How to land an Aircar

[gothique]

I'm a great fan of Hammer's Slammers and wanted to equip my Militia with Aircars. I found the SAMSARA, which has conversion parts at www.toposolitario.com but can't figure how the Aircar version would land. Any ideas?

[Hauptgefreiter]

Maybe somelanding gear like the Tau tanks?

[gothique]

Hello Again. Just got your post at Ebbles. I'm already thinking on the same wavelength. Thanks for the example.

[Hauptgefreiter]

looking forward to seeing your solution

[Connectamabob]

I think it depends on how/where they're being used. Something that lands on a pad might just have small landing feet, either retractable or fixed. If it's a street car there's no real reason for them to be retractable, and it'd just be one more thing that could break at the wrong time. Or, if air cars are supposed to be as widely used as ground cars, forgotten by a tired/sloppy/drunk pilot. Lockable wheels so it can be moved while powered down are a good idea IMO (a fair number of helicopters have these).

A vehicle that's supposed to land on undeveloped ground will probably have larger landing gear to decrease ground pressure. How large depends on the terrain it's meant for: snow, water, and deep sand need pontoons, soil or hard ground just skids or wheels.

Basically IMO helicopter conventions apply. Maybe with more emphasis on retractability for military vehicles that merely hover or "skim" instead of flying proper, for the sake of ground clearance on rough terrain.

[wolfgangbrooks]

http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3h.html

Check out Atomic Rocket, this whole page is about various landing gear.

[gothique]

Thanks guys. The vehicle in question is an APC with large uplift fans in place of the four wheels. In which case, I'll probably go for a pair of landing skids running the full length of the hull.

[gothique]

I think I've solved the problem. The tripod parts for ground mounting the weaponry will also make excellent landing legs. I can mount one leg beside each fan. Thanks for the brainstorming, it helped me to find what I already had.