See Radar-Proof Armor, above.
Terrain Following Radar $5,000, no weight or space.
Allows hands-off navigation over all forms of terrain from 60'
(4") to 300' (10") altitude. Requires a Radar Altimeter to func-
tion. Turning the TFR on or off is a firing action. When the TFR
is on, the pilot cannot change the altitude of the aircraft, only the
direction. A TFR can be tied into an autopilot to allow the
aircraft to fly a set course at low altitude.
Vehicular Parachutes $1,500, 150 lbs., 3 spaces, 4 DP.
Vehicular parachutes work in much the same fashion that per-
sonal parachutes do, but are used for dropping crates or vehi-
cles. Up to 2,000 lbs. may be dropped with a single parachute;
multiple parachutes may be combined to drop up to 10,000 lbs.
of cargo. The parachutes can only be used from a height of 30"
(450') or more. They open after 20" (300') of free-fall, brake
for 10" (150') and act like a hang-glider thereafter until the
cargo hits the ground. Vehicular parachutes descend at 20 mph
unless they hit an updraft. The open parachute(s) is targeted at
+4 and can be damaged only by flamethrowers. When the cargo
or vehicle lands it takes 1 die of damage to a random side (roll
d): 1-3 = Tires. 4 = Right side. 5 = Left side. 6 = Top (and
good luck rolling it back right-side up!).
For double cost and weight, a vehicle can be military
packed. This prevents the vehicle from taking any damage from
air-dropping, but requires five minutes to unpack.
Winch $500, 100 lbs., 1 space, 1 DP. Winches are mech-
anisms which haul up cargo and personnel on stout cables. They
must be mounted on a side, at a door (or on the underbody if
working through the bomb bay) and may only be used when that
door is open. The machine consists of a revolving drum mecha-
nism and a 90' (6" game-scale) cable. The mechanism is capable
of supporting 4,000 lbs. The cable is safely reeled out at
1"/turn. It is reeled in at 1"/turn if the weight on the cable is
less than 1,000 lbs., at "/turn if the weight is 1,000-1,999
lbs. and at "/turn if the weight is 2,000-4,000 lbs. The cable
takes one person 3 turns to attach to the object in question 6
seconds in the case of a vehicle or similarly-sized object.
Multiple winches can be used for objects weighing more
than 4,000 lbs. Divide the object weight by the number of
winches to determine the speed of cable reeling, as shown
above.
The cable can only be hit by area-effect weapons (machine-
guns, gauss guns, flamethrowers and lasers). It is considered to
be 10 DP and is targeted at a -8 to hit.
Heavy-duty Winch $1,500, 250 lbs., 2 spaces, 3 DP. The
HD winch works just like a regular winch, except that it can
support up to 10,000 lbs. The HD winch cable can be reeled in
at 1"/turn if the weight on the cable is less than 2,500 lbs., at
"/turn if the weight is 2,500-4,999 lbs. and at "/turn if the
weight is 5,000-10,000 lbs.
Wing-Tip Mounts $1,000 and 50 lbs. per space of weapon
mounted. Wing-tip mounts are large-traverse mini-turret
weapon mounts set on the tips of the wing. An aircraft may
mount a weapon (or multiple weapons of the same type) of up to
V3 the wing spaces in wing-tip mounts. For instance, a Large
airplane (6 spaces per wing) could mount two 1-space weapons
or one 2-space weapon in wing-tip mounts. If an aircraft mounts
wing-tip weapons on one wing, it must mount an equal weight
of wing-tip weapons on the other wing! Wing-tip mounts do not
count toward the limit of EWPs allowed on a craft.
Wing-tip weapons may be smart-linked in the same manner
that regular turret weapons can.
19 Combat
AERODUEL MOVEMENT
Fixed-Wing
Aircraft Movement
Aircraft movement is three-dimensional, with vehicles ma-
neuvering above and below one another. In the interests of play-
ability, these rules greatly simplify the complexities of actual
flight.
One cardinal rule must be followed. All players must record
the altitude of their aircraft in inches, each inch being 15'. The
referee must keep an altitude record of all referee-controlled
aircraft. These records must be updated any time an aircraft
changes altitude.
Air-to-Air Scale
In Car Wars, 1" equals 15'. When ground vehicles are
involved in the game, this scale should be used, since it fits all
Car Wars maps and rules. When aircraft fight aircraft, a slightly
larger scale is necessary because of the great speeds at which
aircraft routinely operate.
This scale is called air-to-air scale. It is one-quarter the scale
of regular Car Wars " equals 15', so one map-board inch
equals 60'. The conversion is simple: For all purposes, treat
each map-board inch as four inches. Ignore V2" movements
when using air-to-air scale count aircraft movement (not
speed) as rounded down to the nearest 10 mph.
All movement examples are given in regular Car Wars scale.
Divide the distances by 4 to arrive at the air-to-air scale move-
ment.
Acceleration and
Deceleration
Aircraft accelerate normally. Deceleration occurs in the first
Phase from lack of power, climbing, turning and air-braking. If
the aircraft has no power (the plant is turned off or destroyed) it
decelerates 5 mph per second (unless it is on the ground, in
which case it decelerates at 20 mph per turn see No Landing
Gear, p. 9). Every aircraft can safely decelerate up to 15 mph
per turn. Aircraft can decelerate 20 mph in one turn by letting
down flaps, lowering gear and generally creating as much drag
as possible, but this is a D3 maneuver.
Turning and climbing cause deceleration as listed in the ap-
propriate rules. Diving causes acceleration as listed.
All acceleration and deceleration caused by maneuvers,
climbs, dives and Crash Table results takes place immediately.
Unpowered Aircraft
An aircraft that is not powered decelerates at 5 mph per turn.
This can be countered by diving to accelerate. An unpowered
aircraft can make any maneuver except a Zoom Climb. Any
maneuver handling penalties made by an unpowered aircraft are
+D1.
Taxiing
Aircraft move like automobiles on the ground. They are not
as agile as ground vehicles microplanes and small airplanes
have a ground HC of 1. All other grounded aircraft have a
ground HC of 0.
Taxiing aircraft can turn up to 75 degrees. They cannot make
any other kind of maneuver. Tail skid/tailwheel aircraft are lim-
ited to 30-degree turns.
A taxiing aircraft suffering loss of control rolls on Crash
Table 1 if the control loss is due to maneuver or Crash Table 2
if control loss was caused by hazard.
Taking Off
and Landing
Horizontal takeoffs require that the aircraft start at the end of
a long, flat surface, accelerate until it reaches its stall speed and
begin climbing. Landing uses a similar procedure: The aircraft
approaches a long, flat area and begins a controlled dive at 1/4"
per turn until it touches down remembering to stay above stall
speed to avoid stalling and crashing. Once the wheels are on the
ground, the aircraft may decelerate as a car does.
Stall Speed
An aircraft's stall speed is the speed it must exceed to fly. If
an aircraft is moving slower than its stall speed, it must dive or
accelerate immediately in order to achieve a safe speed. If it
cannot accelerate any more that turn, it automatically rolls on the
appropriate Crash Table for the aircraft type at +4 (in addition
to any speed penalties). Any aircraft starting a turn slower than
stall speed suffers a D5 hazard and must roll on the Crash Table.
An aircraft's stall speed is determined by its wing size and is
modified by special wing options. Small, medium and large
microplanes stall at 30 mph. Cargo and large cargo microplanes
and small airplanes stall at 50 mph. Larger airplanes stall at 100
mph. Jet fighters stall at 150 mph (Swept-Wing increases have
already been added into this number). Jet fighters with STOL
wings stall at 100 mph.
Heavy Lift wings reduce stall speed by 10%. Swept Wings
increase stall speed by 33 %. STOL Wings reduce stall speed by
33%. Heavy Lift/STOL Wings reduce stall speed by 20%.
Climbing
Fixed-wing aircraft climb by sacrificing V2" of forward
movement for every 1/4" of altitude gain. A decision to climb
may be made once per turn, for the whole turn. The aircraft's
speed is immediately reduced to whatever isn't used for climb-
ing.
Any altitude change is broken up across the 5 Phases V5
of the total altitude change taken in each.
When an aircraft's forward speed exceeds the amount of
speed used for climbing, the aircraft is considered to be level.
When the amount of speed used for climbing exceeds the for-
ward speed, the aircraft's back is considered to be pointed at the
ground and other arcs are based accordingly.
An aircraft may commit any amount of its speed to climbing,
from a minimum of V2" to full speed. If an aircraft commits
more than half its speed to climbing when it had been level in the
turn before, this is a Zoom Climb and is a D3 maneuver.
Movement 20
Example: A plane moving at 200 mph wants to climb
quickly. It can commit up to 100 mph (10") of speed to climbing
and gain 5" of altitude safely. If it commits over 100 mph of
speed to climbing from level flight it suffers a D3 penalty. How-
ever, if it wished to commit any or all its remaining speed (down
to its Stall Speed) in the turn following the first turn of climbing,
it could do so safely.
Climbing saps energy speed from the aircraft. Every
1" of altitude (rounded down) gained decelerates the aircraft by
5 mph. The aircraft in example above would lose 25 mph of
speed. The only way to counter this speed loss is through accel-
eration.
An aircraft may pull out of a regular climb return to level
flight at no penalty on the turn following the climb. Pulling
out of a Zoom Climb is a D3 Maneuver, although the Zoom
Climb can be Vertical Rolled out of (see Rolling, below). The
best way to pull out of a Zoom Climb is by going into a regular
climb, taking one turn, but causing no hazards (this is not a
maneuver). For example, the airplane above climbs 5", drop-
ping its speed to 175 mph. Then it devotes all of its speed to
climbing and climbs another 83/4", dropping its speed to 135
mph. In the next turn it pulls out of the Zoom Climb to level
flight for a D3 penalty. If it had climbed with half its speed
during that turn it would have been in a regular climb and could
pull out of the climb on turn #4 without penalty.
No maneuvers may be performed in a Zoom Climb except
Rolls.
An aircraft may not Dive on the turn following a Climb; it
must spend one turn in level flight first.
Diving
Dives lose altitude and gain acceleration with the help of
gravity. When an aircraft's forward speed exceeds the amount of
speed used for diving, the aircraft is considered to be level.
When the amount of speed used for diving exceeds the forward
speed, the aircraft's Front is considered to be pointed at the
ground and other arcs are based accordingly.
A dive is performed similarly to a climb. A decision to dive
may be made once per turn, for the whole turn. The aircraft's
effective horizontal speed is reduced during the dive lateral
motion is lost while vertical motion is gained! Altitude, as for
climbing, is changed in Vs increments.
If the aircraft's forward speed exceeds its diving speed the
aircraft is considered to be in a regular dive and loses V4" of
altitude for every 5 mph of diving speed. If the aircraft's diving
speed exceeds its forward speed the aircraft is considered to be
in a Steep Dive and loses V2" of altitude for every 5 mph of
diving speed. For every 1" of altitude lost the aircraft acceler-
ates 5 mph.
Pulling out of a dive (either Regular or Steep) and returning
to level flight is performed in the same manner detailed for
pulling out of a Climb. Pulling out of a Steep Dive is a D3
maneuver. An aircraft may go from a Steep Dive to a Regular
Dive at no maneuver or hazard penalty.
No maneuvers may be performed in a Steep Dive except
Rolls. An aircraft may not Climb on the turn following a Dive;
it must spend one turn in level flight first.
Rolling
Rolling simply means banking the wings away from level
flight. This is done in order to change firing arcs and to make
maneuvering easier. Rolling up to 90 degrees in one phase is a
DO maneuver; rolling up to 180 degrees in one phase is a D2
maneuver.
For maneuvering and firing purposes, any roll or bank of up
to 90 degrees is treated as 90 degrees.
An aircraft banked 90 degrees is on its side and that side
faces the ground. For example, an aircraft banked 90 degrees
right would have its R arc facing down, its T arc facing right, its
U arc facing left and its L arc facing up.
An aircraft banked 180 degrees is upside-down. Its T arc
faces the ground, its U arc faces up, its R arc faces L and
vice-versa. This should be noted beside the plane's altitude on
scratch paper by the player or referee (BR = Banked Right, BL
= Banked Left, I = Inverted).
When an aircraft's wings are banked, all turns, drifts and
shifts in that direction are at listed maneuver penalty. If the
aircraft's wings are level or rolled in the opposite direction,
these maneuvers are at double listed maneuver penalty. Aircraft
rolled 180 degrees are considered to be in level flight upside-
down, but still level flight for purposes of doubling maneuver-
ing penalties.
Aircraft that have their wings rolled away from level flight
suffer several effects:
Aircraft flying rolled 90 degrees lose V2" of altitude each
turn or part thereof that they fly on their sides and are at a -1
when firing.
Aircraft flying upside down (180 degree roll) lose 11/2" of
altitude each turn (or part thereof) they remain upside-down, are
at a -3 when firing and add +D2 to any maneuvers.
Aircraft rolled 90 degrees increase their stall speeds to 11/2
normal; upside-down aircraft double their stall speeds.
Vertical Roll This maneuver is used to change directions
and pull out of Steep Dives and Zoom Climbs. The aircraft rolls
while Steep Diving or Zoom Climbing, rolling until the
aircraft's Top is facing the direction it wishes to exit the climb
or dive point the front of the counter in the desired direction
to show where the Top is facing. At the end of the dive or climb
the aircraft pulls out in the direction the counter front is facing.
If the aircraft was climbing, it is now upside-down. If the air-
craft was diving it is now in normal level flight. A Vertical Roll
is a D1 maneuver if climbing and a D2 maneuver if diving.
Turning
Aircraft are maneuvered just like cars, with the following
exceptions:
1) Since the turning mechanisms on aircraft are mounted at
the rear of the craft, aircraft turn more like boats. On the turn
inch (most aircraft move multiple inches per phase), the aircraft
moves the inch first, then makes the turn. Cars make the turn
before moving the inch, as do helicopters (helicopter steering is
different from most aircraft).
2) The turns have different names.
3) All turns have a double maneuver penalty unless the air-
craft has its wings rolled in the direction of the turn. If the wings
are rolled in the turn direction then the listed maneuvering pen-
alties are used.
Aircraft turns are D1 per 15 degrees of turn. The maximum
turn angle is 45 degrees. No aircraft may make a turn over 45
degrees in one phase. Aircraft are not capable of the 60, 75 and
90 degree turns made by ground vehicles.
Turns decelerate the aircraft. For every 15 degrees of direc-
tion change in one turn the aircraft decelerates 5 mph. This is
doubled to 10 mph per 15 degrees if the aircraft isn't rolled in
the direction of the turn.
Shift This is like a "drift" for cars and is Dl. This
maneuver is at the listed maneuver penalty if the wings are rolled
into the shift.
21 Movement
Beginning

Move 1" Forward

Turn
Drift This is like a "steep drift" for cars and is D3.
Having the wings rolled into the drift makes the maneuver the
listed penalty, like the shift.
Drifts also cause energy loss and deceleration. Every 14" of
drift causes 5 mph of deceleration.
Example: An aircraft moving at 150 mph, in level flight (no
bank) wants to turn 60 degrees to the right. Since aircraft are
limited to 45-degree turns and less, the aircraft must make at
least two maneuvers to make the desired turn here the aircraft
makes two consecutive 30-degree (D2) turns.
If the aircraft makes the turns without banking, each turn is
a D4 maneuver but the 60-degree direction change is com-
plete in only two phases. Furthermore, the aircraft suffers 40
mph of deceleration in the next turn.
If the aircraft wishes to bank, it must first bank to the right
90 degrees this is a DO maneuver, but takes a phase. The next
two phases after the aircraft banked are spent making the 30-de-
gree turns each a D2 maneuver. Finally, the aircraft suffers
20 mph of deceleration on the next turn.
Complex Maneuvers
Most aerial maneuvers are nothing more than combinations
of the maneuvers listed above. The one-second time scale of Car
Wars splits them up into their component maneuvers. As usual,
only one maneuver can be made for every phase of movement.
Inside Loop The loop consists of making a Zoom Climb,
pulling out in the opposite direction with a Vertical Roll, flying
inverted into a Steep Dive and rolling out of it in the original
direction of the aircraft's flight. It is not possible to make a Loop
in one turn, because no aircraft may dive on the turn following
a climb.
Outside Loop The outside loop is a difficult but occasion-
ally useful maneuver. The aircraft is rolled 180 degrees and put
into a Zoom Climb. After a turn of level flight, the aircraft is put
into a Steep Dive to complete the loop. When the aircraft pulls
out of the dive, it is rolled 180 degrees again.
The outside loop puts a great deal of stress on crew and
airframe. Performing an outside loop is a D2 maneuver. This
maneuver penalty is in effect each turn the aircraft is in the loop.
lmmelmann and Split-S The Immelmann turn and the
Split-S are quick ways of reversing direction. The Immelmann
consists of putting the aircraft into a Zoom Climb and vertically
rolling 180 degrees as the aircraft pulls out of the climb. The
Split-S is the same maneuver, except the aircraft is put into a
Steep Dive before the 180-degree vertical roll.
Lag Roll A special maneuver to turn or move laterally, the
Lag Roll consists of rolling onto the side of the aircraft, drifting
into the roll and rolling another 180 degrees to face the direction
away from the drift. The main benefit of the Lag Roll is that
when the aircraft has completed the roll it may make up to 60
degrees of turns immediately after at -D1 and reduces the chance
of GLOC (Lag Rolls are not added to the GLOC number, p. 23).
Since this is a roll, it is not subject to the 45-degree turn limita-
tion. A Lag Roll causes a loss of 5 mph in addition to other
maneuver-caused decelerations.
Viffing
"Viffing" is pilot language for Vectoring In Forward
Flight. Vectored thrust jet engines (see p. 8) make several
"impossible" maneuvers possible. Vectored thrust aircraft must
accelerate (with vectored thrust fuel use) into every one of these
maneuvers. Viffing is only possible with vectored-thrust jet en-
gines.
Aircraft Left Turn at 50 mph
Aircraft Left Turn at 200 mph (Air-to-Air Scale)
Beginning

