Starships as Giant Armored Air/Rafts

[David L Pulver]

Originally Posted by thrash

Starships in CT don't have contragravity, as such. Maneuver drives produce acceleration; there is (so far as I know) no mention of hovering without thrust. Gravitic units neutralize gravity within their field of action (Supp. 12, pp. 16-17), but are otherwise also described as "lifting" or producing thrust (e.g., Striker 3, p. 8.)

Operationally, there is a very large difference between passive lift (e.g., a dirigible) and active lift (e.g., a helicopter or Harrier). If you have to actually fly the thing all the time to use it, it makes sense to ground the big, unwieldy starship and use auxiliary craft.

I agree that you can't hover without thrust in classic traveller, but after HG 2nd edition and Striker, I don't think there was any distinction between maneuver drive and gravitic thrusters. Anti-gravity in Traveller "produces both neutralization of weight and lateral thrust" to quote Striker, and given that a grav tank and air/raft can both hover, I can't see why a ship can't.