The Unoffial 2056 Vehicle Guide

[Racer]

Another very sneaky budget design we found to be a very basic Small Microplane . With about 50pts of Armour & 3 Heavy Rockets on 1 Link - Front , Wing Right + Wing Left facing Front - it came in under $5,000 .

Flying across the line of traffic at low level , it can put all three through a Car's Top Armour at Point Blank or at least under 4" inches Range .
Okay a dedicated AA Vehicle will blast them out of the sky , but that's the one to target first ...
Pulled this trick a few times & even very experienced players haven't been able to counter it .

Looks like some future 'biker types' , could well be strapping on wings ...

[juris]

Why do I have an image of a drone version of this thing attacking a training camp in the desert?

I remember tormenting my players with a micro-bomber who'd demand tribute or he'd unleash a couple cluster bombs. They hated that guy. I think they almost managed to shoot him down but he was all pilot skill - no gunnery needed for cluster bombs.

Originally Posted by Racer

Another very sneaky budget design we found to be a very basic Small Microplane . With about 50pts of Armour & 3 Heavy Rockets on 1 Link - Front , Wing Right + Wing Left facing Front - it came in under $5,000 .

[43Supporter]

Originally Posted by Racer

Another very sneaky budget design we found to be a very basic Small Microplane . With about 50pts of Armour & 3 Heavy Rockets on 1 Link - Front , Wing Right + Wing Left facing Front - it came in under $5,000 .

Flying across the line of traffic at low level , it can put all three through a Car's Top Armour at Point Blank or at least under 4" inches Range ....

Um -- the way firing arcs work, wouldn't those HRs need to be mounted facing Under, not Front (unless the pilot is a big fan of Ju-87s, D3Aa, and SBDs)? Otherwise, the pilot is at-best looking at an out-of-arc penalty on top of everything else.

That said: My writeup for "The Death Of EDSEL" does mention how one of EDSEL's "reforms" involves replacing Bombs with single-shot Rockets -- "One complaint registered both by EDSEL's detractors, *and* some of its supporters, was the indiscriminate nature of bombs; a single Cluster Bomb could take out three lanes of traffic along with the intended targets."

[swordtart]

Originally Posted by Racer

Another very sneaky budget design we found to be a very basic Small Microplane... Looks like some future 'biker types' , could well be strapping on wings ...

C'mon Racer, no vague hints, we want to see the numbers on this thing ;).

As I posted a while ago my bikers use a cheap autogyro for observation. It sits with the whole head in the breeze vibe.

Of course for only $500 (from Aero Duel) you could have rudimentary air cover with a Hang Glider. Pilots can drop grenades (in a slightly random way) and could even use personal weapons (presumably at the usual penalty).

Don't worry if you don't have a convenient cliff to jump off, in a marvel of marketing for the same $500 you can get a hanglider complete with a launch mechanism if you buy an ejector seat (in this version the hang glider seems to be only worth $100, go figure). In only 2 seconds you can be at 10" diving for forward air speed).

It has been agreed that Ejection Seats can be fitted to bikes, so how about something really cheesy.

Bandit by Swordtart:
Light Cycle; Cycle chassis; Heavy suspension;
Small Cycle PP;
2 Standard tires;
Driver;
Armor Piercing Heavy Rocket (F);
Ejection Seat; Link (Rocket to Ejection Seat).
Armour: 17 pts. Plastic (F: 13 R: 0 L: 0 B: 4 T: 0 U: 0).
Cost: $2,220, Wgt: 798, HC: 2
Top Speed: 120, Accel: 10.

Zoom in and let off the Rocket (not too close though remember the 3 phase delay before the ejector kicks in) and then watch the rest of the battle unfold below you. If you are feeling feisty you can drop grenades or have a pop with some hand artillery - sure you are unlikley to hit, but they can never be sure can they. If you are lucky your un-manned bike may even ram your opponent as well.

If you are using Alt Enc rules you only have 2lb for personal equipment. In this case, swap out the AP HR for 3 AP Mini-Rockets and up your personal weight allowance to 43lb. Plenty enough for decent armour, an ABV full of grenades (I don't think you can drop a grenade under the seat of an airborne Hang Glider) and maybe an AR for strafing. Having 3 attacks (at admittedly low success chance) makes the chances of at least one hit more likely.