Move 4" Forward

Turn
Lag Roll (as seen from back of aircraft)
Lag Roll and Right Turn

Roll 90 Left Drift Left Roll 180 Left 45 Right Turn
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4
Lag Roll and Left Turn


Roll 90 Right Drift Right Roll 180 Right 45 Left Turn
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4
Movement 22
VIFF Shift and Drift The aircraft may make shifts and
drifts at regular HC penalty without being rolled in the direction
of the shift or drift.
VIFF Turns V1FF may be used to assist direction changes,
reducing the maneuver penalty by 2 as long as the aircraft is
rolled in the direction of the turn/veer. This slows the aircraft by
5 mph.
VIFF Pop-Up The aircraft can gain 1" of altitude in level
flight. It must be wings-level (not rolled in any way) and cannot
have just made any kind of maneuver, climb or dive (i.e., the
aircraft has to fly one phase straight and level before performing
a pop-up).
VIFF Roll-And-Dive This maneuver allows the vectored
thrust aircraft to go into a dive on the turn following a Climb or
Zoom Climb. The aircraft rolls over onto its Top (180 degrees
Roll) and dives normally.
Example: A jet is travelling 250 mph in a Zoom Climb. It the
performs a V1FF Roll-and-Dive. The jet is rolled 180 degrees
(D2), and in the beginning of the next phase declares that it is
diving just as if it was the beginning of a new turn.
GLOC
Gravity-induced Loss Of Consciousness is a constant danger
of high-speed maneuvering. The high gravities experienced by
the pilot cause blood to drain from his head, knocking him out.
GLOC occurs when a pilot makes too many high-gee maneu-
vers. Every 30 degrees of maneuvers a pilot makes in one turn
equals one point in the GLOC number. The first turn of a regular
dive or climb counts as 15 degrees; the first turn of a Steep Dive
or Zoom Climb counts as 45 degrees. Outside loops count as 90
degrees. Rolls and lag-roll turns do not add to the GLOC num-
ber. Speed of maneuver does add to the GLOC number: every
full 200 mph over 100 mph counts as another 30 degrees. If an
aircraft makes only rolls and lag-rolls, there is no GLOC roll, no
matter what speed the aircraft is going.
The GLOC roll is made at the end of every turn on 2 dice.
The number of points are totaled (every 30 degrees equals I
point) to give that turn's GLOC number. The pilot tries to roll
above the GLOC number. A roll equal to the GLOC number
stuns the pilot for the next turn. A roll less than the GLOC
number stuns the pilot for 1d6 +1 turns. An unstunned crewman
in the aircraft may help stunned personnel recover in half the
time; this is a firing action for the turns the stunned crewman
spends recovering.
For example, a microplane maneuvers at 330 mph. It dives
and does two veers for 105 degrees of total turn the GLOC
number is 3 for the maneuvers (103/3o, rounded down = 3) and
1 for the speed. If the pilot rolls a 5 or better he's fine.
A worst-case example: A Goshawk pilot (small jet fighter)
pulls a 180 in a turn at 550 mph. He does four 45-degree turns
to turn around and racks up a GLOC total of 8 (180/30 = 6, plus
2 for the speed). He has to roll a 9 or better or be stunned.
Stunned pilots may not maneuver, accelerate, decelerate or
fire weapons. They may not recover HC and must fly straight
until they recover from stun.
All other personnel aboard the aircraft must make GLOC
rolls as well. Autopilots are immune to GLOC. A gee suit (p.
18) gives +1 to the wearer's GLOC roll.
The Sound Barrier
The speed of sound is 750 mph. Aircraft approaching and
breaking the sound barrier must deal with the atmospheric turbu-
lence at that speed.
Aircraft exceeding 650 mph suffer 5 mph deceleration every
turn they go faster than 650 mph. At 700 mph, the deceleration
is 10 mph. At 750 mph and over the deceleration is 15 mph.
Non-streamlined aircraft double these penalties; any aircraft
without Swept Wings must make a Wing Check every turn it
exceeds 650 mph.
Hitting the sound barrier is a D2 hazard. This is one-time
only until you drop below 750 mph again. The drag, how-
ever, stays with you.
Sonic Booms
When a plane is traveling above the speed of sound, anything
within 5" is subject to a D2 hazard one when first entering the
area, and one at the beginning of each turn it remains within 5".
This penalty is additive to any applicable penalty for flying close
to another craft (see p. 24).
Storms
Storms and bad weather are feared by every pilot. Storms
combine all the ill effects of updrafts and downdrafts, low to no
visibility and electrical hazards. Drafts, low visibility and light-
ning are all detailed in this section.
Drafts
Drafts come in two types: Up and Down.
Updrafts These are produced by ground heat convection
or strong winds hitting upthrust ground features. Ground heat
updrafts are relatively gentle rising columns of air that can pro-
vide lift (gliders are made to harness these). When over a surface
likely to produce updrafts (open ground, cities, etc., on a
warm-to-hot day), each plane has a 1 in 6 chance per turn of encounter-
ing an updraft. The updraft has a 1-6" radius and provides V4"
of altitude gain (V2" for gliders and hang-gliders) for all aircraft
within the radius and no more than 1" higher or lower than
the first aircraft to experience the updraft. Getting caught in an
updraft is a D1 hazard; overlapping updrafts are not cumulative
in any way.
Updrafts from wind and mountainous terrain (remember,
cities full of high-rises on a hot and/or windy day qualify as
mountainous terrain!) are less docile. Calculate the wind direc-
tion. Cliffs (or peaks or buildings) facing the wind have a violent
updraft above and in front of them on a 1-4 on 1d. The violent
updraft has a 1-3" radius (1d x ") and affects every aircraft
within that radius to an altitude of 6" above the object that
caused the updraft. The effects are V4" x 1d altitude gain and a
D1 hazard per V4". Gliders double the altitude gain and halve
the hazards, rounded down. For example, a helicopter flying
through a 1" updraft would suffer a D6 hazard. A glider
flying through the same updraft would gain 3" (45'!) of altitude
and suffer a D3 hazard.
Downdrafts These are caused by cold air pockets, usually
found only in cold weather or storms. Cold weather downdrafts
are encountered in the same fashion as warm weather updrafts (1
in 6 chance in the right conditions, like a cold front or snow-
storm), have the same area of effect and cause a V2" loss of
altitude and a D2 hazard. Gliders suffer a D1 hazard.
Violent storm downdrafts have 2 in 6 chances of occurring
per turn. They have a radius of 1-3" (d) and affect all aircraft
in that radius within 2" altitude difference of the aircraft first
affected. They cause ld x V4" altitude loss and D1 plus D1 per
V4" loss hazard. Gliders stiffer the same hazards as other air-
craft.
23 Movement
Low Visibility
Every time an aircraft flies into a cloud, it's like flying into
the world's thickest fog. Visibility drops to 3-18" (3d x 1";
re-roll every turn!) as the cloud density varies. Storm clouds
only have 2-12" (2d x 1") visibility.
Pilots in clouds can become disoriented, not knowing where
they are or where they're going. Each turn an aircraft is in a
cloud, roll 2d for disorientation (add highest Pilot skill to the die
roll it doesn't have to be the appropriate Pilot skill for the
aircraft). On a roll of 6 or less, the pilot is disoriented and
suffers a D4 hazard (Improved Tail Assemblies do not affect this
hazard).
Shooting at a non-visible target can be done with IR or radar,
at -3 to hit and no sustained fire bonus. Having both radar and
IR makes the to-hit penalty -2, but there is still no sustained fire
bonus. RGMs and AAMs suffer no visibility modifiers.
Cloud sizes range from a few inches (under 100') to massive
miles-long cloud complexes.
Lightning
The final insult of storms is the electricity that roams freely
though the clouds. Once upon a time, all-metal aircraft sneered
at lightning strikes, the metal of the airframe carelessly bleeding
the energy off through the wing-tips. The carbon-frame and
plastic aircraft of the 21st century are less cavalier about it. They
have lightning-rods built into them, but are still vulnerable to
electrical damage.
Every turn that an aircraft is in a storm, roll 2d. On a 12 it
has been hit by lightning and so has every other aircraft
within a 5" sphere. The effects are immediate: suffer a D1
hazard and roll 2d for every electrical component in the aircraft.
On a 2 it suffers 1d damage. Components having 0 or 1 DP are
automatically fried if hit. Surge protectors have a 1-3 chance of
averting damage for each component so protected. Aircraft with
every location (including wings) covered by metal armor don't
have to make rolls to see if their components are damaged.
In addition, check seperately for maneuver controls and fir-
ing controls. If the maneuver controls are damaged, roll on the
appropriate Crash Table. If the firing controls are damaged, no
weapons may be fired until the end of the next turn. These
controls are assumed to have multiple back-ups that cut in after
the mains are shorted out, but the time lag between damage and
activation is uncomfortable.
Wind
Wind direction and speed is important, particularly when
parachutes and balloons are being used. Roll d for direction:
1 =North, 2 =East, 3 =South, 4 =West, 5-6=A combination of
two directions. Roll again until two directions are found, then
combine them.
Wind speed is determined by another die roll: 0 =No wind,
1=5 mph, 2=10 mph, 3-4 =15 mph, 5 =20 mph, 6=25 mph,
7 =25 mph plus another die roll. Modifiers are -1 for calm
weather (good for thermal updrafts) and +1 for stormy weather.
Losing Control
Aircraft check for control in the same manner as ground
vehicles. However, high speed is much safer and easier in the
air, where there's no terrain to worry about. Aircraft use the
Flight Control Table (pullout section) rather than the normal
Car Wars Control Table. If control is lost, add the appropriate
modifier from the Control Table and roll on the appropriate
Crash Table. Remember that control rolls are made only when a
maneuver is made or a hazard penalty is applied.
Hazards
Hazards affect aircraft immediately as they occur, reducing
the aircraft's handling status. Continuing hazards (such as flying
close to another craft) take effect immediately, then again at the
beginning of each turn the condition is maintained.
Hazards For All Aircraft
Tail (back armor) gone: D4 and -2 HC until repaired.
Colliding with another craft: D5 and a Wing Check.
Loss of all propellers or jet engines: D4, that turn only. Each
turn thereafter the aircraft decelerates at 5mph and suffers a D1
to Handling Status.
Pilot killed or wounded: D2.
Flying within 2" of another aircraft or helicopter: D2.
Flying within 4" of and behind another aircraft: D4.
One wing destroyed: D6 and roll on the appropriate Crash
Table each turn until the aircraft hits the ground.
Both wings destroyed: Aircraft falls from the sky, accelerat-
ing at 10 mph until it hits the ground. Crashing damage is deter-
mined in the Crashing section.
Microplane Hazards
These also apply to airplanes smaller than Cargo.
Enemy fire does 1-5 points of damage: D1.
Enemy fire does 6-9 points of damage: D2.
Enemy fire does 10 or more points of damage: D3.
Strong winds: D1.
Very strong winds: D2.
Airplanes firing ATGs except to F or B: D2.
Cargo and Large Cargo Airplane
and Jet Fighter Hazards
Firing a tank gun F or B (other arcs prohibited): D4.
Enemy fire does 13-21 hits: D2
Enemy fire does 22 + hits: D3.
Very strong winds: D1.
Storms have other effects on flight. These are detailed in the
Storms section.
Crash Table 7
Microplanes
I or below Involuntary drift. The microplane does a drift
in the direction of its roll. It also gains or loses (roll randomly
for which) V4" of altitude. If the microplane was flying level,
roll randomly for the direction of the drift.
2-3 Involuntary turn. The microplane turns 30 degrees in
the direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll ran-
domly for right or left) and loses V2" of altitude. Weapons fire
is at -1 for the rest of the turn.
4-6 Severe turn. The microplane turns as #2-3, above, but
loses 1" of altitude. Weapons fire is at -3 for the rest of the turn.
7-9 Diving turn. The microplane turns as #2-3, above,
loses 1" of altitude and checks for Wing Failure. No aimed
weapons fire is allowed until the next turn.
10-12 Spin. The microplane turns 45 degrees in the direc-
tion of its last maneuver (if going straight, roll randomly for
right or left) at the end of each phase until the pilot pulls out of
the spin. In addition, the microplane converts half its movement
to a steep dive for example, a microplane going 100 mph
would only move 1" per phase while spinning and lose Vi" of
altitude per phase. No aimed weapons fire allowed while spin-
ning. Check for Prop and Wing Failure each phase.
Movement
24
Pulling out requires the pilot to roll a 8+ on 2d, adding Pilot
skill to the roll, +1 per turn of spinning. The pilot may try once
per phase.
13+ Disaster. Wings torn off, props shredded, tail parted
ways or something equally uncomfortable. Speed drops 25 mph
per turn. Ejecting is the only way out, and the wild tumbling of
the craft makes it risky ejections are successful on a roll of 5 +
on 2d. If you fail your ejection roll, you are dead (on a 9+ on
2d, there is enough left of you to clone).
Crash Table
Airplanes And Jets
1-3 Involuntary shift. The aircraft shifts in the direction of
its roll (if flying level roll randomly for right or left).
4-5 Involuntary drift. The aircraft drifts in the direction of
its roll (if flying level roll randomly for right or left).
6-7 Involuntary turn. The aircraft turns 30 degrees in the
direction of its last maneuver and loses V2" of altitude. Roll
randomly for right or left if the aircraft is flying straight and
level. Weapons fire is at -1 for the rest of the turn.
8-9 Involuntary turn. The aircraft turns 30 degrees in the
direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll randomly
for right or left) and loses V2" of altitude. Weapons fire is at -1
for the rest of the turn.
10-11 Severe turn. The aircraft turns as #8-9 above, but
loses 1" of altitude. Weapons fire is at -3 for the rest of the turn.
12-13 Diving turn. The aircraft turns as #8-9 above, loses
1" of altitude and checks for Wing Failure. No aimed weap-
ons fire is allowed until the next turn.
14-15 Spin. The aircraft turns 45 degrees in the direction
of its last maneuver (if going straight, roll randomly for right or
left) at the end of each phase until the pilot pulls out of the spin.
In addition, the aircraft converts half its movement to a steep
dive for example, an aircraft going 150 mph would only move
1" per phase while spinning and lose 3/4" of altitude per
phase. No aimed weapons fire allowed while spinning. Check
for Prop and Wing Failure each phase.
Pulling out requires the pilot to roll a 8+ on 2d, adding Pilot
skill to the roll, +1 per turn of spinning. The pilot may try once
per phase.
16+ Disaster. Wings torn off, props shredded, tail parted
ways or something equally uncomfortable. Speed drops 25 mph
per turn. Ejecting is the only way out, and the wild tumbling of
the craft makes it risky ejections are successful on a roll of 5 +
on 2d. If you fail your ejection roll, you are dead (on a 9+ on
2d, there is enough left of you to clone).
Wing Checks
Wing Checks are made when the aircraft encounters stresses
above the construction strength of the wing. Most of these
stresses occur during crashes. When a Wing Check is called for,
roll 2d plus modifiers and check the result on the table below:
2-7: No effect.
8-9: One wing damaged. HC drops by 1 and stall speed
increases by 5 mph per damaged wing. If an aircraft suffers
"wing damaged" twice, both wings are damaged (HC drops 2
and stall speed increases 10 mph). A third "wing damaged"
result is considered to be "wing fails."
10-11: Wing fails. The wing nearly comes loose; the aircraft
takes a D6 hazard and the HC drops by 4. A second result of
"wing fails" becomes "wing destroyed."
12 + : Wing destroyed. Aircraft takes 1d6 damage to the side
with the destroyed wing. The aircraft has lost one wing, with
attendant penalties (see Hazards).
Wing Failure Modifiers
Microplanes:
Speed is 75-100 mph: +1.
Speed is 101-140 mph: +2.
Speed is 141+ mph: +3.
Wing damaged by weapons fire: +2.
Airplanes and Jet Fighters:
Small, Medium and Large Airplanes -2.
Cargo Airplanes and Small Jet Fighters -4.
Large Cargo Airplanes and Large Jet Fighters -5.
Speed is 251-300 mph: +1.
Speed is 301-400 mph: +2.
Speed is 401-600 mph: +3.
Speed is 601-700 mph: +4.
Speed is 701-750 mph: +5.
Speed is 751 mph + : +7.
Wing damaged, with DP up to 42 gone: +1.
Wing damaged, with DP over V2 gone: +2.
Falling and Crashing
When an object (man, debris, aircraft, etc.) is falling pow-
ered only by the force of gravity versus wind resistance, it
moves according to the following table:
Free-Fall Damage Table
Time Elapsed Distance Total Distance Speed
1st second 2 V4" 2 V4" 20 mph
2nd second 4 V4" 6 V2" 45 mph
3rd second 6 " 13" 65 mph
4th second 8 V2" 21" 85 mph
5th second 10 3/4" 32 V4" 110 mph
6th second 12 3/4" 45" 125 mph
7th second 13" 58" 130 mph
8th second 13" 71" 130 mph
9th second 13" 84" 130 mph
10th second 13" 97" 130 mph
Terminal velocity is 130 mph. Every second after the object
reaches terminal velocity, it falls another 13". If the falling
aircraft was already diving when the loss of controlled flight
occurred, then the diving speed plus 20 mph becomes the first
second of downward speed round down to the closest speed
line on the chart above and continue falling from there.
This is what happens when an aircraft departs controlled,
powered flight and crashes. Of course, control might be re-
gained in time to prevent a crash, but gravity doesn't allow much
time.
25

