Airspeeders were repulsorlift vehicles common throughout the galaxy. They were distinguished from landspeeders by a higher operating altitude and normally higher top speed. Sometimes they were also equipped with boosters that enabled them to achieve low planetary orbit for a short time. They were not designed for orbital flight, though they could attain such high altitude that they pushed the boundaries of atmosphere and space.
Description
Airspeeders were used for a wide variety of roles galaxy-wide. These included transportation, recreation, as well as offensive and defensive combat. The skies of many industrialized and/or urbanized planets, particularly Coruscant and other Core Worlds, were often clogged with airspeeders. This became such a problem for ecumenopoleis such as Coruscant and Taris that they were forced to adopt a series of rigidly controlled skylanes to which most civilian airspeeders were regulated. To fly beyond these lanes often required special dispensation from the government; this often required the pilot to demonstrate a degree of skill in handling his craft.
Standard government model airspeeders were equipped with a speed governor, an altitude limiter, and a pilot droid.[1]
Many notable companies produced airspeeders, including Incom Corporation, Tagge Company, and SoroSuub Corporation. Even the Yuuzhan Vong produced a type of combat airspeeder analog called the Tsik-Vai.
Famous airspeeder types
- The Incom Corporation T-16 skyhopper was considered the upper limit for airspeeder design when first produced. It was equipped with an ion drive, allowing it much broader operating parameters, including low planetary orbits. Its controls were similar to other Incom designs, allowing civilian pilots like Luke Skywalker to quickly adapt to the T-65 X-wing starfighter.
- Another Incom design, the T-47 airspeeder, was one of the most popular civilian airspeeders. It was modified by the Alliance to Restore the Republic with weapons and tow cables for pulling cargo skiffs. Later, when the Alliance established Echo Base on Hoth, they were further modified to operate in sub-zero temperatures. These airspeeders became known as snowspeeders.
- The Alliance frequently turned starfighters no longer suitable for space combat into customized combat airspeeders.
- The Storm IV Twin-Pod cloud car was another airspeeder with an additional ion engine for use in upper-atmosphere flight.
- The V-wing airspeeder manufactured by Slayn & Korpil for the New Republic was one of the fastest combat airspeeder types ever produced.
Behind the scenes
Author Aaron Allston, in the three novels he wrote for the X-wing series (X-Wing: Wraith Squadron, X-Wing: Iron Fist and X-Wing: Solo Command), would use the word skimmer as a catch-all term for both landspeeders and airspeeders, despite the fact that skimmers were a distinctive class or subclass of repulsorlift vehicle.
Appearances
Sources
- The Star Wars Sourcebook
- Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope, First Edition
- Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, First Edition
- Cracken's Rebel Field Guide
- Rebel Alliance Sourcebook
- Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition
- Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, Second Edition
- Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook
- The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
- Star Wars Customizable Card Game — [[Unknown set: No set defined!]]
- Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Limited Collector's Edition
- Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: Behind the Magic
- The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Battle of Turak IV on Hyperspace (article) (content removed from StarWars.com and unavailable)
- Enter the Unknown
- Suns of Fortune