While pondering this, I wonder if it doesn't have *some* benefit, perhaps the extra mechanical advantage that can be had by mounting thrusters further from the centreline of the craft, as well as providing somewhere to hang weapons from.
I always thought that most fightercraft used 'wings' because it helped them fly like 'aircraft' in space.... which has some real advantages when it comes to intuition, as well as giving the ability to change vectors without having to first completely nullify their momentum in the current direction. It makes them easier to fly, but limits them to traditional dogfighting maneuvers.
While A-drives have some real maneuvering advantages, but lack the acceleration of speed drives, and are much tougher to change heading. It's facing is independant of it's direction of travel. Nice for surprising people.
Weirding it up are the Helicopters, which have most of the advtanges of speed drives when it comes to changing directions, while at the same timehaving most of the advantages of A-drives where it can travel in any direction, while pointing its weapons in another. Too bad it's at half the top speed of most similar-sized combat spacecraft.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
I always thought that most fightercraft used 'wings' because it helped them fly like 'aircraft' in space.... which has some real advantages when it comes to intuition, as well as giving the ability to change vectors without having to first completely nullify their momentum in the current direction. It makes them easier to fly, but limits them to traditional dogfighting maneuvers.
While A-drives have some real maneuvering advantages, but lack the acceleration of speed drives, and are much tougher to change heading. It's facing is independant of it's direction of travel. Nice for surprising people.
Weirding it up are the Helicopters, which have most of the advtanges of speed drives when it comes to changing directions, while at the same timehaving most of the advantages of A-drives where it can travel in any direction, while pointing its weapons in another. Too bad it's at half the top speed of most similar-sized combat spacecraft.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?