Movement
Rotary-Wing
Aircraft Movement
These rules apply to any rotor-winged aircraft, including
tilt-rotor aircraft in VTOL mode.
Taking Off
and Landing
Takeoffs with tilt-rotor aircraft and helicopters require that
the engine be warmed up if the craft is not turned on, this
takes 3 seconds. If the craft's engine is already turned on, it only
takes one second to get the rotors up to speed. Next, the craft
must spend one second at Speed 0 while starting the liftoff, and
go to its desired acceleration (5 mph, 10 mph, etc.; up to the
maximum acceleration in VTOL mode). The craft trades at least
V2" of movement for V4" of altitude and is airborne, where it
acts normally.
Tilt-rotor airplanes can take off and land like a normal air-
plane if desired.
VTOL landings require that the craft decelerate somehow to
Speed 5 and decrease its altitude by 1/4" per second until it
reaches ground level. Landing at any faster than Speed 5 1/4" per
second is a crash!
A helicopter trying to land on the ground with only one skid
or pontoon crashes, destroying the main rotor in the process.
Auto-Rotation
A helicopter or autogyro without power can glide to the
ground using auto-rotation, a technique where rotor movement
provides lift. The unpowered aircraft decelerates at 5 mph. The
aircraft must move at least 1" (10 mph) per turn to avoid crash-
ing. If the aircraft's speed ever drops to 5 mph or lower, it
departs controlled flight and plummets groundwards. Any ma-
neuvers made during auto-rotation are at +D1 and cause an
additional 5 mph deceleration.
This deceleration can be offset by diving to accelerate. The
aircraft may not dive more than 1" during a turn, as per the
diving rules (p. 21). An auto-rotating aircraft cannot accelerate
over 40 mph by diving. If it is auto-rotating over 40 mph, it must
decelerate to 40 mph or slower before it can begin diving to
accelerate. Accelerating beyond 40 mph while auto-rotating
forces a Rotor Check.
The goal of this maneuver is to auto-rotate to the ground and
land hopefully without accident. To land, the aircraft must be
within V2" of the landing site. It dives V2" and the pilot rolls 2d
on the Auto-Rotation Landing chart below. Furthermore, the
pilot makes a Rotor Check before rolling for the landing to see
if the rotors stand the stress of the sudden deceleration.
AutoRotation Landing
2-4 The aircraft makes a perfect landing.
5-8 The aircraft makes a rough landing, doing 2d damage
to each skid (or wheel, if the aircraft has wheels).
9 or better The aircraft crashes into the ground nose-first
at the speed it was making when it tried to land. The rotors take
3d damage from hitting the ground.
Modifiers:
Subtract Helicopter Piloting skill from the roll.
Aircraft moving over 15 mph when it attempts to land: +4.
Rotors damaged: +3.
Pilot wounded: -1.
Acceleration and
Deceleration
A hovering helicopter one that is not trying to go up or
down moves forward in 1" increments on the phases shown
for its speed, just like a car. On the straightaway, helicopters
accelerate like any aircraft. At the beginning of each turn, heli-
copters reset their speeds and move on the phases indicated on
the Movement Chart. Two rates of acceleration are available to
helicopters 5 mph and 10 mph. Helicopters may accelerate
more swiftly by diving (see below).
A helicopter may decelerate by 5 or 10 mph per turn with
safety. It may decelerate by 15 mph per turn, but must immedi-
ately roll on Crash Table 4 (see below).
Climbing and
Diving
In order to climb, a helicopter sacrifices V2" of forward
movement for 1/4" of altitude. For example, a helicopter slated
to move 2" in a phase could move 1" and climb V4", or move
1" and climb V2". A helicopter may not climb more than V2"
per turn. To climb straight up, a helicopter should set its speed
at 10 mph and climb V2" per turn.
Helicopter climbs are different from other aircraft climbs in
that the climb does not have to be continuous the helicopter
may climb in 1/4" increments any phase it wants to (unless it's
diving at the time), so long as it does not exceed a total of V2"
altitude gain that turn.
Helicopters may lose altitude at a rate of V4 or V2" per turn.
This does not affect climbs, acceleration or movement.
A helicopter may lose altitude and accelerate by diving. Be-
cause of their mode of operation, helicopters don't dive like
airplanes do they accelerate into a shallow downward glide.
A too-steep dive can spell disaster for a rotor-winged aircraft.
The helicopter must accelerate into the dive, spending a full
turn diving. The helicopter moves as noted on the Movement
Chart and the player notes how many V2" increments the heli-
copter is diving during the turn. A maximum of 1" may be lost
during one turn. Each V2" of altitude lost in a dive accelerates
the helicopter by 5 mph immediately. A helicopter may dive
multiple turns to pick up extra acceleration safely. Keep track of
how much acceleration is gained through diving, as this affects
the pull-out, below.
To stop diving, the helicopter must pull out of it. To do so,
the helicopter applies some of its forward movement to climb,
with each V2" for forward movement increasing altitude 1/4", to
a maximum of V2" altitude gain. Each V2" of altitude gain
negates 5 mph acceleration gained by diving. When the acceler-
ation gain from diving has been totally negated, the helicopter is
in level flight. Helicopters slow down when they pull out of
dives.
Example: A helicopter with 10 mph acceleration moving at
50 mph goes into a maximum dive, losing 1" of altitude per turn
for five turns, accelerating at 10 mph per turn. The dive adds
another 10 mph per turn acceleration. By the end of the dive, the
helicopter is making 150 mph and has lost 5" of altitude. To pull
out of the dive, the pilot allocates 1" of forward motion to
climbing, gaining V2" of altitude and negating 5 mph of the 50
mph acceleration per turn. It would take him another ten turns to
return to truly level flight.
Movement 26

Rotating
Turning
Maneuvering helicopters is like maneuvering any other air-
craft. They turn like cars, angling the counter before movement
(unlike airplanes or boats which move before angling the
counter).
A helicopter can make the following maneuvers. These are
the only maneuvers a rotor-winged aircraft may make more
stressful maneuvers tend to cause automatic rotor failure.
Dive This is a D1 maneuver on any phase on which the
helicopter moves 2" or more.
On the coordinated turn or the veer, if the helicopter is
moving 2" during the phase, it turns on the second inch of
movement.
Turns Each 15 degrees of turn is a D1 maneuver. Helicop-
ters cannot turn more than 45 degrees in one phase unless they
use the rotate maneuver.
Shift This is like a "drift" for cars and is D1.
Drift This is like a "steep drift" for cars and is D3.
Rotate This is a D2 maneuver. It spins the helicopter on
its axis and can only be done if the helicopter's speed is 20 mph
or less. On each movement phase, move the helicopter in the
direction it had previously been heading but rotate the counter
90 degrees. At the end of the turn the helicopter is flying back-
wards (see below) but facing where it came from. Flying heli-
copters hovering or moving 5 mph may pivot, rotating 90
degrees per phase.
Fly Backwards This has few tactical advantages except in
aerial maneuvering and takeoffs in tight situations. A helicopter
may fly backwards at up to 20 mph. It may perform the maneu-
vers listed above at +D1 if moving 5 or 10 mph and +D2 at 15
or 20 mph.
Losing Control
Helicopters check for control as outlined in Car Wars.
Cross-check the handling status of the helicopter with its speed
on the Car Wars Control Chart; if a control roll is called for and
missed, add the appropriate modifier, subtract Helicopter skill
and roll on Crash Table 4.
Hazards
Hazards affect helicopters immediately, as they occur, de-
creasing the helicopter's handling status.
Colliding with another aircraft or aircraft: D4.
Enemy fire doing 1-5 points of damage: Dl.
Enemy fire doing 6-9 points of damage: D2.
Enemy fire doing 10+ points of damage: D3.
Stabilizing rotor destroyed: D4 per turn.
Pilot injured or killed: D2.
Rotor Checks
Stressful maneuvers from control loss can cause a Rotor
Check to be made. The rotors can be merely damaged, or they
can fail completely, snapping off and sending the helicopter
plunging towards the ground. Breaking rotor blades may hit
other objects in the area. Check for every object in a 4" radius
on the same level as the helicopter. The blades have a To Hit roll
of 10 and do 4d damage to whatever they hit. Any number of
objects can be hit, no matter how many blades the failed rotor
had.
Rotor Check Table
Roll two dice:
2-7 No effect. Rotors still in working order.
8-10 Rotors damaged. Roll a Rotor Check before phase 1
of each turn. Consider any further results of "rotors damaged"
to be "rotors failed."
11+ Rotors failed. Helicopter drops as per Falling rules.
Modifiers
Helicopter is moving 80-120 mph: +1
Helicopter is moving 121-160 mph: +2
Helicopter is moving 161-200 mph: +3
Helicopter is moving over 200 mph: +4
Engine damaged: + 1
Rotor damaged by weapons fire: +4
If a helicopter's engine fails but the rotors are still intact, it
has a chance of descending safely (auto-rotation, see p. 26).
Forward movement decelerates by 5 mph/turn and the helicopter
drops "/turn. The helicopter player must roll on Crash Table
4 at the beginning of every turn.
Crash Table 4
Helicopters
2 or less Involuntary drift. The helicopter performs a drift
maneuver in the direction it was maneuvering toward and loses
V4" altitude. (If it was flying straight, roll randomly for the
direction of the drift 1-3 right, 4-6 left.)
3-5 Involuntary turn. The helicopter executes a 45-degree
turn in the direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll
randomly as above) and loses V2" altitude.
6-8 Severe turn. The helicopter executes a 45-degree turn
in the direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll ran-
27

Movement
domly as above) and loses 1" of altitude. Further aimed weap-
ons fire is at -3 for the rest of the turn.
9-11 Diving turn. The helicopter executes a 45-degree
turn in the direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll
randomly as above) and loses 1" of altitude. In addition, on
the helicopter's following movement phase it must perform a
drift in the direction of the turn or it will automatically continue
the veer. The handling difficulty of the drift doesn't count
against HC. Check for rotor failure. No further aimed weapons
fire is allowed that turn.
12-18 Spinout. The helicopter turns 90 degrees to its
flight-path at the end of its next phase, in the direction of the
maneuver (if flying straight, roll randomly as above). Check for
rotor failure. On its next phase the helicopter goes into a diving
veer, as above. No further aimed weapons fire is allowed that
turn.
19 + Rotors automatically fail.
Airship Movement
Airship movement has a lot in common with helicopter
movement. Airships are stable and not very quick, but they're
hard to crash and they can take a lot more damage.
Taking Off
and Landing
Airship takeoffs are simple cast off the mooring lines, and
the buoyant gas in the airship makes it rise of its own accord.
Airships normally climb at V4" per turn at no cost to forward
movement unless the engines are running to counter the
climb.
Airship landings require that the craft decelerate to 5 mph
and decrease its altitude by V4" per second until it reaches
ground level. Landing at any faster than 5 mph is a crash!
Alternatively, an airship can cruise into the wind at 2V2 mph
and lower lines to ground crew, who literally tie the ship down.
This is a much less risky method of landing, but it requires one
ground crewman per 10 spaces of airship. Landing in bad
weather or steep winds requires one ground crew per 5 spaces of
airship.
Acceleration and
Deceleration
Airships move and accelerate like any vehicle. At the begin-
ning of each turn, airships reset their speeds and move on the
phases indicated on the Movement Chart.
All airships accelerate at 5 mph you just can't get that
large a body moving any faster. If an airship doesn't have at least
V2 its weight in Power Factors, it doesn't accelerate at all.
An airship can decelerate at up to 15 mph per turn (the wind
resistance of the enveloped helps instead of hurts).
Example: An airship travelling at 20 mph could slow to 15,
10, or 5 mph in one turn.
Climbing And Diving
Airship climbing and diving works like rotor-wing climbs
and dives, except that the airship is in little danger from its
maneuvers. The gasbag imparts too much stability to do any-
thing drastic. If the airship wishes to climb more than V4", the
pilot sacrifices V2" of forward movement for V4" of altitude.
Remember, an airship can always climb V4" per turn without
any forward movement, unless the gasbag is holed. For exam-
ple, a airship slated to move 2" in a phase could move 1" and
climb V2", or move 1" and climb 3/4". A airship may not climb
more than 1" per turn. To climb straight up, a airship should set
its speed at 15 mph and climb 1" per turn.
Airship climbs are different from other aircraft climbs in that
the climb does not have to be continuous the airship may
climb in 1/4" increments on any phase it wants to (unless it's
diving at the time), as long as it does not exceed a total of 1"
altitude gain that turn.
Airships may lose altitude at a rate of V4 or V2" per turn.
This does not affect climbs, acceleration or movement. To lose
more than V2" of altitude, the airship must dive. The airship
must accelerate into the dive and maintain the dive the entire
turn. A maximum of 1" may be lost during one turn. To stop
diving, the airship simply stops losing altitude.
Turning
Airships maneuver like any other vehicle. They turn like
cars, angling the counter before movement (unlike airplanes or
boats, which move before angling the counter). Because of the
vast size of the envelope, airships are restricted to gentle maneu-
vers.
If the airship is moving 2" during the phase, it turns on the
second inch of movement.
When moving an airship, use the leading edge of the gondola
counter to determine where the airship is. This is not strictly
realistic, since the airship's front edge is actually far in front of
the gondola front. For the sake of playability, assume better
maneuverability than is currently plausible and use the gondola
front as the maneuvering edge.
Turn Airships can make 15- and 30-degree turns, at D1
penalty per 15 degrees of turn.
Shift This is like a "drift" for cars and is Dl.
Drift This is like a "steep drift" for cars and is D3.
Pivot This is done as though the airship is a car. It spins
the airship on its axis and can only be done if the airship's speed
is 5 mph or less. On each Phase, rotate the airship 90 degrees.
Fly Backwards This has few tactical advantages except in
aerial maneuvering and takeoffs in tight situations. A airship
may fly backwards at up to 10 mph. It may perform the maneu-
vers listed above at +D1 if moving 5 or 10 mph.
Losing Control
Airships check for control the same way other vehicles do.
Cross-check the handling status of the airship with its speed on
the Control Chart. If a control roll is called for and missed, add
the appropriate modifier, subtract airship skill and roll on Crash
Table 8.
Hazards
Hazards affect airships immediately, as they occur, decreas-
ing the airship's handling status.
Colliding with another aircraft or vehicle: D2.
Enemy fire doing 6-9 points of damage to Medium or
smaller airship: D1.
Enemy fire doing 10-15 points of damage to Medium or
smaller airship: D2.
Enemy fire doing 16+ points of damage to Medium or
smaller airship: D3.
Enemy fire doing 10-15 points of damage to Standard or
larger airship: D1.
Movement 28
Enemy fire doing 16-25 points of damage to Standard or
larger airship: D2.
Enemy fire doing 26+ points of damage to Standard or
larger airship: D3.
Pilot injured or killed: D2.
Weather Hazards
Airships are extremely vulnerable to bad weather, since their
lack of relative mass makes them move easily in the wind. They
double hazard penalties for updrafts and downdrafts. If a hydro-
gen-filled airship or balloon is hit by lightning, roll 2d. On a roll
of 11 the lighting-rod protection has failed and the hydrogen
combusts, setting the envelope on fire. On a roll of 12 the enve-
lope explodes, destroying the airship and all aboard.
Crash Table 9
Airships
3 or less Involuntary drift. The airship drifts in the direc-
tion of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll randomly for
direction 1-3 right, 4-6 left). All further aimed weapons fire
is at -3 for the rest of the turn.
4-6 Involuntary turn. The airship executes a 15-degree
turn in the direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll
randomly for direction, as above). All further aimed weapons
fire is at -3 for the rest of the turn.
7-8 Involuntary turn and dive. The airship turns 30 de-
grees in the direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll
randomly for direction, as above) and loses V2" of altitude. All
further aimed weapons fire is at -3 for the rest of the turn.
9-10 Severe turn. The airship turns 30 degrees in the
direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll randomly
for direction, as above) and drifts 1h" as well. The airship loses
1" of altitude. All further aimed weapons fire is at -6 for the rest
of the turn.
11-12 Spinout. The airship turns 45 degrees in the direc-
tion of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll randomly for
direction, as above) and loses 1" of altitude. The next move-
ment phase the airship executes a severe turn (as #9-10, above)
in the direction of the spinout. No further aimed weapons fire
may be done for the rest of the turn.
13+ Disaster. The gondola rips lose from the envelope
and the envelope breaks up. The gondola falls free to the
ground. Rigid airships suffer loss of half the envelope DP in-
stead.
I

