Vertibird

The Vertibird is a air vehicle used primarily by The Brotherhood of Steel, New California Republic, and The Enclave.
Taking inspiration from the former United States Osprey-class aircraft, the Vertibird is a highly versatile war machine. It's capable of serving as a troop transport, freight transport, airborne assault vehicle, or long-range reconnaissance vessel.
The average vertibird runs on 5 fusion core bundles, four of which are needed to run the dual engines alone. The fifth fusion core powers the internal components such as the navigation computer and the communications radio.
The Vertibird has three standard configurations: Combat, Transport, and Recon.
The Combat configuration sees the vertibird using reinforced glass shielding on the cockpit and either a minigun or gatling laser mounted to the doorways of the cabin, providing the crew with the ability to 'broadside' the enemy instead of having to always orient to facing them. The crew compliment for Combat configuration consists of the pilot, co-pilot/forward gunner, and two Power-Armored individuals operating the side guns. Occasionally, a ground assault squad will be in the cabin, waiting to be deployed.
The Transport configuration only has one doorway blocked with a side-mounted weapon, and the other is left unobstructed for ease of cargo/troop loading. The crew compliment consists of the pilot and co pilot, as well as a single, Non-Power-Armored individual operating the side gun. This configuration is used most often.
The Recon configuration is the least used configuration of the three. Both of the side weapons are removed, and the cargo hold is fitted with additional fuel, allowing the on-board engineer to refuel in air. The crew compliment of a Vertibird in recon mode consists of the pilot and co-pilot, an engineer, and often a field scribe or specialist. In addition to the additional fuel, all non-essential cargo is removed, lightening the load of the plane as much as possible to allow for it to fly unhindered for as long as possible.
Due to the nature of recon mode and the fact that the only way the vessel can defend it self is from the front, it's far more common to use a Vertibird in Transport mode to airlift a ground-based recon squad to the uncharted territory. Air reconnaisance is only used when surveying military targets or inhospitible landscapes such as The Commonwealth Wasteland's Glowing Sea.
At its optimum performance, the Vertibird has a maximum combat radius of 722km (426 mi), a transport range of 1627km (1011 mi), and a maximum recon radius of 3590 km (2230 mi)

Power Generation

Fusion core bundles x5 - two in each engine, 1 in cockpit

Propulsion

Dual engine turbine, powered by two fusion core bundles each.

Weapons & Armament

• Forward mounted machine gun/gatling laser x2

• Crew operated minigun, mounted on cabin sides x2

Armor and defense

• In all configurations - heavily armored cabin to protect cargo/troops.

• In Combat configuration - reinforced glass on cockpit.

Communication Tools & Systems

HAM radio systems.

Price

Unknown.

Rarity

Mildly rare, only certain organizations have access to them and the knowledge to fly them.

Length

17 m (55ft 9in)

Height

• 5.75m (18ft 10in) - Engines horizontal

• 7m (22ft 11in) - Engines vertical

Weight

15,250 kg (33620 lbs)

Speed

• Cruising - 446 km/hr (277mph)

• Maximum - 509 km/hr (316mph)

Complement / Crew

2-4 - Pilot, co-pilot, up to two gunners.

Cargo & Passenger Capacity

• Cargo Only - 9070 kg (19995 lbs)

• Non-Power Armored Troops - 24 (seated), 32 (standing)

• Power-Armored Troops - 12