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--- drawingboard:components:propulsion:propulsion [2024/05/31 19:35] – tailkinker
+++ drawingboard:components:propulsion:propulsion [2024/06/06 01:54] (current) – [Lift Systems] tailkinker
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ====== Propulsion and Lift ======
-The ability to make your vehicle move is, one would think, central to the idea of a vehicle!  For each environment in which your vehicle can operate, select at least one motive system.  Aircraft should also look at Lift Systems.
+The ability to make your vehicle move is, one would think, central to the idea of a vehicle!  For each environment in which your vehicle can operate, select at least one motive system.  Aircraft might also want to look at Lift Systems.
 ===== Air Propulsion =====
@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 First available at TR-1, this includes a variety of propellors and jet engines.  Some spacecraft engines can also be found here, as they are equally capable of propelling an aircraft.
-===== Lift Systems =====
+Some of these propulsion systems generate their own power, such as rockets or jet engines.  Others, like propellors, will require an installed powerplant.
-Static lift can cancel out the mass of a vehicle.  However, these are really only available in two formats:  gas bags and contragravity.  Gas bags were technically obsolete before they were even invented, and contragravity is superscience.
 ===== Faster Than Light =====
-Primarily intended for spacecraft, this category covers three different technologies for FTL travel.  Of course, if your setting uses some sort of external FTL device---such as a stargate---then you don't need to install one of these.
+Primarily intended for spacecraft, this category covers five different technologies for FTL travel.  Of course, if your setting uses some sort of external FTL device---such as a stargate---then you don't need to install one of these.
+All of these will require installed powerplants, but the nature of those plants varies wildly from drive to drive.
 ===== Ground Propulsion =====
-This includes wheels, tracks, skis and leg drivetrains, as well as combinations of these.
+This includes wheels, tracks, skis and leg drivetrains, as well as combinations of these.  All of these will require a powerplant to be installed.
+===== Lift Systems =====
+Static lift can cancel out the mass of a vehicle.  These range from gas bags to lift fans to wings in ground effect to super-science solutions such as contragravity or levitation.  In addition, some air motive systems, such as helicopters, tilt-rotors and ornithopters, provide some lift as well.
 ===== Space Propulsion =====
-This includes a variety of reaction drives, as well as the science-fictional reactionless and gravity drives.
+This includes a variety of reaction drives, as well as the science-fictional reactionless and gravity drives.  Most of the latter can also be used as Air Propulsion.
+Some of these engines---most notably rockets---will generate all the power they need internally.  Most of them, however, will require you to install a powerplant.
 ===== Water Propulsion =====
 This category includes a number of ways to propel a surface ship, some of which are also suitable for a submarine.
+With the exception of sails, you will need to install a powerplant to operate pretty much all of these propulsion options.