Lockheed L-2100 Supersonic Jet Liner:

Lockheed is known for a many famous aircraft design including the SR-71 Blackbird, the most famous spy planes of all times and what many people think about when they hear the name Lockheed. They are also know for the P-38 Lightning fighter of World War Two. At one time, Lockheed built a number of airliners but by the dawning of the Twenty-First Century, they only manufactured basically military designs. This held true until near the end of the Twenty-First Century when they introduced the L-2100 Supersonic Jet Liner.

During the Twentieth Century, many predicted that supersonic airliners would take over much of the skies and both Lockheed and Boeing began developing the designs. The Lockheed design was later rejected with the Boeing design continuing. Eventually, the Boeing design was dropped by the United States government as well. Only the French and British Concorde and the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 entered service. Both were only built in extremely limited numbers not the five hundred supersonic airliners originally predicted. Fuel costs were always a major concern as well as other factors. When the Concorde was retired in 2003, there were no supersonic airliners in operation for many decades.

Several innovations supported the introduction of new supersonic civilian designs. The first was powerful fusion turbine engines. This allowed for a great reduction in fuel consumption even at supersonic speeds as well as virtually unlimited ranges. The second was the introduction of new composites and alloys which made such aircraft virtually immune to corrosion as well as stress. This also has the advantage of greatly reducing the amount of maintenance required. While several companies considered developing such an aircraft, including Boeing, Lockheed was the company who finally introduced a new supersonic airline design.

The plane first took flight in Twenty Eighty-Five with it entering full production three years later. Sales started slow but slowly increased over the decade that it served. It was expected that orders would explode in the next century. Before the coming of the Rifts, Boeing and other companies were working on designs to compete with the L-2100 liner. Lockheed was also working on a larger design which was to be designated the L-2200. All of this ended with the coming of the Rifts

As far as passenger space, the L-2100 has a capacity for two hundred and eighty with dual classes and three hundred and twenty with a single class of passengers. Dual class versions have space for two hundred in coach class and eighty in first class. The first class seating is more cramped than in the first class seating for passengers in most Boeing designs although far better than the coach class passengers. There were no real use of the L-2100 for cargo carrying because it was not considered cost effective. This might have changed if the aircraft had continued in service. A small number of military versions were operated for rapid deployment around the world. Its speed also makes it extremely difficult to intercept. There was also some consideration given to a special version of the airline for the president, replacing the Boeing 1030 as Airforce One, although it seemed likely that the government was waiting on the larger L-2200 model.

The aircraft is a delta wing aircraft with a blended body and wings. Unlike most Boeing designs, the engines are mounted as part of the fuselage. Four extremely powerful fusion turbines provide thrust. The engines are modified military designs and are designed for operation at high mach speeds for extended periods. The engines are not designed for short take offs and landings. Top speed is Mach 2.8 with normal cruise speed being slight lower at Mach 2.5. Special attention was made to reduce the noise signature of the engines. As well, sound proofing reduces the sound of the engines so that it not much more than a whisper. The aircraft is usually flown by a crew of two although the automatic pilot allows the jet liner to virtually fly itself. The plane uses a fly by wire system and is said to be an incredible pleasure to fly.

Model Type: Lockheed L-2100
Class: Supersonic Passenger Airliner
Crew: Two (Pilot and Co-Pilot) as well as four flight attendants on most passenger flight

Passengers:	Coach Only	320 Passengers
	Dual Class	80 First Class Passengers and 200 Coach Passengers

M.D.C. by Location:

	[1] Wings (2):	320 each
	[2] Elevators (2):	80 each
	[2] Rudders (1):	80
	Side Doors (2):	50 each
	[2] Engines (4):	200 each
	Reinforced Pilot’s Compartment / Cockpit:	200
	[3] Main Body:	825
	Landing Gear (3):	40 each

Notes:
[1] Destroying a wing will cause the plane to crash.
[2] Destruction of rudder or one elevator will still allow the aircraft to be controlled by the varying of power levels of the engines but aircraft has a penalty of -10 to dodge, and a -30% penalty to all piloting rolls. Destruction of both of the elevators will leave the plane uncontrollable. The destruction of one engine will reduce the aircraft's top speed by one quarter and give the pilot a -1 penalty to dodge as well as giving a 10% penalty to piloting. Each destroyed engine causes cumulative effects. Destruction of four engines will cause the aircraft to crash.
[3] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will shut the aircraft down completely, rendering it useless and causing it to crash if in flight.

Speed:
Driving on Ground (Taxiing): Only possible for take offs and landings as well as for parking and storage. Speed is 40 mph (64 kph) when traveling and not on take off or landing.
Flight: The L-2100 Supersonic Jet Liner has a top speed of Mach 2.8 (2,076.1 mph / 3,341.1 kph) with a normal cruise speed of Mach 2.5 (1650 mph / 2655.4 kph.) Maximum altitude is 80,000 feet (24,384 meters.) The L-2100 requires a full runway.
Range: Due to Fusion engine effectively unlimited range, need to cool down after 12 hours of flight at maximum speed. At cruising speed, range is increased to 16 hours of flight.

Statistical Data:
Length: 280.51 feet (85.5 meters)
Wingspan: 119.42 feet (36.4 meters)
Height: 51.51 feet (15.7 meters)
Weight: 192 tons (174.2 metric tons) fully loaded, 140 tons (127.0 metric tons) empty
Power Source: Nuclear, Should have an average life span of 20 years.
Cargo: 40,000 lbs (18,143.7 kg) not including passengers.
Market Cost: 150 million for Civilian versions and 155 million for military versions

Weapon Systems (None Standard):

Anti-Missile Chaff Dispenser (Military Version): Located at the very tail of the aircraft are two chaff dispensers. When tailed by a missile, a cloud of chaff and other obtrusive particles can be released to confuse or detonate the enemy's attack. Rifts Earth decoys systems are assumed to not operate against Phase World missiles due to technological difference. Reduce effects by 20% against smart missiles (Add +20% to rolls for smart missiles.)
Effect:
Also note that the chaff cloud will also blind flying monsters that fly through cloud. They will suffer the following penalties: reduce melee attacks/actions, combat bonuses, and speed by half. Duration: 1D4 melee rounds.
Payload: Eight (8)

Special Equipment:
Military Versions:
The aircraft has all the standard features of a standard fighter (same as standard robot including loudspeaker and microphone on this aircraft) plus these special features listed.

Internal Active Jamming Gear: Causes -25% to detection but when it is active, other vehicles/ bases can detect that it is jamming, and some missiles will home in on jamming signals. Jamming also causes a -4 penalty to all radar guided weapons.
E.S.M.: Radar Detector, Passively detects other radars being operated.
FLIR: Forward Looking Infrared. Allows pilot and weapons officer to get visuals on targets at night.
Laser Navigational System: Allow flight at low altitude without use of Radar. Gives a map of the Terrain.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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