T.W. Yak-3-TW Techno-Wizard Fighter:

The Yak-3, produced by the Yakovlev design bureau, was one of the best Soviet Fighters of World War Two. The fighter was designed to use alternate materials such as wood instead of aircraft aluminum which was in short supply at the time. It was designed with lessons learned in the first few years of the war and was virtually a new fighter. The Yak-3 fighter was considered the lightest and most maneuverable of all fighters on both sides during World War Two. The Soviet fighter was feared by many German pilots and must be listed as the finest aircraft of World War Two. It was considered superior to the Me-109 at low altitudes while at higher altitudes, the German fighter was considered superior. Due to the construction from wood, the Soviet aircraft were expected to only last for a few months and few of these aircraft survived after the war. A number of copies were built by military hobbyist over the years.

Like North America and Europe, techno-wizards inhabit the lands of Russia and like techno-wizards from other parts of the World, they cling to items from their past. World War Two is a time in history where many of these groups draw their inspiration from and Russian techno-wizards are no exception. While no surviving Yak-3 planes have been found, several in-depth books and other historic archives have been found about the Yak-3. Like engineers during the Second World War, techno-wizards in Russia often have a lack of resources forces them to come up with novel solutions to problems. One of the techno-wizards decided to develop a propeller driven aircraft based on the Yak-3. While it is unknown if he was inspired by techno-wizards from around the world, the design was quite innovative. This innovation has lead some to speculate that it was a completely independent development. So far, the fighter is limited to the lands of Russia where it has often been instrumental in fighting off monster hordes. So far, dozens of these aircraft have been built. Due to fighter being inexpensive to build, it is likely that the design will become quite popular if it finds its way to other lands. It cost is only a bit more than half that of a techno-wizard Me-109 fighter yet is quite comparable in most respects.

Probably the most important feature of the fighter is that most of it is constructed from wood. When enchanted with the spell of “Ironwood”, the aircraft becomes as strong as if it was constructed from high tech alloys or composites yet is still far cheaper than if the fighter was constructed from conventional composites and alloys. Even so, the Russia techno-wizards take pride in their plains and each is finely crafted. To add additional protection to the fighter, it has an “Armor of Ithan” forcefield which can be activated three times per day. Most techno-wizard fighters from North America and Europe are powered by powerful yet comparatively tiny fusion reactors. These are simply not available in many cases in Russia and instead a powerful electric engine is used which is powered by magical energies. While the magical engine does not give indefinite range like a fusion reactor, the engine has a range of 1000 miles and can simply be recharged with another lightning bolt to extend the range another thousand miles. The top speed of the fighter is just over 460 miles per hour and is about equal to the prototype versions of the original Yak-3. Production Yak-3 fighters during World War Two were slightly slower, at around 407 mph, due to lower manufacturing standards than the prototype. This engine is backed up with a ley line flight system which gives effectively infinite range while on a ley-line and the flight system is virtually silent. Most techno-wizard fighters built in other parts of the world use high tech plasma holographic display systems. The techno-wizard Yak-3 lacks much of these systems although does mount a short range radar system with a side display. While relatively comfortable, the cockpit lacks many modern features including life support. Instead, the fighter is equipped with the “Breath Without Air” enchantment. Other enchantments include "Impervious to Energy" and "Invisibility - Superior." These enchantments are most of the cost of the fighter.

For weaponry, the fighter carries a relatively simple armament. For guns, the fighter carries three heavy telekinetic machine-guns. These have the advantage of being useful against targets which are impervious to energy and inflict good damage when fired together. These weapons have to be recharged each month but otherwise are effectively unlimited in payload. One is mounted in the nose of the fighter while the other two are mounted in the roots of the wings. In addition to the fighter’s guns, the fighter has two hard points and can carry a limited amount of external ordnance. These can include missiles and bombs with high capacity mini-missile packs being the most popular.