29

Movement
AERODUEL COMBAT
NewWeapons
None of these weapons are suitable for use on a ground
vehicle except for the Gatling Cannon and the Heavy Auto-Can-
non, which can be mounted on an oversized vehicle with the
same limitations as a Tank Gun.
Small-Bore Projectile Weapons
Galling Cannon To hit 6, 5d damage, $7,000, 750 lbs., 5
DP, 5 spaces. Holds 10 shots ($45 and 15 lbs. each). Loaded
cost $7,450, loaded weight 900 lbs. Loaded magazine costs
$500 and weighs 165 lbs. 2" burst effect. Can use HD ammo.
The GC has an area effect when using HD ammo.
Large-Bore Projectile Weapons
Heavy Autocannon To hit 6, 6d damage, $9,500, 900
lbs., 8 DP, 6 spaces. Holds 10 shots ($25 and 10 lbs. each).
Loaded cost $9,750, loaded weight 1,000 lbs. Loaded magazine
costs $300 and weighs 115 lbs. 2" burst effect. Can use HEAT
or APFSDS ammo. The HAC has an area effect when using
HEAT or APFSDS ammo.
Bombs
100-lb. Bomb To hit 9, 4d damage, $100, 100 lbs., 2 DP,
1 space, 1-shot weapon, 2" burst effect.
250-lb. Bomb To hit 9, 12d damage, $300, 250 lbs., 3
DP, 2 spaces, 1-shot weapon, 3" burst effect.
500-lb. Bomb To hit 9, 20d damage, $750, 500 lbs., 4
DP, 3 spaces, 1-shot weapon, 4" burst effect.
750-lb. Bomb To hit 9, 30d damage, $1,000, 750 lbs., 5
DP, 4 spaces, 1-shot weapon, 5" burst effect.
1,000-lb. Bomb To hit 9, 40d damage, $2000, 1,000 lbs.,
6 DP, 5 spaces, 1-shot weapon, 7" burst effect.
Bomb Modifications
Cluster Double cost, weight times 1.5. Cluster bombs do
half the listed damage dice for the bomb (round down) to every-
thing (including vehicles) within 1.5 times the listed bomb ra-
dius, one-quarter the listed bomb damage dice (round down) to
everything within an additional 2" radius and one-eighth the
listed bomb damage dice (round down) to everything within an
additional radius equal to the bomb's original radius. For in-
stance, a 1,000-lb. cluster bomb would cost $4,000, weigh
1,500 lbs. and do the following damage: To everything within
10 V2 " of the bomb impact, 20d damage. To everything from 10
3/4" to 12 3/4" from the bomb impact, 10d damage. To every-
thing 13" to 20" from the bomb impact, 5d damage.
Crater Double cost, weight normal. Crater bombs create
a crater where they hit. The crater is V2 burst radius wide and
1/4 burst radius deep. Full damage is done to any directly-hit
target and half listed damage (round down) is done to anything
else in the radius.
Anti-Armor Double cost, weight normal. Anti-armor
bombs are just like AP warheads. They add +1 point of damage
per die and reduce the burst radius to 1".
Laser-Guidance Link Cost $500 plus $220 per laser-
guided bomb. Requires a laser timed to the link, as per regular
laser-guidance rules. Laser-guided bombs do not automatically
hit on a 4 or better the laser-guidance gives guided bombs a
To Hit of 6. Laser-guidance can be combined with any other
bomb modification.
Napalm Triple cost, weight normal. Napalm bombs are
loaded with flammable jelly and splatter the area of their hit with
burning material. Napalm bombs do -2 damage points per dam-
age die and have a Burn Modifier of +8 and a Burn Duration of
4. When a napalm bomb hits it hits everything in an area equal
to (burst radius/2) wide by (burst radius x 2) long, pointed in
the direction in which the bomb was traveling. Anything hit by
the napalm takes napalm damage at the end of each turn for five
minutes after the napalm hits; anything not napalmed but mov-
ing through a napalmed area suffers damage as if it had moved
through a flaming oil counter. Vehicles with fireproof or metal
armor are still affected by napalm, each person and component
suffering one point of damage at the end of each turn only
internals are damaged; fireproof armor and tires suffer no dam-
age. Because of its destructiveness, napalm is outlawed in almost
all civilized areas. Possession is usually limited to military per-
sonnel only.
Only fire extinguishers have any chance of preventing na-
palm damage. Regular fire extinguishers prevent internal dam-
age on a roll of 1-3 and put out the exterior napalm on a roll of
1. HD fire extinguishers prevent internal damage on a roll of 1-4
and put out the exterior napalm on a roll of 1-2. Napalm stops
doing fire damage after five minutes.
Scatterpack Cost +$500 plus cost of dropped weapon
loads, 1/4 weight plus weight of dropped weapon loads. This
bomb carries and deploys solid dropped weapons when the
bomb is 2" above the ground. Each bomb "space" holds four V2"
by V2" mine/spike or explosive spike/Spear 1000/junk count-
ers. The aircraft dropping the bomb must be at least 105' (7")
above the ground to use the bomb.
When the bomb deploys its payload, roll 2d per counter. On
a roll of 2 or 3 the counter was too dispersed to be any good.
Each counter scatters from the bomb's "impact" separately.
Roll on the table below:
1 Counter scatters 1d" backwards from the "impact"
point.
2 Counter scatters 1d" forward and 1d" to the right.
3 Counter scatters 1d" forward and 1d" to the left.
4 Counter scatters 1d" backwards and 1d" to the right.
5 Counter scatters 1d" backwards and 1d" to the left.
6 Counter scatters 1d" forward from the "impact" point.
Rocket Weapons
Radar-Guided Missile To hit 7, 3d damage, $4,000, 100
lbs., 1 space, 1 DP, 1-shot weapon. 2" burst effect. The RGM
gets no point-blank bonus and normal range penalties do not
apply. RGMs suffer a -1 to hit for every 4" the target is closer
to the firer than 24". Speed penalties are divided by 3 when
attacking aerial targets. Visibility penalties do not apply; neither
do gunner or computer bonuses. Do not roll for the hit until the
missile counter collides with the target counter.If the missile
misses its target or ever loses line-of-sight to the target it contin-
ues until its five turns of fuel are gone and then explodes. All
RGMs and AAMs explode when their fuel nms out.
Combat 30
The missile moves at 200 mph (4" per phase) and flies for 5
seconds; use a missile or pedestrian counter to represent it. The
missile may make any one airplane maneuver in one phase and
may gain or lose 1" of altitude in one phase in addition to other
maneuvers or straightforward movement, without a loss of
speed.
RGMs may be placed on rocket platforms, EWPs and rocket
magazines and may be made armor-piercing.
Air-to-Air Missile To hit 6 (aerial target) or 11 (ground
target), 4d damage, $12,000, 200 lbs., 2 spaces, 2 DP, 1-shot
weapon. Works like an RGM except that it moves at 800 mph
(16" per phase) and flies for ten seconds. AAMs may lose or
gain 2" of altitude per phase in addition to other maneuvers or
straightforward movement, without speed loss. AAMs may be
placed on rocket platforms or in EWPs. They may not use rocket
magazines, but may be made armor-piercing.
High-Speed Missiles 100% of missile cost. This modifi-
cation doubles RGM speed to 400 mph (8" per phase) and
AAMs to 1,600 mph (32" per phase). Armor-piercing high-
speed missiles cost 3 times normal cost.
Long-Range Missiles 100% of missile cost. This quadru-
ples the flight times of RGMs to 20 turns and of AAMs to 40
turns. High-speed long-range missiles cost 400% of missile
cost.
Proximity Fuse Cost +$1,000, weight normal. This mod-
ification makes AAMs and RGMs do full damage at 1" away
from the target. Proximity-fused missiles roll to hit at 1" range
and ignore all movement modifiers. Proximity-fused missiles do
not ram their targets, exploding before they get close enough.
Targeting Modifiers
Microplanes
Small: -1 from side, top or bottom; -2 front or back.
Medium and Large: -1 from front or back.
Cargo and Large Cargo: +1 from side, top or bottom; -1
from front or back.
Wings: +1 from top or bottom; -3 from the side. +1 if
Cargo or Large Cargo, +1 if Heavy Lift or Extra Wing.
Landing Wheel: -5.
Propeller: -6; -3 if ducted cowling.
Tail Assembly: -3; -2 if Cargo or Large Cargo. Tail assembly
is destroyed when back armor is gone.
Airplanes
Small: -1 from front and back.
Medium and Large: +1 from side, top or bottom; -1 from
front or back.
Cargo: +2 from side, top or bottom; + 1 from front or back.
Large Cargo: +4 from side, top or bottom; +2 from front
or back.
Wing: +2 from top or bottom; -1 from side. +1 if Cargo,
+3 if Large Cargo, +1 if Heavy Lift wings.
Landing Wheel: -3; -1 for Cargo and Large Cargo.
Propeller: -4; -2 if ducted cowling.
Tail Assembly: -2; +1 if Cargo and +2 if Large Cargo. Tail
assembly is destroyed when back armor is gone.
Jet Fighters
Small: +1 from side, top or bottom. -1 from front or back.
Large: +2 from side, top or bottom.
Wing: +2 from top or bottom; -1 from side. +1 if Large
Fighter.
Landing Wheel: -1.
Jet Engine: -5; -3 from front or back.
Tail Assembly: -2; +0 if Large fighter. Tail assembly is
destroyed when back armor is gone.
Helicopters
One-Man and Small: -1 front or back; +1 everywhere else.
Standard and Transport: +2 from top, bottom or side.
Rotor: -6.
Skid: -8.
Pontoon: -3.
Autogyros
Body Size, Prop, Wheels and Tail Assembly: As for equiva-
lent Microplane or Airplane.
Airships
Micro: Gondola +1 from side or bottom; envelope +3 from
front or back, +4 from side or top, control surfaces +0.
Small: Gondola +1 from side or bottom; envelope +4 from
front or back, +5 from side or top, control surfaces +1.
Medium: Gondola +2 from side or bottom, +1 from front
or back; envelope +5 from front or back, +6 from side or top,
control surfaces +2.
Standard: Gondola +3 from side or bottom, +2 from front
or back; envelope +7 from front or back, +8 from side or top,
control surfaces +3.
Large: Gondola +3 from side or bottom, +2 from front or
back; envelope +8 from front or back, +9 from side or top,
control surfaces +4.
Transport: Gondola +3 from side or bottom, +2 from front
or back; envelope +9 from front or back, +10 from side or top,
control surfaces +5.
Super: Gondola +4 from side or bottom, +2 from front or
back; envelope +11 from front or back, +12 from side or top,
control surfaces +6.
Propeller: -4.
Firing at gondola top through envelope: -4.
Balloons
Small Basket: -3 from all sides.
Large Basket: -1 from all sides.
Balloon: 1-cell +1, 2-4 cell +2, 5-9 cell +3, 10+ cell +4.
Tether: -8.
Special
Missiles: RGM or AAM -10.
Maneuver foils: -2
31

