Flying Craft of the Distant Fringe

Flying Craft of the Distant Fringe: A listing of some of the more common flying and grav vehicles found within the Distant Fringe region.

Details / Specifications

Each vehicle has a basic description. This serves to give a general impression of its construction and performance. Details such as the internal layout are representative only – alternative layouts are very common.

• The vehicles's dimensions are given and are used to provide a very general outline of its mass in starship displacement tons ("dTons"): this can also be used to determine how much internal space a vehicle uses if it is carried within a starship. Different versions of the same general type of vehicle will have different physical characteristics.
• Performance details are generic: different models of of the same vehicle will have different characteristics. Different manufacturers will also compete with one another to produce the model with the "best" performance figures, often trading off aspects of the handling to gain advantages in performance or vice versa.
• Internal cargo storage can differ greatly between different models of the same vehicle. Manufacturers often emphasise the larger cargo capacity of their particular model as a selling point.

Technological Level

The listed technological level is the lowest at which the particular vehicle may be constructed. If the same vehicle is built at a higher technological level, it will be more efficient, it is likely to be constructed from more advanced materials, and it may have an improved performance. It may also include additional items of equipment or upgraded environmental systems. Often a higher technology design exists which directly supersedes an earlier version.

See also Technology of The Distant Fringe.

Power and Fuel

Each vehicle has a power plant and carries a supply of fuel. Some vehicles utilise lighter-than-air technology. Most have internal combustion power plants using hydrocarbon fuel (typically a liquid such as gasoline or ethanol) to drive propellors, rotor blades or powerful fans – more advanced models may use electrical batteries or fuel cells. Other air vehicles use jets or rockets. It also includes vehicles that use gravitic technology.

Cost

The listed cost for a vehicle represents the retail price from new: in some cases mass production of a vehicle and corporate marketing strategies create an artificially low price. Previously owned vehicles are likely to be significantly cheaper but are also likely to have minor faults, reliability issues, or perform less efficiently than a brand new model.

History / Background

See also Ships of the Distant Fringe, Vehicles of the Distant Fringe.

Aircraft

Aerostat Vehicles

An aerostat vehicle is an aircraft that utilises lighter-than-air principles to achieve flight.

Name	TL	Tonnage
Balloon	TL 3	220 dTons
Medium Dirigible	TL 4
Large Dirigible	TL 5	7,500 dTons
Advanced Dirigible	TL 7	2,700 dTons

Fixed Wing Aircraft

Name	TL	Tonnage
Primitive Glider	TL 3
Early Aircraft	TL 4
Basic Propeller Aircraft	TL 5	3.5 dTons
Large Propeller Aircraft	TL 5	46.6 dTons
Medium Passenger Jet	TL 6
Large Passenger Jet	TL 6
Executive Jet	TL 7	10.9 dTons
VTOL Jet	TL 7

Rotary Wing Aircraft

Name	TL	Tonnage
Light Helicopter	TL 5	7.1 dTons
Autogyro	TL 6	0.5 dTons
Large Helicopter	TL 6	25.3 dTons
Utility Helicopter	TL 6
Executive Helicopter	TL 7	7.1 dTons
Tiltprop Aircraft	TL 8

Grav Vehicles

Within the Distant Fringe, gravitic technology is closely tied to the technological foundations and the underpinning physics of the DeVoss-type jump drive. Like the DeVoss Drive, gravitic technology remains at a fundamental level of understanding broadly equivalent to that of Terra at the time of the Interstellar Wars.

The ability to manufacture gravitic devices becomes available at TL 8, though the capabilities of such devices are very limited – by TL 9 gravitic technology is relatively commonplace and far more efficient. However, the performance of gravitic devices manufactured within the Distant Fringe differs from what is considered to be standard. This is summarised below:

TL	Device	Notes
TL 8	Lifter Plates	Rudimentary gravitic units that are typically built into hybrid vehicles with otherwise conventional features such as lift surfaces (wings) and thrust-generating engines. Maximum Grav Altitude: meters. Maximum Grav Speed: typically around 5 kph.
TL 9	G-Lifters	Basic gravitic units capable of generating thrust, though with a very low power-to-thrust ratio and a low maximum speed. Additional sources of thrust are generally built into the vehicle. Maximum Grav Altitude: 100s of meters. Maximum Grav Speed: 10s of kph.
TL 10	G-Drives (Utilising Low Power Heavy Grav Modules)	Bulky gravitic units capable of generating thrust, with an average power-to-thrust ratio and a reasonable maximum speed. Their size and power requirements restrict the types of vehicles that can utilise them. Maximum Grav Altitude: kilometers. Maximum Grav Speed: hundreds of kph.
TL 12	G-Drives (Utilising Low Power Light Grav Modules)	Lightweight gravitic units capable of generating thrust, with a relatively good power-to-thrust ratio and a reasonable maximum speed. Their Maximum Grav Altitude: low orbit. Maximum Grav Speed: hundreds of kph.

Hybrid Grav Vehicles

Name	TL	Tonnage
Executive Liftcraft	TL 8
Tiltprop Liftcraft	TL 8
Enclosed Air/Raft	TL 9	4.0 dTons
Jet Bike	TL 9
Open Air/Raft	TL 9	3.0 dTons

Light Grav Vehicles

Name	TL	Tonnage
G-Pallet	TL 8
Grav Bike	TL 10	0.3 dTons
Grav Belt	TL 12	0.1 dTons

Grav Speeders

Name	TL	Tonnage
Compact Grav Car	TL 10	1.5 dTons
Grav Car	TL 10	2 dTons
Speeder	TL 10	6 dTons
Sports Speeder	TL 11	6 dTons
Advanced Speeder	TL 12	5 dTons

Grav Sleds

A Grav Sled is any commercial grav vehicle designed to carry cargo or freight.

Name	TL	Tonnage
G-Carrier	TL 10	6.0 dTons
G-Tractor	TL 10	7 dTons
Box Floater	TL 10	15 dTons
Flatbed Floater	TL 10	5 dTons
G-Hauler	TL 10	33 dTons
Heavy G-Hauler	TL 11	73 dTons

References & Contributors / Sources

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science