Why are they called Air RAFTS?

[doctorevilbrain]

Every time I see that name, I picture people flying through the air at really high speed in an inflatable raft, holding on for dear life, so they don't fall to their death. I can't help but want laugh to my butt off! These are a bunch of words that I have to add, so the message isn't too short.

[Drifter]

Originally Posted by doctorevilbrain

Every time I see that name, I picture people flying through the air at really high speed in an inflatable raft, holding on for dear life, so they don't fall to their death. I can't help but want laugh to my butt off! These are a bunch of words that I have to add, so the message isn't too short.

Legacy term from Jack Vance and I think maybe older SF literature. It is meant to invoke an image of less than an air BOAT or air CAR. At least with me, I get the impression of something that isn't high speed.

[Anaraxes]

"Planet of Adventure" has "sky-rafts", most often referred to just as "rafts" in the text. I think Vance was trying to suggest both the sense of floating, and also a lack of concern with aerodynamic efficiency or high speed.

The spelling with a '/' always makes me think of a lame marketing attempt to create a distinctive name. I suppose canonically, it wasn't lame so much as successful, as it became a generic term, like "yo-yo".

[Trixbat]

Originally Posted by doctorevilbrain

Every time I see that name, I picture people flying through the air at really high speed in an inflatable raft, holding on for dear life, so they don't fall to their death. I can't help but want laugh to my butt off! These are a bunch of words that I have to add, so the message isn't too short.

I've always assumed "land speeder" was trademarked

[Infojunky]

Originally Posted by Trixbat

I've always assumed "land speeder" was trademarked

Check that, Traveller predates Star Wars.

More to the point a lot of SF that Traveller is based on uses nautical terms for Contravention craft. Notably the works of H. Beam Piper.

[Trixbat]

Originally Posted by Infojunky

Check that, Traveller predates Star Wars.

Not entirely true. The popular STAR WARS novelization - with photos from the movie - came out in late 1976, a full six months before the movie.

Actually I think the only really major influence STAR WARS had on Traveller was in some of the ship art that appeared in GDW products some months after the movie came out, and perhaps arguably in some of the body armor designs, though there are other influences and some nice original designs as well.) But yeah, the way gravitics are used in Traveller most closely parallels the "contagravity" used in Piper (with them being built into just about anything.

[nightwind1]

Originally Posted by Trixbat

Not entirely true. The popular STAR WARS novelization - with photos from the movie - came out in late 1976, a full six months before the movie.

Nope, the first printing in late '76 didn't have any photos. Photos weren't included until sometime after the movie was released.

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

They are shaped like rafts and fly through the air.


Hans

[Drifter]

Originally Posted by Hans Rancke-Madsen

They are shaped like rafts and fly through the air.


Hans

OK, that makes it seem like Space: 1889 liftwood logs lashed together, with 52nd century Huck Finn poling along. Thats an exaggeration of course, but essentially Hans is right. Don't overthink it.

I picture these Daz 3D products Float Junk or, to a lesser extent the AirSled. Or more specifically the Firefly Flying Mule. Anything along those lines fits, and I'm sure you can find all three and a million others somewhere in the Imperium.

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

Originally Posted by Drifter

OK, that makes it seem like Space: 1889 liftwood logs lashed together, with 52nd century Huck Finn poling along. Thats an exaggeration of course, but essentially Hans is right. Don't overthink it.

I picture these Daz 3D products Float Junk or, to a lesser extent the AirSled. Or more specifically the Firefly Flying Mule. Anything along those lines fits, and I'm sure you can find all three and a million others somewhere in the Imperium.

Actually, IMTU the generic name is 'floater'. And in te-zapet (Darrian) it's 'deloter', which is derived from 'floater'.


Hans