Combat
Damage Allocation
Airplanes and Microplanes
Front: Front armor; front-firing weapons; power plant (if
mounted forward of the cockpit); cockpit (pilot or gunner(s));
power plant (if mounted back of the cockpit); cargo; back-firing
weapons; back armor.
Back: As above, in reverse order.
Right: Right armor; right-firing weapons; roll between
cargo, pilot(s), gunner(s) and power plant; left-firing weapons;
left armor.
Left: As above, in reverse order.
Underbody: Bottom armor; bottom-firing weapons; roll be-
tween pilot(s), gunner(s), cargo and power plant; top-firing
weapons; top armor.
Top: As above, in reverse order.
Props, wheels, wings and turrets/EWPs/bomb racks must be
targeted individually.
Jet Fighters
Front: Front armor; front-firing weapons; roll between en-
gine and cockpit (pilot, then co-pilot or gunner(s)); cargo; back-
firing weapons; back armor.
Back: As above, in reverse order.
Right: Right armor; right-firing weapons; engine; roll be-
tween cargo, pilot(s) and gunner(s); left-firing weapons; left
armor.
Left: As above, in reverse order.
Underbody: Bottom armor; bottom-firing weapons; engine;
roll between pilot(s), gunner(s) and cargo; top-firing weapons;
top armor.
Top: As above, in reverse order.
Helicopters and Autogyros
Front: Front armor; front-firing weapons; roll between
pilot(s) and gunner(s)); power plant; cargo; back-firing weap-
ons; back armor.
Back: As above, in reverse order.
Right: Right armor; right-firing weapons; roll between
cargo, pilot(s), gunner(s) and power plant; left-firing weapons;
left armor.
Left: As above, in reverse order.
Underbody: Bottom armor; bottom-firing weapons; roll be-
tween pilot(s), gunner(s), cargo and power plant; top armor.
Top: As above, in reverse order.
Skids, rotors, turrets/EWPs/bomb racks and pontoons must
be targeted individually. If stabilizing or main rotors are hit, roll
one die. On a roll of 1-5 the rotor takes 1 point of damage. On a
6, it takes 2 points of damage most of the damage hits empty
air. If the main rotor is destroyed, the aircraft drops. If the
stabilizing rotor is destroyed the helicopter goes into a manda-
tory and unending series of counter-clockwise Rotate maneuvers
which cease only when the helicopter lands. The pilot must
make a control roll during the first phase of every rotating turn
the Rotate maneuvers do count against handling!
Airships
Envelope: Sustains damage equally from all directions (1 in
6 chance of hitting top of gondola if attacker fires from directly
above).
Front: Front armor; front-firing weapons; power plant (if
mounted forward of the cockpit); cockpit (pilot or gunner(s));
power plant (if mounted back of the cockpit); cabin (passen-
gers); cargo; back-firing weapons; back armor.
Back: As above, in reverse order.
Right: Right armor; right-firing weapons; roll between
cargo, pilot(s), gunner(s), passengers and power plant; left-fir-
ing weapons; left armor.
Left: As above, in reverse order.
Underbody: Bottom armor; bottom-firing weapons; roll be-
tween pilot(s), gunner(s), passengers, cargo and power plant;
top-firing weapons; top armor; envelope.
Top: As above, in reverse order.
Props and turrets/EWPs/bomb racks must be targeted indi-
vidually.
Firing Arcs
In combat, an aircraft may target anything within its arc(s) of
fire. In return, an aircraft may be targeted by anything that it
could fire upon, if the prospective target has weapons in that arc.
Helicopters use the same firing arcs as cars trace the arcs from
corner to corner of the counter.
Many airplane counters are very wide, due to the plane's
wings. This would give unreasonably large front and rear firing
arcs, if arcs were traced corner-to-corner.
Therefore, most aircraft counters have two dots on the front
and back edges. These dots mark the corners of the "virtual"
counter to determine firing arcs. See the diagram on the opposite
page. The firing arc for front-mounted weapons (both wing- and
fuselage-mounted) is shown as F. Back firing arcs are deter-
mined in the same manner (firing arc B). Side-mounted weapons
use the L and R arcs, as for normal vehicles.
Wing-tip mounts (p. 20) are miniature turrets with enhanced
traverses. Their firing arcs encompass the front and back arcs as
well as the appropriate side arc (arcs WL and WR, for left and
right respectively).
Elevation
Weapons have a 45-degree elevation; that is, they can target
any object that is farther away than the difference in their alti-
tudes. For example, if Aircraft A is in Car B's weapon arc and
is 5" away and 4" up, Car B can hit it. Car C, at 3" range,
cannot (because Aircraft A is higher up than it is far away).
Likewise, Aircraft A could not hit Car C with any of its weapons
unless it was rolled to have a side weapon (or top turret) actually
face the Underbody arc, if it had an Underbody-mounted
weapon or universal turret, or had Car C in its Front arc and was
diving. This is why many aircraft mount universal turrets
Under.
If the two vehicles are at different altitudes, add the horizon-
tal and vertical range modifiers together to get the weapon
range.
Example: Aircraft A is 5" away and 4" up (modifiers of -1
to hit for each.) This gives a total of -2 to hit for distance.
Hand-held and tripod weapons have no arc problems they
are assumed to be universal.
If the vertical distance from a ground vehicle to an aircraft is
more than the horizontal distance for instance, a car firing at
an aircraft 10" up and 7" away then the ground vehicle can
only hit the aircraft's underbody or wings, with Top-mounted or
universally-turreted weapons. Likewise, the aircraft could only
hit the car's top with under-mounted weapons (or an Under-
mounted universal turret). An aircraft rolled 90 degrees on its
side could use the weapons mounted on the side pointing
downwards.
Flying Wings and Airships
The flying wing is large and not maneuverable. Therefore, it
must have all weapons mounted in universal turrets eliminat-
Combat 32
ing the need for firing arcs. Weapons atop the fuselage may take
in the whole area above the plane; weapons below the fuselage
take in the whole area below it. Weapons on the side of the
fuselage take in the whole side of the plane, above or below it as
the case may be. Wingtop-mounted weapons take in the whole
area above or below the plane. Because universal turrets are
used, any of these weapons except those mounted on the side of
the fuselage can hit a target at the same altitude as the flying
wing.
Airships determine their firing arcs for each armor location
according to the diagram below. Remember that both gondolas
and rigid envelopes can mount weapons.
Universal turrets mounted below a gondola, or on top of a
rigid airship's envelope, can fire at any target below or above the
airship, as appropriate for their location.
Weapons Fire
Regular weapons fire is conducted as for Car Wars, with the
firing arc restrictions noted above. Certain aerial weapons are
exceptions to the regular rules:
Missiles
Self-guided missiles are the premier long-range weapons of
aerial combat. They seek their targets with their own radar sets
and track them down until the missile hits (and often destroys)
the target . . . or misses and self-destructs.
Missile operation is described under the listing for the
RGM, but aerial combat has some vital differences from RGMs
fired at the ground. First, aerial target speed modifiers are di-
vided by 3 (round up), due to the lack of background clutter -
for example, the 80+ mph to hit modifier of -6 is divided by 3
and becomes -2. Second, if an RGM or AAM succeeds in hitting
its target by 2 or more (a roll of 9+ for a slow-moving target)
the missile actually rams the target for ram damage in addition
to explosive damage. RGMs (and AAMs, see below) have a ram
modifier of Vs. In addition, a missile may make any one airplane
maneuver in one phase and may gain or lose altitude each phase
in addition to other maneuvers or straightforward movement,
without a loss of speed (the exact speed and allowed altitude
loss/gain is detailed in each missile description).
Finally, RGMs and AAMs have unusual launching require-
ments. They may not be launched into heavy slipstreams any
RGM or AAM launched from an aircraft going over 100 mph
must be launched forward. Any other launching knocks the mis-
sile off guidance. Such a missile can turn in its first turn of flight
to face its target. Launched RGMs/AAMs add the aircraft's own
speed to theirs for the first turn of flight. An RGM launched
from an airplane going 350 mph would have a total speed of 550
mph for its first five movement phases. After the first five
phases of movement the missile returns to its listed speed.
Remember, missiles may be defeated by chaff, radar jam-
mers, anti-radar sheathing or armor and bollixes. And the com-
puter aiming systems of the 21st century allow aircraft to shoot
missiles down! An RGM or AAM may be targeted at -10, plus
range modifiers. Missiles get no speed modifiers this is fac-
tored into the -10 figure. A missile may be fired upon for multi-
ple turns, with the firer acquiring the sustained fire bonus. Any
hit on a missile destroys it even something as trivial as a
flechette gun can knock down a missile.
Strafing
A special kind of automatic attack, strafing allows an aircraft
to hit multiple ground targets in one turn with the same
weapon(s). To make a strafing attack, the aircraft must be
wings-level not rolled in any way. Rolled gunsights don't line
up correctly. Strafing aircraft may dive while strafing, but not
climb.
The pilot picks a spot of ground
where the attack begins (maximum
range of 20"). No distance modifiers
are applied for strafing it bombards
the entire area. This spot must be able
to be hit by the aircraft's front or
under-mounted weapons, depending
on which weapons are going to strafe.
Then the pilot or gunner puts the
weapons to be used on automatic.
The aircraft flies straight each
phase it strafes it does not strafe
while turning, but resumes strafing as
soon as it moves straight again. The strafing path is 1" wide,
and follows a straight line (from the middle of the counter) for
the distance moved during the phase. The next phase, the target
spot is where the strafe ended the phase before.
Example: An airplane moving 200 mph covers 4" per phase,
so the strafing path would be 1" by 4", lined up with the
aircraft's movement.
Strafing is stopped temporarily whenever the aircraft maneu-
vers an aircraft could strafe, roll, turn, and return to strafing.
A strafing run is over when the aircraft suffers control loss, takes
its weapons off automatic (or runs out of ammo) or climbs.
Each target that is attacked by a strafing run is attacked with
a to-hit roll of 9. Only size and visibility count against strafing
attacks. Likewise, the only positive modifiers that count for
strafing attacks are the pilot's Gunner skill (the pilot may not fire
any other weapon while strafing) and a +1 for using tracer
rounds.
Damage from strafing is V5 combined weapon damage per
target (rounded up), minus -1 per damage die for each full 100
mph the aircraft is moving, rounded up.
Example: The airplane in the example above (moving 200
mph) firing four linked MGs, each normally doing d. The 200
mph subtracts 2 points per die of damage. Therefore, the damage
per strafing hit would be (4d-8)/5 to each target. For strafing
attacks, linked weapons combine their damage.
Only automatic-action weapons may strafe. This means
MGs, VMGs, ACs, GGs, Lasers, GCs and HACs. Burst-effect
weapons do get their listed burst effect. Linked weapons may
strafe together as the pilot or gunner desires. Smart-linked weap-
ons that fire into the same arc may strafe as well.
Bombing
Bombing is a devastating tactic, since bombs do so much
damage. Unlike other burst weapons, bombs do half their listed
damage to all targets within their burst effect radius (except for
crater, cluster and anti-armor bombs, as noted on p. 30). How-
ever, bombs take a long time to reach their target and aren't
particularly accurate. Because of this, bombing is tricky it's
hard to hit a moving target, because you have to aim the bomb at
where you think the target will be when the bomb hits. Usually
the target changes course when it sees the bomb coming. Against
stationary or slow-moving targets, a bomb is an extremely
deadly weapon.
Bombing is conducted in two fashions: Horizontal and Dive
Bombing. Both kinds launch the bombs from the front arc -
bombs can only be "fired" from the front arc and count as a
firing action. Unlike other firing actions, the aircraft must move
straight its next phase when bombing even if a gunner drops the
bomb. Linked bombs may be dropped on automatic, in which
case the bombs drop one per phase.
Bombs are treated as launched grenades. A target point on
the ground is chosen and the bomb dropped. The bomb takes
time to drop; after this time it hits and the actual location of the
bomb hit is figured according to the following table:
To Hit roll:
Made by 2 or more: Bomb hits target point.
Made by 0-1: Bomb hits off-target; roll d-2" of scatter
distance on Scatter Table.
Missed by 1-2: Bomb scatters 1d +1" on Scatter Table.
Missed by 3-4: Bomb scatters 2d" on Scatter Table.
Missed by 5-6: Bomb scatters 3d" on Scatter Table.
Missed by 7-10: Bomb scatters 5d" on Scatter Table.
Missed by 11 +: Bomb scatters 10d" on Scatter Table.
Scatter Table
Roll 1d:
1 Bomb scatters forward from target point.
2 Bomb scatters forward and to the right (roll scatter dice
separately for each distance) from target point.
3 Bomb scatters forward and to the left (roll scatter dice
separately for each distance) from target point.
4 Bomb scatters to the right of target point.
5 Bomb scatters to the left of target point.
6 Bomb scatters to the rear of target point.
Bombs and Water
All bombs detonate on contact with water except anti-armor
bombs, which need a very solid object to detonate them.
Horizontal Bombing
Horizontal bombing occurs unless the aircraft actually dives
at the target, as per the Dive Bombing rules below. The aircraft
may drop the bomb as long as the bottom of the aircraft faces the
ground the aircraft may be climbing, diving or turning (al-
though it may not be rolled while bombing).
Horizontal bombing is slower than dive bombing, since the
bomb must slow horizontally while accelerating vertically.
When a bomb is horizontally dropped, the bomb moves forward
at the aircraft's current speed and drops downward at a 25 mph
acceleration. As the bomb continues to drop, it loses forward
speed at 25 mph deceleration per turn while accelerating down-
ward at 25 mph per turn (maximum downward speed is terminal
velocity, 130 mph). The following table is included to illustrate
this process:
Horizontal Bomb Progress
Time Forward Vertical Vertical
Elapsed Speed Speed Drop
1 second Aircraft speed 25 mph 21/2"
2 seconds Aircraft speed-25 50 mph 71/2"
3 seconds Aircraft speed-50 75 mph 15"
4 seconds Aircraft speed-75 100 mph 25"
5 seconds Aircraft speed-100 130 mph 38"
6 seconds Aircraft speed-125 130 mph 51"
7 seconds Aircraft speed-150 130 mph 64"
Thus, a bomb dropped from an aircraft going 300 mph at
352" altitude (1 mile) would move forward from its drop point
for 13 seconds, traveling 195" (over half a mile) and take 30
seconds to hit the ground. Horizontal bombing is not recom-
mended for moving targets unless the bombs are dropped near
the ground. Most attack craft dive-bomb their targets (see
below).
Horizontal bombing to-hit rolls are not affected by range,
target size or movement modifiers. The bomber's gunner skill
and target computers do affect the to-hit roll.
Torpedo Bombing
Dropping a torpedo from an aircraft is a form of horizontal
bombing, with the following restrictions in addition to normal
horizontal bombing restrictions. The aircraft cannot be more
than 21/2" above the water or going faster than 200 mph when it
drops its torpedo(s). If it is going any faster or is any higher the
torpedo is destroyed when it hits the water.
A dropped torpedo hits the water within a turn (the torpedo
drops at V2" per phase, moving forward at the aircraft's speed).
The torpedo slows down to its listed speed on the phase after it
enters the water and behaves normally thereafter.
Dive Bombing
Dive bombing occurs when the aircraft dives towards its
target, aiming the bomb at the target point. To do so, the aircraft
must be in a dive if the aircraft is not already making a diving
maneuver (see p. 21). The aircraft must dive in the phase it drops
its bomb. This kind of sudden dive is a D3 maneuver and the
aircraft loses 1/4" of altitude. As a further restriction, an aircraft
making a dive-bomb run must be wings level the aircraft
cannot be rolled. After the dive-bomb run, the aircraft must
straighten out and fly level for the next phase, as usual.
The dropped bomb moves at the aircraft's speed. The range
from bomber to target point is different from direct-fire weap-
ons, which add distance and altitude. Dive-bombs take the
longer of the two measurements (distance or altitude) and add it
to V3
of the lesser distance (round up). For instance, an aircraft
Combat
34
Front Arc Illegal from Carrier
Back Arc Illegal from Cab
at 15" altitude bombing a target 20" away would have a dive-
bombing range of 25" (20 + (15/3)). Divide the dive-bombing
range by the aircraft's speed to determine how long the bomb
takes to reach the target point. If desired, the exact phase the
bomb hits can be determined by counting off the movement
phases on the Speed Chart until the range distance is achieved.
Dive-bomb to-hit rolls are not affected by target speed mod-
ifiers, and are only affected by size modifiers if the area of the
target point is small (such as planting the bomb through a win-
dow or door, a -3 to the to-hit roll). They are affected by range
modifiers, at -1 per 4" of dive-bomb range. Gunner skill and
target computers add to the to-hit roll. Every turn that the pilot
spends diving towards the target gains a +I to hit, to a maxi-
mum of +3.
For example, if the aircraft above was at Speed 200, the
bomb would arrive at the target point in under two turns (7
phases), and the range modifier would be -6.
A missed dive-bombing attack cannot scatter farther than
half the range. The bomb in the example above could not scatter
more than 12" in any direction.
Anti-Aircraft
Defenses
Anti-aircraft defenses are common in 2040. Any airport has
quite a few AA guns, because the traffic coming through usually
carries cargo worth fighting for and repairing concrete run-
ways that have been crater-bombed is expensive.
AA defenses consist of hand-held weapons, such as SAMs
and machine-weapons of all types, balloon early-warning sys-
tems, balloon-mounted weapons, barrage balloons, universal
gun turrets on buildings and AA mounts, both fixed and mobile.
Small airports rarely have more defenses than a vehicle or
two with universal turret mounts and SAMs for the airport staff.
Long-range radar is mounted in the control tower often little
more than a shed to warn of approaching aircraft.
Medium-sized airports usually mount their radars on a
proper tower, and may also operate balloon-mounted radar sets.
Defenses consist of security forces of universal-turreted vehicles
and SAM-armed guards. Wealthier airports may mount univer-
sal-turreted weapons on the buildings or tower, and almost every
airport of this size has a trailer or fixed AA mount ("flak" in
pilot lingo).
Large airports boast extensive aerial security. The control
tower and receiving terminal sport universal-turret weapons
with robot gunners. Balloons herald the approach to the run-
ways, guarding the miles-long perimeter with radar, IR and
remote computer-gunner-manned weaponry. Barrage balloons
line the airstrips close to the terminal/tower complex, keeping
low-flying dive-bombers away from the buildings and hangars.
Mobile AA mounts and universal-turreted vehicles cruise the
airfield interior; more fixed AA "flak" guns lurk in dugouts
around the field to blast unwanted fliers. The security guards are
armed with the best hand-weapons and always sling a SAM on
their backs during their patrols. Large airfields spend a lot on
their defense, since they stand to lose even more from a lack of
defense.
AA Mounts
AA mounts are automatically universal. They work like uni-
versal turrets mounting linked weapons but are slower they
can only turn 90 degrees per turn. For example, an AA mount
facing F could turn to attack a target in the L or R arc, or stay in
F arc. An AA mount facing L could turn to F or B arcs, or stay
in L arc, etc.
Links for the weapons on an AA mount must be purchased
separately. If more than one weapon is mounted, the weapons
must be mounted in multiples of two for balance purposes, each
one of the pair mounted side by side. For example, a twelve-
space mount could hold two heavy auto-cannons, or four auto-
cannons, or four MGs and two blast cannons, or four
rocket-launchers and two VMGs, or two gatling cannons and
two MGs, etc. Of course, one weapon could be mounted alone
a six-space mount could hold a GC and magazine, for in-
stance. Magazines mounted to the weapons are counted against
the amount of spaces, and if one weapon of a pair mounts a
magazine the other must as well.
AA mounts with multiple weapons work with maximum ef-
fect when mounting the same weapons. Any AA mount with
multiple weapons, all of the same type, has two benefits: They
may mount three weapons (other AA mounts with multiple
weapons must mount in multiples of two only) and the gunner
has a +1 to hit, just like a cupola gunner.
Vehicle AA Mounts
Although any vehicle or mount with a universal turret can be
considered an anti-aircraft vehicle, true AA mounts are not tur-
rets but external multi-gun universal mounts allowing large
weapons to be installed in cargo areas (like flatbeds, pickup beds
and open-topped vehicles). They are large and slow but can
mount the weaponry to destroy an airplane in a single salvo.
Each mount holds a gunner, like a cupola the gunner's space
is already figured into the mount's spaces, although the gunner's
150 lbs. is not. The gunner does not receive the +1 to hit that
regular cupola gunners do, unless the weapons mounted are
identical (see below).
The mounts come in four sizes:
Four-space $2,000, 400 lbs., 8 spaces.
Six-space $3,000, 600 lbs., 10 spaces.
Eight-space $4,500, 1,000 lbs., 12 spaces.
Twelve-space $7,000, 1,500 lbs., 18 spaces.
AA mounts may be armored. The armor costs $20 and
weighs 8 lbs. per point of armor. Maximum armor is 10 points.
Turrets mounted on AA mount carrier cabs may not fire to
the back arc. Likewise, AA mounts on carriers with cabs (pick-
ups and any truck) may not fire into the front arc. This keeps the
cab turret from shooting up the AA mount and vice versa.
AA mounts may be mounted on trailers, with one mount per
trailer maximum.
Illegal Firing Arcs
Fixed AA Mounts
AA mounts in permanent installations can be of any size.
Cost is $750 per space of weapon capacity, plus the cost of the
weapons. Armor is $50 per point per space and they can have
as much as they want.
35 Combat
Characters and Skills
Flying an aircraft has very little in common with driving a
car or truck. Flying different kinds of aircraft is as different as
driving a car is from cycling. Special skills are needed to fly
each type of aircraft.
Aircraft skills are bought and improved by experience like
all other skills. The main difference with aircraft skills is that
some of them allow use of other aircraft, with suitable penalties
to the skill.
Any plane or fighter skill allows a pilot to use any other
plane or fighter at -2 to skill. Characters without any plane or
fighter skill cannot fly these aircraft in combat and are at -3 HC
when flying such an aircraft out of combat.
Skill Descriptions
Small Plane Pilot This skill allows the pilot to fly all
microplanes and small, medium and large airplanes.
Large Plane Pilot This skill allows the pilot to fly cargo
and large cargo airplanes.
Jet Fighter Pilot This skill allows the pilot to fly jet
fighters. Pilots without this skill cannot operate vectored-thrust
fighters.
Vectored-Thrust Pilot This skill allows the pilot to operate
VT aircraft. The pilot must have Jet Fighter skill. A pilot with
only Jet Fighter skill can operate VT aircraft at a -3 to skill.
Helicopter Pilot This skill allows the pilot to fly helicop-
ters and autogyros. Pilots with this skill can also fly tilt-rotor
aircraft at -2 to skill.
Airship Pilot This skill allows the piloting of airships.
Any pilot can pilot an airship without this skill at a -3 to piloting
skill.
Glider Pilot Every pilot can fly a glider at -2 to skill. This
skill allows the specific and precise handling of gliders and
hang-gliders.
Rocket Pack This skill allows the precise handling of
rocket packs. Rocket packs cannot be flown without this skill.
GLOC Toughening This skill can only be bought up to a
+1 level, and has no effect until the +1 level. At +1 it adds +1
to all GLOC rolls. (See GLOC, page 23.)
Aircraft Mechanic This skill is identical to the Mechanic
skill, but applies only to aerial vehicles. An aircraft mechanic
working on cars is at -2 to any die rolls, and vice versa, for an
auto mechanic working on aircraft.
Aircraft Maintenance
Aircraft are expensive to buy and just as expensive to main-
tain. If not maintained, aircraft become dangerous to operate -
in a car, if a critical failure occurs, the driver is usually close
enough to the ground to slow down. Aircraft don't have the
luxury of that option most of the time.
Aircraft mechanics repair aircraft just like ground mechanics
