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This skill requires specialization

Default: IQ-6

Piloting/TL (DX/Average) is the skill to operate a specific type of aircraft or spacecraft. Requires specialization

The Classic skill Aviation/TL, which covered basic map reading or practical meteorology, and the ability to recall aviation laws and regulations, is part of this skill.

Note: Player Character Use[]

  • Pulp and Action adventures will typically involve NPCs using piloting skills, but "lining up a shot" in a helicopter or dogfighting plane will use Helicopter or Light Airplane respectively!
    • For weaving through flak in a bomber, use Heavy Airplane

Specializations[]

Aerospace[]

Defaults: High-Performance Airplane-2 or other Piloting at -4.

Vehicles capable of atmospheric flight to and from orbit. Pilots in superhero stories tend to learn this skill after mastering High-Performance Airplane.

Autogyro[]

Defaults: Helicopter-3, any Airplane specialty at -4, or other Piloting at -5.

Contragravity[]

Defaults: Vertol-3 or other Piloting at -5.

Flight Pack[]

Defaults: Vertol-4 or other Piloting at -5.

Glider[]

Defaults: Light Airplane or Ultralight at -2, or other Piloting at -4.

Heavy Airplane[]

Defaults: High-Performance Airplane or Light Airplane at -2, or other Piloting at -4.

Any winged aircraft weighing over 10 tons and flying at 600 mph (Basic Move 300) or slower.

Helicopter[]

For rotor aircraft! Appears around TL7.

Defaults: Autogyro-2, Vertol-4, or other Piloting at -5.

High-Performance Airplane[]

Defaults: Aerospace, Heavy Airplane, or Light Airplane at -2, or other Piloting at -4.

Covers planes able to fly faster in level flight than 600 mph (Basic Move 300). This limits it to jets or rocket planes (such as the Douglas X-3 Stiletto) as the fasted prop plane in level flight (Tupolev Tu-114) only reached 540 mph.

High-Performance Spacecraft[]

Defaults: Aerospace-4 or Low-Performance Spacecraft-2.

Must have a minimum acceleration of 0.1G and be a space vehicle.

Light Airplane[]

Defaults: Glider, Heavy Airplane, High-Performance Airplane, or Ultralight at -2, or other Piloting at -4.

Covers aircraft under 10 tons and slower then 600 mph (Basic Move 300)

Lighter-Than-Air[]

Defaults: other Piloting at -5. For the crew skill, see Airshipman.

For piloting any kind of airship or balloon. This can have sub-specializations such as rigid airship, blimp, and free balloon. These show up around TL5, and are the earliest aircraft, before the first fixed-wing fliers.

Lightsail[]

Default: Low-Performance Spacecraft-4.

Low-G Wings[]

Default: Glider-4.

Low-Performance Spacecraft[]

Defaults: Aerospace-4 or High-Performance Spacecraft-2.

Ornithopter[]

Skill for flying ornithopters, beating-wing aircraft that fly like birds.[1]

Defaults: Autogyro, Glider, Helicopter, Light Airplane, Low-G Wings, Ultralight, or Vertol, all at -5.

Ultralight[]

Defaults: Glider or Light Airplane at -2, other Airplane specialties at -4, or other Piloting at -5.

Vertol[]

Defaults: Contragravity-3, Helicopter-4, or other Piloting at -5.

Kromm comments[]

Notes[]

For just how complex this skill can be was some of Mentour Pilot's videos

See Also[]

References[]