How does VF-1 transform on the ground?

[newca]

They are not TFs, so how does a Valk transform on the ground? VF-0/1 have no VTOL ability right? so if the runway is unavailable, they are dead ducks right?

[JELEINEN]

If it pulls it's landing gear in and drops the legs down, technically it's just in a sort of knealing position. I don't think it'd have much trouble from there.

[Opus]

If you watch DYRL you can sortasee the VT-1 change from fighter to gerwalk when Hikaru and Misa escape from the Zents. It uses little thrusters on the bottom.

Edited September 2, 2004 by Opus

[Opus]

The little circle/bar thingies are attachment points for cables so I guess the could be suspended by those and transformed as well.

[newca]

I mean if the Valks are staying ground in Fighter mode, how do they take off without runway?

in DYRL scence, the VT-1 was already in Gerwork mode? I don't remember well. and how much gravity there?

I don't see a thruster under the nose or bottom of the fuselage of Hasegawa/Yamato/Bandai Valks, so the DYRL scence is another anime magic?

[ewilen]

I don't know if the vernier thrusters have enough thrust (or are even pointed in the right direction) to do a vertical takeoff in fighter mode, and I don't remember the scene Opus pointed out well enough.

How to takeoff without a runway? Well, if you're on the ground in fighter mode, how did you get there without a runway? (Note: if you put an airplane the size of a Valkyrie on unpaved ground, its tires will sink into the earth.) But granted, maybe the runway's been blown up, so how do you get off the ground now?

The only thing I can think of is to just give up on the landing gear and transform into battroid as best you can. Then boost into the air and transform into gerwalk or fighter. Valks have very tough bodies due to SWAG (which is why they can smash through buildings). So the gear might be ruined, but in an emergency the Valk can still take off.

[Macross_Fanboy]

Uh, I'm pretty sure there was plenty of gravity. Hikaru started it up and switched to Gerwalk. You see how the venier thrusters on the bottom fire up when he does so.

[Renato]

Uh, I'm pretty sure there was plenty of gravity. Hikaru started it up and switched to Gerwalk. You see how the venier thrusters on the bottom fire up when he does so.

Yeah, but Newca is right, those thrusters only appear in that one scene as far as I know.

I've always wondered about that... Could well be anime magic.

[eugimon]

Uh, I'm pretty sure there was plenty of gravity.  Hikaru started it up and switched to Gerwalk.  You see how the venier thrusters on the bottom fire up when he does so.

Yeah, but Newca is right, those thrusters only appear in that one scene as far as I know.

I've always wondered about that... Could well be anime magic.

that it only appeared once means nothing.. plenty of things we accept as cannon only appeared once.. the little manipulator arms in the main arms for instance... the super missile thing that Max does.

besides, you have to think of the context.. that was a pretty big scene, animated for the movie, they wouldn't let a gaff like that slide in this situation as that screen would have been scripted, edited, pre-production sketches drawn up... it's not like anime-fiend drew it or something.

[Graham]

I've always wondered if that scene with the VT-1 was an animation error.

Or perhaps only the VT-1 & Maybe the VE-1 as they share the same forward fuselage (nose/cockpit section) have those vernier jets below the nose and other VF-1s do not?

AFAIK, only the SV-51 has VTOL ability in fighter mode.

Graham

[mk16]

This DYRL takeoff?

Macross___Do_You_Remember_Love_clip.mpg

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

Well, we see how tough the VF material is in Mac Zero when Roy thrashes Shin's valk and there are no scratches.

So in fighter mode on the ground, i guess they just use brute force and scuff the hell out of the ground with lots of screeching and scratching noises.

[Onimusha-shin]

what i considered possible was that since the arms need to be deployed out in Gerwalk mode (assuming not going into retro-thrust mode with only legs extended out), the arms can be extended out to some sort of clearance for the legs to unfold. somewhat like a gymnast position or yoga position? the old Takatoku toys arm mechanisms is how i picture it to work.

any opinions? (feel free to bash me since i don't really know what i'm describing anyway )

[Nightbat]

Well, as seen in the clip it's only a Boost, not VTOL capability (Think NoS)

if it can deliver enough power just to hop the valk in gerwalk it should be enough

this way, they're not vernier thrusters who actually have manouvering function

[kanedaestes]

which makes sense, if you are going to have a mech with those capabilities, i believe they would consider that, if it needed to make an emergency take off wouldn't it be best to boost and transform. at least i hope people are that smart, do you honestly think we would build an aircraft and not think about any contigency plans in the event something drastic happened? i hope not if we did, we would have a sorry ass military

Edited September 2, 2004 by kanedaestes

[Aurel Tristen]

Point the main engine vectored engine nozzles downward [if needed] and use the verniers until the engine pods (legs) extend. The VT-1 [super] Ostrich is seen doing in DYRL and a VF-17D is show doing it in Macross Dynamite 7.

[imode]

I mean if the Valks are staying ground in Fighter mode, how do they take off without runway?

Well, consider how it got there.

If it's in fighter mode and there's no runway... did it crash?

[mbs357]

I think he means if the plane is in the hangar and the runway has been bombed. Sort of like the first episode of SDF.

The runway was trashed, but Hikaru was still on the ground, so he had to go to another runway.

If there wasn't another runway, he would have had to boosted and switched to GERWALK like in the clip from DYRL.

(If only he knew how to do that stuff then.)

[kanedaestes]

yeah he would have, which would have been cool to see so early in the series, everyone watching would have been like "what the f***" i know i would have.

[Stamen0083]

Well, we see how tough the VF material is in Mac Zero when Roy thrashes Shin's valk and there are no scratches.

We don't even need to see Roy thrash Shin's Valkyrie with no scratches to see that it's tough.

The fact that the entire plane can stand up on its tail pipe is already pretty farting amazing, if you ask me.

[Nightbat]

We don't even need to see Roy thrash Shin's Valkyrie with no scratches to see that it's tough.

The fact that the entire plane can stand up on its tail pipe is already pretty farting amazing, if you ask me.

A VF1D having a run in with Studio Nue and survive the encounter proves enough

[KingNor]

i beleive dyrl answers the question pretty nicely with the small bosters in the nose.

likewise, if the plane is tough enough to roll around on the ground while in batroid mode, it should have no problem sliding its parts on the ground if it needs to transform while parked.

kinda a forced transformation with the hull of the plane floping around as it transforms. when it's done i'd imagine it would be in batroid mode either laying on its chest or its back, then it could just get up.

i think both of those explinations are logical and fit with in the macross universe and more than cover the question.

personally i like the dyrl booster hop.

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

The fact that the entire plane can stand up on its tail pipe is already pretty farting amazing, if you ask me.

Standing on its tail pipe is quite an understatement.

It can do the cha-cha, rumba, tango and the spinning helicopter kick whilst standing on its tailpipe!

[sharky]

Remeber the VF-1 was designed for space flight as well as atmospheric flight. There are thrusters located all over the valkyrie, as can be seen throughout the space flight scenes in DYRL. I assume most are not powerfull enough to lift the valk off the ground as they would be designed for manuevering in space, but I suppose they could have designed the thrusters underneath it to be powerfull enough to lift it off of the ground enough for the leg/main engine thrusters to fold forward in a gerwalk mode. Given the advanced technology of the time it would not be beyond the relm of impossiblity.