repair ground vehicles.
Difficulty of Repair Jobs
Very Hard: Repair jet engine, propeller or autogyro rotor.
Hard: Repair wing damage.
Medium: Repair envelope damage (treat as armor repair).
These repair jobs are in addition to those on the repair table
in the Car Wars rules.
Cost of repairs is the same for aircraft as for ground vehicles.
Critical Malfunction
Aircraft need regular maintenance. Without it, they develop
equipment failures that range from the annoying to the instantly
deadly. Every time an aircraft is flown in combat or for more
than an hour it needs a maintenance check by an aircraft me-
chanic. This check costs d x $25 and takes an hour (it only
costs 1d x $10 if you're an aircraft mechanic and you do it
yourself). The time is spent testing and adjusting components to
make sure they'll work correctly when the aircraft is used.
Each time the aircraft is flown in combat or for more than an
hour, roll 2d. On a 12, roll 2d again on the table below (subtract
3 from the roll if regular maintenance has been performed).
Malfunctions
6 or lower No actual malfunction.
7-9 A non-flight-essential component malfunctions. This
is one component not concerned with keeping the aircraft in the
air, including weapons, turrets, accessories of all kinds, tires,
etc. The affected component will not function until it is repaired.
10-14 A flight-essential component malfunctions. Flight-
essential components include power plant, maneuver foils,
props/jet engines, wings, tail assembly and flight computer. The
effects are grouped into three categories (roll randomly to deter-
mine which goes bad):
Power plant and prop/jet malfunctions cause a loss of power
factors prop/jet malfunctions cause a partial loss (as many
power factors as that prop/jet provided; remember that aircraft
power factors are divided evenly between the props) and power
plant malfunctions cause total power loss. If the aircraft is with-
out power it must glide to a landing.
Manual foil/tail assembly/flight computer malfunctions
cause a random loss of handling. Roll 1d for the penalty to HC.
HC remains crippled this way until the component is repaired.
Wing malfunctions cause a Wing Check.
Recharging and
Fueling
Fuel-cell power plants have 50 times their spaces in Power
Units. They take 10 minutes per 10,000 PU and $1 per PU to
charge. Gas and jet engines take 10 minutes per 50 gallons to fill
up; microplane gas costs $40 per gallon, airplane gas costs $100
per gallon and jet fuel costs $250 per gallon.
Airships need lifting gas. Helium costs $50 per cubic inch of
envelope; hydrogen costs $5per cubic inch of envelope. See p.
13.
Characters 36
SAMPLE AIRCRAFT
Sniper -Small microplane, medium car power plant, 3 PR
cycle tires, 1prop mounted back, ducted cowling, swept wings,
pilot, 2 linked MGs wing-mounted front. Armor: F30, R28,
128, B27, T7, U20. 3 1-point cycle wheelguards. Acc 5, top
speed 425, stall speed 40, HC 4; 2,461 lbs., $9,845.
Wraith -Medium microplane, sport car power plant with
PCs and SCs, 3 std. cycle tires, 2 ducted tilt-rotors wing-
mounted front, pilot, universal-turret RR under, HRSWC.
Armor: F20, R18, L18, B16, T4, U18. 3 1-point cycle
wheelguards. Acc 20 (10 in VTOL mode), top speed 415, stall
speed 30, HC 3; 2,855 lbs., $22,652. One space left in each
wing.
Mach-Pusher -Large microplane, Thundercat power plant
with PCs and SCs, 3 HD cycle tires, 2 props wing-mounted
back, ducted props, swept wings, pilot, universal-turret RL T
with laser-guided rockets, LGL, target laser in turret, 2
HSRGMs wing-mounted front, hi-res computer, radar, radar
jammer, 1 pair maneuver foils, retractable landing gear, LR
radio, streamlining, ejection seat. Armor: F35, R25, 125, B30,
T21, U30. Acc 20, top speed 640, stall speed 40, HC 3; 5,997
lbs., $69,188.
Stunter -Small airplane, 250 ci. gas engine, 3 std. car tires,
1 prop front, extra wing, pilot, 1 MG F, 1 pair of maneuver
foils, smart link, 2 25-gallon wing HD gas tanks. Armor: F25,
R10, L10, B15, T 5, U14. Acc 15, top speed 185, stall speed 40,
HC 4; 2,968 lbs., $21,556.
Killerhawk - Medium airplane, small helicopter power
plant, 3 HD car tires, 1 prop front, heavy-lift wings, pilot,
universal-turret AC with magazine U, 2 linked ACs wing-
mounted F (1 per wing), 2 three-space bomb racks (one per
wing), fire ext., smart link for turreted AC, hi-res computer, LR
radio. 600 lbs for bombs. Armor: LR metal/normal plastic
F8/10, L2/10, R2/10, B2/10, TO/10, U10/30. 10 points of prop
armor, three 7-point wheelguards and 10 points wing armor per
wing. Acc 15, top speed 255, stall speed 45, HC 2; 9,989 lbs.
(loaded), $59,430.
Stormswallow -Large airplane, 2 6-space standard jet en-
gines wing-mounted B, 3 PR car tires, swept wings, pilot, 2
linked ACs F, ejection seat, HRSWC, retractable landing gear,
165-gallon HD fuel tank, LR radio, radar. Armor: F25, L20,
R20, B20, T10, U20. 4 points of wing armor per wing. Acc 20,
top speed 830, stall speed 60, HC 1; 11,115 lbs., $265,150.
C-37-Cargo airplane, standard helicopter power plant
with extra power cells, 6 std. truck tires, 2 props wing-mounted
front, ducted fans, heavy-lift/STOL wings, pilot, co-pilot, gun-
ner/mechanic, universal cupola with 4 linked MGs TF, 4 per-
sonal parachutes, LR radio, retractable landing gear in the
wings, extra driver controls. 49 spaces cargo (16,005 lbs.).
Metal armor: F6, LF4, RF4, LB4, LR4, B6, TF6, TB4, UF3,
UB3. Acc 5, top speed 210, stall speed 60, HC 0; 30,000 lbs.,
$87,650.
BB-1 7B - Large cargo airplane, super helicopter power
plant with extra fuel cells, 6 HD truck tires, 4 propellers wing-
mounted front, heavy lift wings, pilot, co-pilot, 6 gunners, 4
universal turrets (BC UF, 2 linked VMGs UB, TF, TB), 4 RRs
(FRF, FLF, BRF, BLF*), 2 linked AC with magazines B, ITA,
10 wing-mounted solar panels (5 per wing), retractable landing
gear, 8 personal parachutes, bomb bay, fire ext., autopilot, com-
puter navigator, extra driver controls, radar, radar jammer, 8
hi-res computers, LR radio, 40 spaces (8,720 lbs.) cargo in
bomb bay. LR metal/regular plastic composite armor: 12/20 in
all 18 locations. Prop armor: 10 points per prop. Wing armor: 4
metal per wing. Acceleration 5, top speed 170, stall speed 90,
HC 0; 65,000 lbs. (loaded), $339,860. *Remember that large
cargo airplanes are treated as two connected trailers -FRF is
front half, right-front, etc.
News Chopper -Small helicopter, small helicopter power
plant, pilot, gunner, 2 passengers, vehicular camera in universal
turret U, RL F, LR radio, targeting computer for pilot. Armor:
F20, L20, R20, B20, T10, U30, 10 points main and stabilizing
rotor armor. Acc 5, top speed 170, HC 2; 5,875 lbs., $44,550.
Rec-blimp -Small non-rigid airship, micro airship power
plant, pilot, 5 passengers (2 spaces per passenger), universal
turret with 2 linked MGs UF, turreted RL UB, LR radio, vehic-
ular computer, fire ext. 11 spaces (up to 4,920 lbs.) cargo.
Armor: F25, L25, R25, B25, T5, U35. Acc 5, top speed 55, HC
2; 20,000 lbs., $35,900.
Air-Lifter-Standard semi-rigid airship, large airship power
plant, pilot, 2 gunners, 2 universal turrets (2 linked VMGs UF,
4 SAMs UB), winch, bomb bay, 2 SWCs for gunners. 73 spaces
cargo (40,250 lbs.). Armor: F20, LF20, RF20, LB20, RB20,
B30, TF5, TB5, UF25, UB25. Acc 5, top speed 80, HC I;
75,000 lbs., $150,550.
Lift-Liner - Large rigid airship, medium airship power
plant, pilot, copilot, 4 gunners, 50 passengers (2 spaces per
passenger), 4 universal turrets (laser-guided RL with 2 maga-
zines UF, 2 linked VMGs UB, 4 SAMs envelope TF, 4 RGMS
envelope TB), 4 hi-res computers for gunners, extra driver con-
trols, streamlined. Armor: F30, LF30, RF30, LB30, RB30,
B30, TF5, TB5, UF40, UB40, 10 points prop armor for all four
props. Acc 5, top speed 100, HC 1; 63,630 lbs., $387,200.
Goshawk -Small jet fighter, 12-space high-performance jet
engine with afterburner, 6 std. truck tires, pilot, GC F, 2 4-
space rocket EWPs wing-mounted F (each with 2 AAMs), LR
radar, radar detector, radar jammer, LR radio, hi-res computer,
ejection seat, retractable landing gear, 2 pairs maneuver foils, 2
75-gallon HD fuel tanks (1per wing). Armor: F30, L30, R30,
B40, T30, U35. Acc 20, top speed 905 (afterburner Acc 25 and
top speed 1,795), stall speed 150. HC 3; 16,480 lbs.,
$1,088,150.
37 Sample Aircraft
SCENARIOS
The Slalom
A popular and time-honored form of air-
craft racing, the slalom tests not only speed but
maneuverability. The addition of combat has
merely made it more interesting.
Setup
The slalom is a simple map-board. It con-
sists of five pylons in a straight line, spaced at
10" intervals. Each pylon is 5" (75') high and
DP 10.
The racing contestants enter headed for the
pylon line 20" away (see diagram). The air-
craft enter at a set speed (usually 100 mph) and
side by side. They are free to accelerate or
decelerate once on the map.
Victory Conditions
The object is simple: Fly around the five
pylons in alternating fashion, circle pylon #5
and fly back around the other four in reverse
alternation (see diagram). The first aircraft to
fly back to the starting point is the winner.
Options and Hints
Typically slalom races are made by air-
planes or microplanes, in the $50,000 and
under category. For an interesting variant, try
helicopters or autogyros or even jetpacks!
Civilian Action
The Second Civil War was filled with small
aerial actions that didn't involve transonic jets
and mega-tech missiles. Often, aerial superior-
ity was not very well established. This was the
case in the early stages of the Tulsa Siege. In
one of the smaller but more notable develop-
ments of the growing siege, a group of Oklaho-
man civilians challenged a Federal AirCav
troop convoy with private aircraft, jury-rigged
to mount weapons.
Setup
The scenario takes place in the air, and the
ground is too far away to matter most of the
time. The Federal forces enter from one side of
the map at 100" altitude and 100 mph. The
Oklahoman forces enter from the other side of
the map at whatever speed and altitude they
choose. The scenario is not restricted to the
map, and will probably drift off. Adjust the
map to "catch up" with the counters when this
happens.
The Federal force consists of five helicop-
ters. The helicopters may be no larger than
Standard and may be armored with metal
armor only, to a maximum of 4 points of metal
armor per facing (although they may have up
to 10 points of plastic rotor armor per rotor).
Four of the helicopters are troop transports
and carry 8 passengers apiece; they may
not have turreted weapons. The transports
have doors on both sides. The other heli-
copter is a gunship; it must have a turreted
AC linked to the gunner with a SWC. The
helicopters can mount only SWCs or Tar-
geting Computers (no HRSWCs or hi-res
computers). They are permitted the follow-
ing weapon options: MGs, RLs, Vulcans,
ACs and any kind of single-shot rockets.
Weapons may be EWP-mounted, and the
EWPs may be armored with plastic armor.
The Federals have a total of $350,000 to
build their force (including the armament
and equipment of the 32 troops carried by
the troop helicopters). The Federals have
500 skill points to allocate to the skills of
the helicopter pilots and gunners; no char-
acter may have more than 40 points in any
one skill. The troops are all Handgunner
+1.
The Oklahomans have refitted civilian
aircraft to contest the Federal helicopters.
These are airplanes; they cannot be ar-
mored except for metal armor no more
than 3 points per location, and the metal
weighs twice normal. They can mount only
fixed weapons, and they are restricted to
hand weapons, MGs and single-shot rock-
ets. They may not mount any sort of target-
ing computers, EWPs or turrets. The
Oklahomans have $250,000 to build their
force. The Oklahoman characters have 350
skill points to allocate between them; no
man may have more than 30 skill points in
any one skill.
Victory Conditions
Despite the fact that they're outgunned
(and more than likely outnumbered), the
Oklahomans have the advantage: Their vic-
tory condition is to knock down any three
helicopters. The Federals have to destroy
the Oklahoman aircraft before they knock
down those three helicopters!
Options and Hints
The Federal player should arm his
troop helicopters with door-mounted MGs
as well as with EWPs. He would do well to
arrange his helicopters in a formation
where maximum firepower can be brought
on any attacker.
The Oklahoman player should concen-
trate his attacks on one helicopter at a time.
Use fast firing passes and avoid helicopter
fronts that's where a lot of weaponry is.
Scenarios 38
Ground Attack
An aerial attack is one of the most frightening things that can
happen to a ground unit. Aircraft attacks are swift, powerful and
often unannounced. Then the airplane is gone before its targets
can respond.
Setup
This scenario uses highway rules from Car Wars. The cars
are on a divided highway, hemmed in on the inside by a median
ditch and confronted by open terrain on the outside of the high-
way. The cars start going the same direction at 55 mph, no more
than 3" from each other. The attacking aircraft enters from any
map side at 100 mph.
The car player has $50,000 to buy his vehicle(s) and 200
skill points to spend on character skills. The aircraft player has
$75,000 to buy one aircraft and 100 skill points to spend on
character skills. No character may have more than 40 skill points
in any one skill.
Victory Conditions
The aircraft player wins by destroying 2/3 of the car player's
vehicles (if one vehicle, that one must be destroyed. If two, both
vehicles must be destroyed). The car player wins by avoiding
this.
Options and Hints
This scenario is aimed at teaching players how to use the
strafing and bombing rules. After these rules are mastered, the
scenario's locale may be changed urban settings such as
Midville or the City Blocks sets are good for this.
The aircraft player should invest in some bombs and strafing
weapons. Gunner-operated belly turrets are useful, too. The car
player should have universal turrets whenever possible. Sun-
roofs enable passengers to get into the fight SAMs are power-
ful weapons against aerial targets.
Corporate Air War
A hundred years ago, massive fleets of bombers flew over
war-torn country to rain explosive death on the unlucky popu-
lace below.
Not much has changed. The fleets still fly, but this time they
fly to destroy the industries of corporate rivals rather than indus-
tries of national rivals. Corporate defender aircraft rise to attack
the bombers and are attacked in turn by escort fighters. This
scenario is a demonstration of one such "fur-ball."
The scenario consists of two parts: the initial interception,
and the attempt to stop one of the bombers, if the defender's
aircraft make it through the escort fighters.
Interception
Setup
Both sides enter the field of play at whatever speed they
prefer. The altitude is approximately 350", so ground has no
effect unless planes lose power. Use 350" as a starting altitude;
aircraft may chose their entering altitude as anywhere within
10" of 350".
The playing field will probably grow larger than any map
sheet, considering the speeds of the aircraft likely to be used.
With a turning key and a tape-measure, no map sheet is really
needed.
The defending player is, in this first encounter, the "at-
tacker," assaulting the attacking forces before they can bomb
the installation the defenders protect. The defending player has
$400,000 and 650 skill points to build his force. No character
may spend more than 40 points on any one skill.
The attacking player has $250,000 and 400 skill points to
build his force. No character may spend more than 40 points on
any one skill.
Victory Conditions
The side that destroys or drives off the other side's aircraft
first wins. If the defender wins, he takes his aircraft as is,
complete with damage and ammunition depletion on to try
and stop one of the bombers coming in to salvo its load.
Bombing Run
Setup
The defender uses his surviving aircraft from the first part of
the scenario, entering at any speed and at 340-360" altitude
(player's choice per aircraft). The attacker has a BB-17B, which
enters the playing field at 350" altitude, 150 mph.
If the first part of the scenario wasn't played, the defender
gets $250,000 worth of aircraft and 300 skill points (as usual, no
character may spend more than 40 points on one skill).
Victory Conditions
The defender wins if he destroys or drives away the bomber.
The attacker wins if he can fly 10 turns and drop his bombs on
the 11th turn.
Options and Hints
Helicopters and airships are out of their element here. This
is an airplane/microplane battle. Throwing a jet-propelled air-
plane into the battle can be a potent surprise as it was back in
1944.
39 Scenarios
Accessory List
The following is a list of equipment and where it can be
located. CWC = Car Wars Compendium, AERO = Aeroduel.
Aircraft Radio - AERO 18.
Armored Searchlight - CWC 91.
ATAD - CWC 87.
Autopilot - CWC 87.
Blow-Through Concealment - CWC 82.
Blueprinting - CWC 52.
Bollix - CWC 87.
Bomb Bay - CWC 73, AERO 18.
Bomb Racks - CWC 82, AERO 18.
Bulk Ammo Boxes -CWC 88.
Carburetor - CWC 52.
Cargo Safe - CWC 85.
CACR - CWC 73, AERO
Component Armor - CWC 85.
Computer Gunner/
Autopilot Software - CWC 88.
Computer Gunner - CWC 88, AERO
Computer Navigator - CWC 88.
Cupolas - CWC 82.
Cyberlink - CWC 83.
Cycle Wheelguards - CWC 56.
Dive Brakes - AERO 18.
Drop Tanks - AERO 18.
Ejection Seat - CWC 86.
Envelope Armor - AERO 13.
ERIS - CWC 89.
EWPs - CWC 83.
Extra Driver Controls - CWC 89.
Extra Magazines - CWC 83
Extra Power Cells - CWC 51
Extra Rotor Blades - CWC 73, AERO 11.
5-space EWPs - AERO 18.
Fake Passengers - CWC 89.
Fake Turret - CWC 83.
Fake Weapons - CWC 86.
Fire Extinguisher - CWC 86.
Fire-retardant Insulators - CWC 86.
Galley - CWC 89.
Gas Cylinder - AERO 13.
Gee Suit - AERO 18.
Hang Gliders - CWC 86.
Heavy-Duty Brakes - CWC 89.
Hi-res Computer - CWC 84.
HRSWC - CWC 84.
High-Speed Compressor Pack - AERO 13.
HARMs - CWC 83.
IFF system - CWC 89.
Improved Fire Extinguisher - CWC 86.
Improved Supercharger Capacitors - CWC 51, 52.
Improved Tail Assembly - CWC 73, AERO 18.
Infrared Sighting System - CWC 89.
Jettison Joinings - CWC 56.
Laser Battery - CWC 83.
Laser-Guidance Link - CWC 83.
Laser-Reactive Web - CWC 86.
Link - CWC 84.
Long-Distance Radio - CWC 90.
Long-Range Radar - CWC 90.
Magazine Switch - CWC 84.
Maneuver Foils - CWC 74, AERO 18.
Microplane Harness - AERO 14.
Mini-Safe - CWC 86.
Multibarrel Carburetor - CWC 52.
Nitrous Oxide - CWC 53.
No-Paint Windshield - CWC 90.
NBC Shielding - CWC 90.
Passenger Accomodations - CWC 90.
Personal Parachute - CWC 73, AERO 18.
Platinum Catalysts - CWC 51.
Pontoons - CWC 71, 73, AERO 18-19.
Portable Earth Station - CWC 90.
Propeller Armor - AERO 13.
Radar Altimeter - AERO 19.
Radar Detector - CWC 83, 90
Radar Jammer - CWC 90.
Radar - CWC 90.
Radar-proof armor - CWC 50, AERO 19.
Refuelling Drogue - AERO 19.
Refuelling Probe - AERO 19.
Remote Control Guidance - CWC 91.
Retractable Landing Gear - CWC 73, AERO 19.
Rocket Boosters - CWC 91.
Rocket EWP - CWC 84.
Rocket Magazine - CWC 84.
Rocket Platform - CWC 84
Roll Cage - CWC 86.
Rotary Magazine - CWC 84.
Rotor Armor - CWC 73, AERO 11.
Safety Seat - CWC 86
Searchlight - CWC 91
Search Radar - AERO 19.
SWC - CWC 84.
Skid Strechers - CWC 74, AERO 11.
Smart Link - CWC 84
Solar Panels - CWC 91, AERO 14,19.
Sound Enhancement - CWC 92.
Sound System - CWC 91-92.
Stealth - CWC 92.
StealthKote Shield - CWC 87.
Sunroof - CWC 92.
Supercharger - CWC 53.
Superconductors - CWC 51.
Surge Protector - CWC 92.
Targeting Computer - CWC 84.
Terrain Following Radar - AERO 19.
Tinted Windows - CWC 92.
Tubular Headers - CWC 52.
Turbocharger - CWC 52-53.
Universal turrets, etc. - CWC 84.
Variable-pitch turbocharger - CWC 53.
Vehicular Camera - CWC 92.
Vehicular Computer - CWC 85.
Vehicular Parachutes - CWC 73, AERO 19.
Weapon Concealment - CWC 85.
Weapon Timer - CWC 92.
Winch - CWC 74, AERO 19.
Winch, Heavy-Duty - AERO 19.
Scenarios 40
This is the template for the airship counter provided on
the counter sheet. We showed the blimp from the side,
as it resulted in a more attractive counter. Treat it as if
shown from above.
All airships are given in
air-to-air scale (1/4" = 15 feet).
Balloon Templates
(Air-to-air Scale; 14" = 15 feet)
9 or more Cells 5-8 Cell 1-4 Cell
Balloon Templates
(Ground Scale; 1" = 15 feet)
5-8 Cell 1-4 Cell
9 or more Cells
INDEX
Entries beginning with a lower-case
"p" are on the four pages of the pullout
section in the center of the rulebook.
AA, see Anti-aircraft defenses.
Acceleration, 20; airships, 28; heli-
copter, 26.
Accessories, 18-19, 40; engine, 6, 8;
helicopter, 9.
Afterburner, 8.
Air-to-air scale, 20; templates for
ground and air-to-air scale, 41-42.
Aircraft Control Chart, p4.
Aircraft Mechanic skill, 36.
Airplane Record Sheet, 43.
Airplanes, 4; body types, 4; Crash
Table, 25, p2; damage allocation, 32;
record sheet, 43; skills, 36; targeting
modifiers, 31.
Airships, 12; counters, 14, 41-42;
Crash Table, 29, p2; damage allocation,
32; firing arcs, 32; history, 2; maneuver,
28-29; power plants, 13; targeting modi-
fiers, 31; templates, 41-42; weapons, 13;
weather, 29.
Altimeter, 19.
Anti-aircraft defenses, 35.
Auto-rotation, 26.
Autogyros, 15, 26; damage alloca-
tion, 32; targeting modifiers, 31.
Balloons, 15; targeting modifiers,
31; templates, 42.
Biplanes, 5; history, 2.
Blimps, 12; see also Airships.
Bombing, 34; Bombing Run sce-
nario, 39; Scatter Table, 34.
Bombs, 30, p4; bomb rack, 18.
Carplanes, 15.
Catapult, 16.
Climbing, 20; airships, 28; helicop-
ter, 26.
Compressor, 13.
Control, 24; airships, 28; Control
Chart, p4; helicopters, 27; losing con-
trol, 24.
Crash Tables, airplanes and jets, 25,
p2; airships, 29, p3; helicopters, 27, p3;
microplanes, 24, p2.
Crashing, 25; see also Crash Tables.
Critical damage, aircraft engine, 7;
jet engine, 8.
Deceleration, 20; airships, 28; heli-
copter, 26.
Dirigibles, 12; see also Airships.
Dischargers, 9.
Dive bombing, 34.
Dive brakes, 18.
Diving, 21; airships, 27; helicopter,
26.
Downdrafts, 23.
Drafts, 23.
Drop tanks, 18.
Ducted cowlings, 6.
Elevation difference, 32.
Envelope, 13; see also Airships.
EWPs, 9, 19.
External weapon pods, see EWPs.
Falling, 25.
Firing arcs, 32; airships, 32; flying
wings, 32; anti-aircraft mounts, 35.
Fixed-wing planes, see Airplanes.
Flying wing, 5; firing arcs, 32.
Forward-swept wings, 5.
Free fall, 25.
Free Oil States, 3.
Fuel, 7, 8, 36.
Gas tanks, 8; drop tanks, 18.
Gatling Cannon, 30, p4.
Gee suit, 18. See also GLOC.
Gliders, 15; hang gliders, 17; glider
catapult, 16; skill, 36.
GLOC, 23; and gee suit, 18; GLOC
Toughening skill, 36.
Gondola, 12; see also Airships.
Grasshoppers, 11.
Ground scale, 20.
Hang gliders, 17.
Hazards, airplane, 24, p2; helicop-
ters, 27, p3; microplane, 24, p2; jet
fighter, 24, p2.
Heavy Autocannon, 30, p4.
Heavy Lift wings, 5, 20.
Helicopters, 9; Crash Table, 27, p3;
damage allocation, 32; hazards, 27; his-
tory, 2; skill, 36; targeting modifiers, 31.
Helium, 13.
History, 2.
Hoverplanes, 15.
Hydrogen, 13.
Immelmann turn, 22.
Jet engines, 7.
Jet fighters, 20; body types, 4; dam-
age allocation, 32; military, 3; skill, 36;
targeting modifiers, 31.
Jet frames, 5.
Lag roll, 22.
Landing gear, 9; retractable, 19.
Landing, 20; airships, 28; auto-rota-
tion, 26; landing gear, 9, 18.
Lightning, 24.
Loop, 22.
Malfunctions, 36.
Maneuver foils, 4, 18.
Maneuvers, airplane, 21-22; airship,
28; helicopter, 26-27.
Microplanes, body types, 4; Crash
Tables, 24, p2; damage allocation, 32;
on airship, 14; targeting modifiers, 31.
Missiles, 30-31, 33, p4.
Movement Chart, p1.
Movement rules, 20; airplanes, 20;
chart, p1 ; rotary-wing craft, 26.
Napalm, 30, p4.
Parachutes, 17, 18.
Pontoons, 18.
Power plants, accessories, 6, 8; air-
ship, 13; airplane, 6; gas aircraft, 6, jet,
7.
Private wars, 3.
Propellers, 6.
Radar, 19.
Recharging, 36; see also Fuel.
Refueling, 19; see also Fuel.
Repair, 36.
Rocket packs, 17; skill, 36.
Rolling, 21.
Rotary-wing movement, 26.
Rotor Checks, 27, p3.
Sample aircraft, 37.
Scatterpack, 30, p4.
Scenarios, 38.
SDI spy-sats, 3.
Skids and skid stretchers, 11.
Skills, 36.
Solar panels, 14.
Sonic booms, 23.
Sound barrier, 23.
Split-S turn, 22.
Stall speed, 20.
Stealthkote armor, 19.
STOL wings, 5, 20.
Storms, 23.
Strafing, 33.
Swept wings, 5, 20.
Takeoff, 20; airships, 28.
Targeting modifiers, 31.
Taxiing, 20.
Terminal velocity, see Free Fall, 25.
Tilt-rotor, 6.
Torpedo bombing, 34.
Triplane, 5.
Turning, airplanes, 21, airships, 28;
helicopters, 27.
Turrets, 9; airship, 33; helicopter,
11.
TV coverage, 3.
Updrafts, 23.
Variable wings, 5.
Vectored thrust, 8, 22; skill, 36; see
also VIFF.
Vehicular parachutes, 19.
VIFFing, 22-23.
Visibility, 24.
Weapons, 9, 10, 13, 30; weapons
fire, 33; Weapon Table, p4.
Weather, and airships, 28.
Winch, 19.
Wind, 24.
Wing Checks, 25, p2.
Wing-tip weapon mounts, 19.
Wings, 5; modifications, 5. See also
listings for various special wing types.
Index 44
Movement Chart
Speed 1 2 3 45Ram
0 0
5 1d-4
10 ld-2
15 1d-1
20 1 Id
25 1 Id
30 1 I Id
35
1 1 2d 1 1
1 4d
V2 1
50 1 5d
55 1 1 1 6d
60 2 1 1 7d
65 1 1 8d
70 2 1 9d
75 2 1 10d
80 2 2 1 Id
85 2
2 12d
90 2 2 2 13d
95 2 2 2 14d
100 2 2 2 2 15d
105 2 2 2 2 16d
110 3 2 2 2 17d
115 3 3 2 2 18d
120 3 2 2 2 19d
125 3 2 2 2 20d
130 3 2 2 3 21d
135 3 2 3 22d
140 3 3 2 3 23d
145 3 3 2 3 24d
150 3 3 3 3 25d
155 3 3 3 3 26d
160 4 3 3 3 27d
165 4 3 3 3 28d
170 4 3 3 3 29d
175. . 4. 3 3 3 30d
180 4 3 3 4 31d
185 4 3 3 4 32d
190 4 4 3 4 33d
195 4 4 3 4 34d
200 4 4 4 4 35d
205 4 4 4 4 36d
210 5 4 4 4 37d
215 5 4 4 4 38d
220 5 4 4 4 39d
225 5 4 4 4 40d
230 5 4 4 5 41d
235 5

