StarFury vs. Thunderbolt

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: Brad <epsilon3 at ix.netcom.com>
Date: 30 Mar 1997 16:41:08 -0500
Lines: 12



What advantages does the Thunderbolt have other than wings that make it
a better fighter than the good old starfury.  Is it faster or better
armed or something?



--brad




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From: rodent <rodent at thinkthink.com>
Date: 31 Mar 1997 02:35:45 -0500
Lines: 24

Brad wrote:
> 
> What advantages does the Thunderbolt have other than wings that make it
> a better fighter than the good old starfury.  Is it faster or better
> armed or something?
> 
> --brad

	Thunderbolts are armed with both a PPG (gatling style IIRC),
they are or can be equipped with rockets (self guiding I presume),
bigger engines (Starfury's have small 'pods' where as the Thunderbolt's
engine 'pods' are elongated akin to Star Trek engine nacelle), with
heavier engines comes heavier armor, it's a two seater (pilot/navigator
and gunner).

rodent
(putting the eek in geek)
http://www.thinthink.com/~rodent
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"Good literature is about Love and War. 
Trash fiction is about Sex and Violence."
        -- Author Unknown
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From: George Johnsen <ndeiprod at earthlink.net>
Date: 2 Apr 1997 12:26:21 -0500
Lines: 32

Hardware afficianados:

As in all warcraft, there are different purposes for different
vehicles.  The Starfury is still considered a front line craft by
Earthforce (and a lot of other people, evidently, as the Black Omega
Squadron uses it as their weapon of choice).  There are upgraded
versions of the 'fury still being built and used.  In fact, the retrofit
package is one of the things that the B5 armorers would dearly love to
get their hands on now that the station is embargoed.

Since the Thunderbolt is designed to handle atmospheric flight as well
as space flight, some compromises were made making it a different beast
to fly in space.  It is equipped with the latest in offensive and
defensive systems, and has more to keep under control than the 'fury,
hence the two person approach.  Control freak pilots don't care for the
'bolt, as it takes two to operate.  It does have heavier armor, as well
as the heat shielding that comes with atmospheric incursion.

There are other ships in the EA arsenal that are of slightly different
characteristic, like the Badger assault fighter and the Olympus class
Corvettes that give a wider range of capabilities of a pretty well
rounded force.  

I suspect that the Earthforce arsenal is made up of the pet projects of 
dreaming generals, greedy contractors, and plain old visionaries much
like ours is now.  This means that there is a wide range of hardware yet
to be seen.

George Johnsen
CoProducer, B5


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