Vertol vs Helicopter

[thrash]

Originally Posted by RogerBW

Except that a Harrier when it's not hovering flies just like any other fixed-wing single-engine subsonic jet fighter - the only difference is that you have VIFFing available, and that's surely a familiarity, not a whole separate skill.

But the Harrier pilot does have to know how to hover to be proficient. A regular fixed wing pilot could manage the straight line flight modes just fine, but would crash and burn attempting to go vertical. It's a different skill set.

The FAA rating implies that the pilot of a powered-lift aircraft has to be equally skilled at all modes of flight, since proficiency will be evaluated in all of them.

My impression is that GURPS flight skills are specific to the vehicle, not the mode of flight. There's no requirement for High Performance Spacecraft pilots to have (or roll against) Low Performance Spacecraft skill to perform low energy docking maneuvers, for example. Infrequently used modes of flight are captured in lower defaults to other specialties.