In a running fight the hang glider should be left behind fairly quickly (probably before it has deployed), but for a biker attack against a stationary target (a checkpoint for example) this could be quite effective. Defenders might expect some warning of incoming aircraft via radar etc. a hang glider popping into existence right in their midst with only 2 seconds warning might catch them unawares.

[Racer]

Home & found my notes :

Cheap Bee - Small Microplane , Small Car PP w/PCs , 2 Std. Cycle Tires & Tailskid , Micro Prop Back , Pilot , 2 Heavy Rockets Wing Mounted Front , HR Front , Link - All HRs , Plastic Armour : F18 , L11 , R11 , B16 , T4 , U16 , 3pt Plastic Prop Armour , 2-1pt Cycle Wheelguards , Acceleration 5mph , Top Speed 180mph , Stall Speed 30mph , HC4 , 1,680lbs , $4,996 .

In clear terrain , you can fly extremely low - ¾ Inch/12 Feet - off the deck & thus if you target a non Oversized Vehicle's Top from about ¾ Inch Range at ½ above them , then they'll be in the Three Dimension view of the Front firing Arcs .
Flying so low can also mean that ground vehicles often block each others firing lines when targeting it .

You can't mount weapons firing Under on Plane Wings anyway ( according to the Aeroduel rules anyway - we allow Cargo & Large Cargo Aeroplane's to mount 'Bomb Cells' Under on their huge Wings . Just like the WWII era Halifax Bombers had .. ) .

A Parachute is not carried on this very basic model , but stall speed is so low that crash landings can be survivable . Obviously NOT for sustained Combat !

Spad's Medium Microplane built around the same idea , mounts Eight Heavy Rockets in Wings & REWPs . It's also much more heavily Armoured but costs about four times as much .

[swordtart]

Originally Posted by Racer

In clear terrain , you can fly extremely low - ¾ Inch/12 Feet - off the deck.

Yoiks! Wouldn't want any control rolls at that height or you'd be in a sticky situation. Any passengers in an open top vehicle would be able to punch you ;)

I haven't actually used the flying rules in Aeroduel. I am not sure how hang gliders are supposed to stay aloft for more than a few seconds. Without the updraft rule (that wasn't even in the rule set when ejection seats were first introduced) they seem destined to lose altitude every turn and not really be able to efficiently gain it back from speed.

[43Supporter]

Originally Posted by Racer

2 Std. Cycle Tires & Tailskid , Micro Prop Back ,

Not sure one is allowed to do this. But then...

Originally Posted by Racer

You can't mount weapons firing Under on Plane Wings anyway ( according to the Aeroduel rules anyway[...] ) .

...the author of _Aeroduel_ knew nothing of the SG113 77mm rocket tube from WW2; it used a magnetic field detector to fire at the top armor of Soviet tanks. An example is shown here: http://www.letletlet-warplanes.com/w...75_sg-113_.jpg -- it's the vertical tubes just inboard of the landing gear.

[Racer]

Originally Posted by 43Supporter

Not sure one is allowed to do this.

AirCo DH.2

https://www.militaryfactory.com/airc...ircraft_id=447
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airco_DH.2

And more recently the Albatros AE209 :
https://www.airliners.net/photo/Unti...batros/1574243

... Republic Seabee ...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_RC-3_Seabee

I also checked with my friend who has worked for BAe & Airbus & he stated he'd actually built a custom model plane with both pusher Propeller AND Tailwheel .
Similar to this one if I recall :
https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.flit...1367890737.jpg

[juris]

I'd definitely allow it - just a couple cluster bombs instead of 3 rockets dropped from a nice safe height - maybe some CA around the pilot.

[43Supporter]

Originally Posted by Racer

AirCo DH.2
[...] Albatros AE209[...]Republic Seabee ...

Oh, I *know* such designs exist -- my point was: The writer of _Aeroduel_ *didn't* (or, rather: He did, because we told him, and included pictures; he just chose to ignore us...), so I don't recall if the rules or subsequent ADQ&As disallowed B-facing-prop-on-taildraggers.