Model Number: T.W. Yak-3-TW
Vehicle Type: Single Engine Techno-Wizard Fighter
Crew: One

M.D.C. by Location:

	[1] Wings (2):	85 each
	[2] Elevators (2):	35 each
	[2] Rudder (1):	40 each
	Cockpit:	80
	Engine:	80
	Propeller:	50
	Landing Gear (2):	10 each
	[3] Main Body:	200
	Magical “Armor of Ithan” Force Field (3 times per day):	100

Notes:
[1] Destroying a wing will cause the plane to crash.
[2] Destruction of the elevators or rudder will leave the plane uncontrollable and pilot must eject to survive.
[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.
Flying: 462 mph (743.5 kph) with an altitude of 35,000 feet (10,668 meters) using conventional propeller driven flight. 200 mph (320 kph) on Telekinetic flight system but aircraft must remain on a ley line for flight system to operate.
Maximum Effective Range: 1,000 miles (1,610 km) on conventional propeller driven flight. Can be recharged with a“Call Lightning” spell (15 P.P.E.) Which gives another 1,000 miles (1,610 km) of flight. Effective unlimited on Telekinetic flight system (While on Ley Lines).

Statistical Data:
Height: 9 feet 10 inches (3.0 meters)
Wingspan: 30 feet 3 inches (9.22 meters)
Length: 27 feet 11 inches (8.51 meters)
Weight: 4,680 pounds (2,122.8 kg) empty, 5,900 pounds (2,676.2 kilograms) fully loaded
Power System: Dual Flight System, Techno-Wizard Electrical Engine Conversion (Powered by “Call Lightning” spell) and Telekinetic flight system for flight on ley lines.
Cargo: Minimal (Storage for small equipment), does not include hard points
Black Market Cost: 6.3 million credits.

Weapon Systems:

Telekinetic Machine-Guns (3): One is mounted in the nose of the fighter while two are mounted in the wing roots. The original Yak-3 mounted all three guns in the nose.The weapons are enchanted by a series of spells so the cannons acts as more powerful version of the TK Machine-gun. This increases the weapon's damage and instead of being reloaded, the cannons must be recharged by the spell Telekinesis and 100 P.P.E. once per month. The cannons do full damage to targets that are impervious to energy. Weapons can be combined together (still requires one attack)
Maximum Effective Range: 4,000 feet (1,220 meters).
Mega Damage: 12D6 for one and 3D6x10+30 for all three.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the pilot (usually 4 or 5).
Payload: Unlimited, although the spells must be renewed every month whether the cannon have been used or not.
Wing Hard Points (2): The Techno-Wizard Yak-3 can carry a variety of ordnance on its hard points. The fighter has one hard point on each wing for a total of two hard points. With the addition of sensor systems, the fighter can control missiles instead of just bombs and unguided rockets. Mini-Missile pods are very popular. There have been no gun pods developed for the fighter and there is no provision for jamming pods or towed decoys.
1. Bombs and Missiles: The only restriction is that a hard point must carry all the same type of missiles or bombs. Both unguided and guided bombs can be carried.
  Maximum Effective Range: Varies by missile type for missile and varies by altitude that bombs are dropped at (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
  Mega Damage: Varies by missile or bomb type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
  Rate of Fire: Missiles can be fired and bombs can be dropped one at a time per hard point. Multiple hard points can be linked as one attack but must be the same size (light, medium, or heavy) and style of ordnance (all missiles or bombs in a volley.)
  Payload: 4 short range missile or light bombs, 2 medium range missiles or medium bombs, or 1 long range missile or heavy bomb (all ordnance on a hard point must be the same size and type of ordnance) per hard point
2. Mini-Missile Pod: Large capacity mini-missile pod. The aircraft normally carries missile pods for ground strafing, anti-troop, and anti-emplacement attacks. Normal missile used are armor piercing, plasma, or fragmentation mini-missiles.
  Maximum Effective Range: Varies with missile types, mini-missiles only (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
  Mega Damage: Varies with mini missile types (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
  Rate of Fire: Each pod can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2), four (4), eight (8), or sixteen (16) mini-missiles and can be linked with other mini-missile pods for greater number of missiles (Counts as one attack no matter how many missiles in volley.)
  Payload: Each pod carries sixteen (16) mini-missiles.
Techno-Wizard Modifications: The techno-wizard Yak-3 has the following techno-wizard modifications built into the fighter. These require P.P.E. or I.S.P. from the pilot.
Special Features:

Special Equipment:
The fighter does not have the full features which are carried on most fighters and has more limited equipment.

Short Range Radar: Fighter is equipped with a short range radar. Radar system has a range of 10 miles (16 km) and can identify and track up to 24 targets.
E.S.M.: Radar Detector. Passively detects other radars being operated.

Combat Bonuses:

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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