                            Concept : Plane Types

 The types of aircraft you have at  your  disposal  includes  a  wide  variety
planes,  helicopters,  missiles,  and satellites.  These plane types differ in
their fundamental capabilities; some can  fly  bombing  missions,  some  carry
cargo,  others  exist to shoot down other planes.  Missiles are special planes
which fly one-way, one-time missions.  Satellites are special planes which can
be  launched  into orbit, and generally stay there forever (or until retrieved
by a space shuttle).

The technology level at which the plane was built is very important.  An  air-
craft  built at a high tech level will outperform the same aircraft built at a
low tech level.

The particular planes available and their attributes are  given  by  the  show
command.  The fields given in the output are as follows.  For building:

 lcm  the amount of lcm to build the unit,
 hcm  the amount of hcm to build the unit,
tech  minimum tech level to build this unit,
   $  cost of the unit in dollars,

                            Concept : Plane Types

For the capability report the fields are:

 acc  Bomb accuracy.  Smaller means better.  Zero accuracy implies no ability.
  ld  Bomb load/cargo capacity.
 att  Air-to-air combat attack rating.
 def  Air-to-air combat defense rating.
 ran  Base range (in sectors).  Actual range may be greater, depending on  the
      tech level at which a plane is built.
 mob  Full range mobility.  Flights of less than maximum range will burn  pro-
      portionally less mobility.  Note that each step up in altitude also con-
      sumes one sector's distance worth of mobility.
 pet  Fuel capacity.  This is the amount that will  be  burned  if  the  plane
      flies  its  full  range.  Planes always take off with full tanks; if the
      flight is shorter than the  plane's  range,  any  unused  fuel  will  be
      unloaded at the destination.
 spd  Typical flight airspeed.  This  is  used  mainly  to  determine  elapsed
      flight  time  at  each sector along the flight path, which in turn helps
      determine which planes can perform interception.
 alt  Aircraft's altitude ceiling.  If you group together different  types  of
      aircraft  on a mission, the maximum altitude for the group as a whole is

                            Concept : Plane Types

      determined by the plane with the minimum ceiling.

The abilities are given as a set of attributes for each plane.  These include:

 tactical  pinpoint bombing ability
intercept  interception and escort ability
    cargo  cargo-carrying and air-assault ability
   bomber  strategic bombing ability
     VTOL  vertical take-off ability -- no need to use airports
     heli  aircraft is a helicopter
  missile  missile -- one shot.
    light  light, can land on carriers or be carried on a submarine
    sweep  able to sweep mines
  subhunt  aircraft has ASW capability
      spy  spy ability, for recon missions
    image  improved imaging capabilities
 enhanced  extra-improved imaging capabilities
    orbit  a satellite - stays in orbit until shot down

As an example of the output

                            Concept : Plane Types

   [##:##] Command: show plane build

   lt bomber 2    12   8   70 $900
                 lcm hcm crew tech  $
   fighter 1       8   2   1   40 $400
   lt bomber 1    10   3   2   40 $550
   transport 1    12   5   2   45 $800
   hvy bomber 1   20   6   3   50 $1100
   long bomber 1  20   6   4   60 $1100
   fighter 2      10   6   1   70 $800

   [##:##] Command: show plane cap

                            Concept : Plane Types

                 acc ld att def ran mob pet  spd alt abilities
   biplane        30  1   1   1   4  30   1  100   1 tactical intercept VTOL light
   triplane       30  1   2   1   4  30   1  120   1 tactical intercept VTOL light
   fighter 1      30  1   3   2   6  30   1  160   1 tactical intercept VTOL light
   lt bomber 1    30  2   1   2   8  30   1  160   1 bomber tactical VTOL light
   transport 1     0  7   0   1  15  30   2  140   1 cargo
   hvy bomber 1   85  6   2   3  15  30   2  140   1 bomber

See also : fly, build, show