4 5 42d
2 5 4 5 43d
245
40
5 6 5 444
250 5 5 5 5 45d
255.
.
5 _ 5 5 46d
260 6 5 5 5 47d
265 6 5 5 48d
270 6 5 5 49d
275 6 5 5 50d
280 6 5 6 51d
285 6 5 6 52d
290 6 5 6 53d
295 6

6 54d
300 6 6 6 55d
305 6 6 6 56d
310 7 6 6 57d
315 7 6 6 58d
320 7 6 6 59d
325 7 6 6 60d
330 7 6 7 61d
335 7 6 7 62d
340 7 6 7 63d
345 7 6 7 64d
350 7 7 7 65d
355 7 7 7 66d
360 8 7 7 67d
365 8 7 7 68d
370 8 7 7 69d
375 8 7 7 70d
380 8 7 8 71d
385 8 7 8 72d
390 8 7 8 73d
395 8 7 8 74d
400 8 8 8 75d
405 8 8 8 76d
410 9 8 8 77d
415 9 8 8 78d
420 9 8 8 79d
425 9 8 81/2 80d
430 9 8 9 81d
435 9
8 9 82d
440 9 8 9 83d
445 9 9 9
9 84d
450 9 9 9 9 9 85d
455 9 9 9 9 9 86d
460 0 9 9 9 9 87d
465 0 9 9 9 9 88d
470 0 9 10 9 9 89d
475 0 9 10 9 9 90d
480 0 9 10 9 10 91d
485 0 9 10 9 10 92d
490 0 0 10 9 10 93d
495 0 0 10 9 10 94d
500 0 _ 0 10 0 10 95d
505 01/2 0 10 0 10 96d
510 1 0 10 0 10 97d
515 1 0 10 0 10 98d
520 1 0 11 0 10 99d
525 1 0 11 0 10 100d
530 1 0 11 0 11 191d
535 1 0 11 0 11 102d
540 1 1 11 0 11 103d
545 1 1 11 2 11 104d
550 1 1 11 1 11 105d
555 11 1 11 1 11 106d
560 2 1 11 1 11 107d
565 2 1 11 1 11 108d
570 2 1 12 1 11 109d
575 2 1 12 1 11 110d
580 2 1 12 1 12 1 1 Id
585 2 11 12 1 12 112d
590 2

2 12 1 12 113d
595 2

2 12 11 12 114d
600 2 2 12 2 12 115d
605

2 12 2 12 116d
610 3 2 12 2 12 117d
615 3 2 1 2 12 118d
620 3 2 13 2 12 119d
625 3 2 13 2 123 120d
630 3 2 13 2 13 121d
635 3 12 13 2 13 122d
640 3 3 13 2 13 123d
645 3 3 13

13 124d
650 3 3 13 3 13 125d
655 3 3 13 3 13 126d
660 4 3 13 3 13 127d
665 4 3 13 3 13 128d
670 4 3 14 3 13 I 29d
675 4 3 14 3 13 130d
680 4 3 14 3 14 131d
685 4 3 14 3 14 132d
690 4 4 14 3 14 133d
695 4 4 14 3 14 134d
700 4 4 14 4 14 135d
705 14 4 14 4 14 136d
710 5 4 14 4 14 137d
715 5 4 14 4 14 138d
720 5 4 15 4 14 139d
725 5 4 15 4 1 140d
730 5 4 15 4 15 141d
735 5 14 15 4 15 142d
740 5 5 15 4 15 143d
745 5 5 15 6 15 144d
750 5 5 15 5 15 145d
755 15 5 15 5 15 146d
760 6 5 15 5 15 147d
765 6 5 1 5 15 148d
770 6 5 16 5 15 149d
775 6 5 16 5 1 150d
780 6 5 16 5 16 151d
785 6 15 16 5 16 152d
790 6 6 16 5 16 153d
795 6 6 16

16 154d
800 6 6 16 6 16 155d
805 6 6 16 6 16 156d
810 7 6 16 6 16 157d
815 7 6 16 6 16 158d
820 7 6 17 6 16 159d
825 7 6 17 6 16 160d
830 7 6 17 6 17 161d
835 7 6 17 6 17 162d
840 7 717 6 17 163d
845 7 7 17 6 17 164d
850 7 7 17 17 17 165d
855 7 7 17 17 17 166d
860 8 7 17 17 17 167d
865 8 7 17 17 17 168d
870 8 7 18 17 17 169d
875 8 7 18 17 17 170d
880 8 7 18 17 18 171d
885 8 7 18 17 18 172d
890 8 8 18 17 18 173d
895 8 8 18 17 18 174d
900 8 8 18 18 18 175d
Aeroduel 1 Charts and Tables
Hazards
Hazards affect aircraft immediately as they occur, reducing
the aircraft's handling status. Continuing hazards (such as flying
close to another craft) take effect immediately, then again at the
beginning of each turn the condition is maintained.
Hazards For All Aircraft:
Tail (back armor) gone: D4 and -2 HC until repaired.
Colliding with another craft: D4 and a Wing Check.
Loss of all propellers or jet engines: D4, that turn only. Each
turn thereafter the aircraft decelerates at 5mph and suffers a D1
to Handling Status.
Pilot killed or wounded: D2.
Flying within 2" of another aircraft or helicopter: D2.
Flying within 4" of and behind another aircraft: D4.
One wing destroyed: D6 and roll on the appropriate Crash
Table each turn until the aircraft hits the ground.
Both wings destroyed: Aircraft falls from the sky, accelerat-
ing at 10 mph until it hits the ground. Crashing damage is deter-
mined in the Crashing section.
Microplane Hazards
These also apply to airplanes smaller than Cargo.
Enemy fire does 1-5 points of damage: Dl.
Enemy fire does 6-9 points of damage: D2.
Enemy fire does 10 or more points of damage: D3.
Strong winds: Dl.
Very strong winds: D2.
Airplanes firing ATGs except to F or B: D2.
Cargo and Large Cargo Airplane
and Jet Fighter Hazards
Firing a tank gun F or B (other arcs prohibited): D4.
Enemy fire does 13-21 hits: D2
Enemy fire does 22 + hits: D3.
Very strong winds: D1.
Storms have other effects on flight. These are detailed in the
Storms section.
Crash Table 7
Microplanes
1 or below I nvoluntary drift. The microplane does a drift
in the direction of its roll. It also gains or loses (roll randomly
for which) V4" of altitude. If the microplane was flying level,
roll randomly for the direction of the drift.
2-3 I nvoluntary turn. The microplane turns 30 degrees in
the direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll ran-
domly for right or left) and loses V2" of altitude. Weapons fire
is at -1 for the rest of the turn.
4-6 Severe turn. The microplane turns as #2-3, above, but
loses 1" of altitude. Weapons fire is at -3 for the rest of the turn.
7-9 Diving turn. The microplane turns as #2-3, above,
loses 1" of altitude and checks for Wing Failure. No aimed
weapons fire is allowed until the next turn.
10-12 Spin. The microplane turns 45 degrees in the direc-
tion of its last maneuver (if going straight, roll randomly for
right or left) at the end of each phase until the pilot pulls out of
the spin. In addition, the microplane converts half its movement
to a steep dive for example, a microplane going 100 mph
would only move 1" per phase while spinning and lose V2" of
altitude per phase. No aimed weapons fire allowed while spin-
ning. Check for Prop and Wing Failure each phase.
Pulling out requires the pilot to roll a 8 + on 2d, adding Pilot
skill to the roll, +1 per
turn of spinning. The pilot may try once
per phase.
13+ Disaster. Wings torn off, props shredded, tail parted
ways or something equally uncomfortable. Speed drops 25 mph
per turn. Ejecting is the only way out, and the wild tumbling of
the craft makes it risky ejections are successful on a roll of 5 +
on 2d. If you fail your ejection roll, you are dead (on a 9+ on
2d, there is enough left of you to clone).
Crash Table 8
Airplanes And Jets
1-3 I nvoluntary shift. The aircraft shifts in the direction of
its roll (if flying level roll randomly for right or left).
4-5 I nvoluntary drift. The aircraft drifts in the direction of
its roll (if flying level roll randomly for right or left).
6-7 I nvoluntary turn. The aircraft turns 30 degrees in the
direction of its last maneuver and loses V2" of altitude. Roll
randomly for right or left if the aircraft is flying straight and
level. Weapons fire is at -1 for the rest of the turn.
8-9 I nvoluntary turn. The aircraft turns 30 degrees in the
direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll randomly
for right or left) and loses V2" of altitude. Weapons fire is at -1
for the rest of the turn.
10-11 Severe turn. The aircraft turns as #8-9 above, but
loses 1" of altitude. Weapons fire is at -3 for the rest of the turn.
12-13 Diving turn. The aircraft turns as #8-9 above, loses
1" of altitude and checks for Wing Failure. No aimed weap-
ons fire is allowed until the next turn.
14-15 Spin. The aircraft turns 45 degrees in the direction
of its last maneuver (if going straight, roll randomly for right or
left) at the end of each phase until the pilot pulls out of the spin.
In addition, the aircraft converts half its movement to a steep
dive for example, an aircraft going 150 mph would only move
1" per phase while spinning and lose 3/4" of altitude per
phase. No aimed weapons fire allowed while spinning. Check
for Prop and Wing Failure each phase.
Pulling out requires the pilot to roll a 8 + on 2d, adding Pilot
skill to the roll, +1 per turn of spinning. The pilot may try once
per phase.
16+ Disaster. Wings torn off, props shredded, tail parted
ways or something equally uncomfortable. Speed drops 25 mph
per turn. Ejecting is the only way out, and the wild tumbling of
the craft makes it risky ejections are successful on a roll of 5 +
on 2d. If you fail your ejection roll, you are dead (on a 9+ on
2d, there is enough left of you to clone).
Wing Checks
Wing Checks are made when the aircraft encounters stresses
above the construction strength of the wing. Most of these
stresses occur during crashes. When a Wing Check is called for,
roll 2d plus modifiers and check the result on the table below:
2-7: No effect.
8-9: One wing damaged. HC drops by 1 and stall speed
increases by 5 mph per damaged wing. If an aircraft suffers
"wing damaged" twice, both wings are damaged (HC drops 2
and stall speed increases 10 mph). A third "wing damaged"
result is considered to be "wing fails."
10-11: Wing fails. The wing nearly comes loose; the aircraft
takes a D6 hazard and the HC drops by 4. A second result of
"wing fails" becomes "wing destroyed."
Charts and Tables 2
Aeroduel
12 +: Wing destroyed. Aircraft takes 1d6 damage to the side
with the destroyed wing. The aircraft has lost one wing, with
attendant penalties (see Hazards).
Wing Failure Modifiers
Microplanes:
Speed is 75-100 mph: +1.
Speed is 101-140 mph: +2.
Speed is 141+ mph: +3.
Wing damaged by weapons fire: +2.
Airplanes and Jet Fighters:
Small, Medium and Large Airplanes -2.
Cargo Airplanes and Small Jet Fighters -4.
Large Cargo Airplanes and Large Jet Fighters -5.
Speed is 251-300 mph: +1.
Speed is 301-400 mph: +2.
Speed is 401-600 mph: +3.
Speed is 601-700 mph: +4.
Speed is 701-750 mph: +5.
Speed is 751 mph+ : +7.
Wing damaged, with DP up to V2 gone: +1.
Wing damaged, with DP over V2 gone: +2.
Rotor Checks
Stressful maneuvers from control loss can cause a Rotor
Check to be made. The rotors can be merely damaged, or they
can fail completely, snapping off and sending the helicopter
plunging towards the ground. Breaking rotor blades may hit
other objects in the area. Check for every object in a 4" radius
on the same level as the helicopter. The blades have a To Hit roll
of 10 and do 4d damage to whatever they hit. Any number of
objects can be hit, no matter how many blades the failed rotor
had.
Rotor Check Table
Roll two dice:
2-7 No effect. Rotors still in working order.
8-10 Rotors damaged. Roll a Rotor Check before phase 1
of each turn. Consider any further results of "rotors damaged"
to be "rotors failed."
11+ Rotors failed. Helicopter drops as per Falling rules.
Modifiers
Helicopter is moving 80-120 mph: +1
Helicopter is moving 121-160 mph: +2
Helicopter is moving 161-200 mph: +3
Helicopter is moving over 200 mph: +4
Engine damaged: +1
Rotor damaged by weapons fire: +4
If a helicopter's engine fails but the rotors are still intact, it
has a chance of descending safely (autorotation, see p. 00).
Forward movement decelerates by 5 mph/turn and the helicopter
drops "/turn. The helicopter player must roll on Crash Table
4 at the beginning of every turn.
Crash Table 4
Helicopters
2 or less Involuntary drift. The helicopter performs a drift
maneuver in the direction it was maneuvering toward and loses
1/4" altitude. (If it was flying straight, roll randomly for the
direction of the drift 1-3 right, 4-6 left.)
3-5 Involuntary turn. The helicopter executes a 45-degree
turn in the direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll
randomly as above) and loses V2" altitude.
6-8 Severe turn. The helicopter executes a 45-degree turn
in the direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll ran-
domly as above) and loses 1" of altitude. Further aimed weap-
ons fire is at -3 for the rest of the turn.
9-11 Diving turn. The helicopter executes a 45-degree
turn in the direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll
randomly as above) and loses 1" of altitude. In addition, on
the helicopter's following movement phase it must perform a
drift in the direction of the turn or it will automatically continue
the veer. The handling difficulty of the drift doesn't count
against HC. Check for rotor failure. No further aimed weapons
fire is allowed that turn.
12-18 Spinout. The helicopter turns 90 degrees to its
flight-path at the end of its next phase, in the direction of the
maneuver (if flying straight, roll randomly as above). Check for
rotor failure. On its next phase the helicopter goes into a diving
veer, as above. No further aimed weapons fire is allowed that
turn.
19 + Rotors automatically fail.
Crash Table 9
Airships
3 or less Involuntary drift. The airship drifts in the direc-
tion of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll randomly for
direction 1-3 right, 4-6 left). All further aimed weapons fire
is at -3 for the rest of the turn.
4-6 Involuntary turn. The airship executes a 15-degree
turn in the direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll
randomly for direction, as above). All further aimed weapons
fire is at -3 for the rest of the turn.
7-8 Involuntary turn and dive. The airship turns 30 de-
grees in the direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll
randomly for direction, as above) and loses V2" of altitude. All
further aimed weapons fire is at -3 for the rest of the turn.
9-10 Severe turn. The airship turns 30 degrees in the
direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll randomly
for direction, as above) and drifts V2" as well. The airship loses
1" of altitude. All further aimed weapons fire is at -6 for the rest
of the turn.
11-12 Spinout. The airship turns 45 degrees in the direc-
tion of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll randomly for
direction, as above) and loses 1" of altitude. The next move-
ment phase the airship executes a severe turn (as #9-10, above)
in the direction of the spinout. No further aimed weapons fire
may be done for the rest of the turn.
13 + Disaster. The gondola rips lose from the envelope
and the envelope breaks up. The gondola falls free to the
ground. Rigid airships suffer loss of half the envelope DP in-
stead.
Aeroduel 3 Charts and Tables
Aircraft Control Chart
Handling Class
Crash
Speed 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 Mod
5-15 safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe +0
20-25 safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 -4
30-50 safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 2 2 -3
55-75 safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 2 3 3 -2
80-95 safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 2 3 3 4 -1
100-125 safe safe safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 2 3 4 4 -1
130-150 safe safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 2 2 3 4 5 +0
155-170 safe safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 2 3 3 4 5 +0
175-200 safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 +0
205-235 safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 +1
240-270 safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 +1
275-300 safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 +1
305-335 safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 +2
340-370 safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 +2
375-400 safe safe safe safe safe safe 2 3 4 4 5 6 XX +2
405-435 safe safe safe safe safe 2 2 3 4 4 5 6 XX +3
440-470 safe safe safe safe safe 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 XX +3
475-500 safe safe safe safe safe 2 3 3 4 5 6 6 XX +3
505-550 safe safe safe safe 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 XX XX +4
555-600 safe safe safe safe 2 3 4 4 5 6 6 XX XX +4
605-650 safe safe safe 2 2 3 4 4 5 6 XX XX XX +5
655-700 safe safe safe 2 2 3 4 5 6 6 XX XX XX +5
705-740 safe safe safe 2 3 3 4 5 6 6 XX XX XX +6
745-760 safe safe 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 XX XX XX XX +7
765+ safe safe safe 2 3 3 4 5 6 XX XX XX XX +7
Weapon Table
Weapon Abbv. Effect To Hit Damage DP Cost Wt. Spc. Shots CPS WPS L$ L wt Mag$ Magwt.
Bombs
Bomb-100 B10 2" burst 9 4d 2 100 100 1 1 100 100
Bomb-250 B25 3" burst 9 12d 3 300 250 2 1 300 250
Bomb-500 B50 4" burst 9 20d 4 750 500 3 1 750 500
Bomb-750 B75 5" burst 9 30d 5 1,000 750 4 1 1,000 750
Bomb-1000 B100 7" burst 9 40d 6 2,000 1,000 5 1 2,000 1,000
The following modifications can be made to all bombs:
Cluster CB- x1.5 X.5 X2 X1.5
Crater Cr- 1" burst - X2 -
Anti-Armor AP- 1" burst +1/die - X2 -
Laser Guidance Link LGL - 500 - 200 -
Napalm N- spec. -2/die - X3
Scatterpack SP- spec. spec. 500 spec. spec.
Small-Bore Projectile
Gatling Cannon GC 2" burst 6 5 5 7,000 750 5 10 45 15 7,450 900 500 165
HD Ammo 5+5 90 30 7,900 1,050 950 315
Large-Bore Projectile
Heavy Autocannon HAC 2" burst 6 6 8 9,500 900 6 10 25 10 9,750 1,000 300 115
HEAT Ammo 6+6 40 10 9,900 1,000 450 115
APFSDS Ammo 6+12 50 15 10,000 1,050 550 165
Missiles
Radar-Guided Missile RGM 2" burst 7 3d 1 4,000 100 1 1 4,000 200
High-Speed HSRGM X2
-
Rocket Mag. 50/sp 15/sp 1,2,3 -
Air-to-Air Missile AAM 2" burst 6
4d
2 12,000 200 2 1 12,000 300
Prox-Fuse
1" burst +1,000 -
Armor-Piercing +1/die X 1.5
Charts and Tables 4 Aeroduel
STEVE JACKSON GAMES
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