Pilot Archive

I was browsing the Star Wars Databank and reading up on some ships when I started to ponder how realistic it is when we fly "relic" ships in space. Now first let me say there are a whole lot of things in this game that are A) not realistic and B) not true to accepted Star Wars timeline. All that aside I just wanted to share what I found about these relic ships. Also this is not about the stats of the ships which is definitely a whole discussion on its own.

By "relic" I guess we mean to say "Ships we saw in Ep3 then never see again." That gives us the Belbullab-22, Eta-2 Actis Interceptor, and ARC-170. I will begin discussion by mentioning that the Millenium Falcon is also supposedly seen in Ep3 (I didn't notice it when I was watching but I read it was in a scene briefly.) That would set precidence that some older ships are still used in the current timeline.

First the Belbullab-22. The databank hints that in the time of Ep3 the Bel might already have been considered a relic by mentioning its "vintage." It seems Grievous was a bit of a collector and flew a ship that must have seemed pretty odd among the rest of the fleet. However there doesn't seem to be any reason to think that these ships might not have survived a few more decades with the proper care. I would guess that someone flying these in the current timeline would definitely turn heads and make a lot of ship collectors jealous.

Next is the ever popular Eta-2 Actis Interceptor. It seems that this ship did kick some butt. Basically it was designed for one type of pilot, a jedi, which makes its alias of "Jedi Starfighter" one that is well earned. A jedi doesn't need such fancy things as targeting equipment and oh, things like shields. So the Eta-2 just doesn't have them! No shields, no fancy gear, no hyperdrive... no wonder it was so small. However if you don't have the Force flowing inside you then this ship would be a deathtrap... hell, you probably would have a hard time landing it.

After the destruction of the jedi there wouldn't have been much need for the ole JSF. Would they be put in museums? Scrapped? Burned? Well we know at least one survived, the one used by ole Darth Vader, who doesn't seem particularly attached to it. The reality of owning and flying one of these birds is probably pretty slim but for a jedi character to get their hands on one would be a real treat.

While its often said that the TIE Fighters of Ep4 and beyond are the descendants of the Eta-2 I don't find I agree. I would say the TIE Fighters are born of the minimalist concepts and a little of the appearance, but its not made for jedi. Its a different ship but the resemblance is there.

Finally we have the ARC-170. The databank never mentions if these are sold exclusively to the Republic. We know that its manufacturers, Incom/Subpro, sell their ships to just about anyone. Look at all those pirates and rebels using Z-95s and X-Wings. I don't think these guys ever sold ONLY to the Republic, but the ARC may have been a special order. Either way we DO know that the Republic had them, we don't know if anyone else did.

After the war what happened to the ARC? The Empire doesn't appear to use them. The Empire has their own goodies. We know one was stashed away on Dathomir, but what happened to the rest? Mothballed? Sold? Stolen? I would guess they share a similar fate as the Z-95, an out of date ship that is still used by private organizations and pirates. On the other hand if the Republic controlled them all then the Empire may have gotten rid of all but a few. That one is up in the air.


Anyway, I'm bored and that's what I think. What do you think?

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Phizuol wrote:

First the Belbullab-22. The databank hints that in the time of Ep3 the Bel might already have been considered a relic by mentioning its "vintage." It seems Grievous was a bit of a collector and flew a ship that must have seemed pretty odd among the rest of the fleet. However there doesn't seem to be any reason to think that these ships might not have survived a few more decades with the proper care. I would guess that someone flying these in the current timeline would definitely turn heads and make a lot of ship collectors jealous.

Next is the ever popular Eta-2 Actis Interceptor. It seems that this ship did kick some butt. Basically it was designed for one type of pilot, a jedi, which makes its alias of "Jedi Starfighter" one that is well earned. A jedi doesn't need such fancy things as targeting equipment and oh, things like shields. So the Eta-2 just doesn't have them! No shields, no fancy gear, no hyperdrive... no wonder it was so small. However if you don't have the Force flowing inside you then this ship would be a deathtrap... hell, you probably would have a hard time landing it.

After the destruction of the jedi there wouldn't have been much need for the ole JSF. Would they be put in museums? Scrapped? Burned? Well we know at least one survived, the one used by ole Darth Vader, who doesn't seem particularly attached to it. The reality of owning and flying one of these birds is probably pretty slim but for a jedi character to get their hands on one would be a real treat.

While its often said that the TIE Fighters of Ep4 and beyond are the descendants of the Eta-2 I don't find I agree. I would say the TIE Fighters are born of the minimalist concepts and a little of the appearance, but its not made for jedi. Its a different ship but the resemblance is there.

Finally we have the ARC-170. The databank never mentions if these are sold exclusively to the Republic. We know that its manufacturers, Incom/Subpro, sell their ships to just about anyone. Look at all those pirates and rebels using Z-95s and X-Wings. I don't think these guys ever sold ONLY to the Republic, but the ARC may have been a special order. Either way we DO know that the Republic had them, we don't know if anyone else did.

After the war what happened to the ARC? The Empire doesn't appear to use them. The Empire has their own goodies. We know one was stashed away on Dathomir, but what happened to the rest? Mothballed? Sold? Stolen? I would guess they share a similar fate as the Z-95, an out of date ship that is still used by private organizations and pirates. On the other hand if the Republic controlled them all then the Empire may have gotten rid of all but a few. That one is up in the air.

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Well - Let's start with the BSF...

Grievous was a jedi like cyborg... and apparently had a taste for antiques, although sup'd up antiques. We only see 1 during the Star Wars saga.

Looking at the basic frame design (bulky and very muscle car like) it isnt hard to believe the chassis is easily upgradable and its life span greatly increased with proper care. At the End of Episode III - we see the GSF (right?) flown by Obi Wan...

We can presume Obi Wan left it on Coruscant, when he returned after the implementation of Order 66. So there should have only been ONE GSF floating around in "good shape?"

Now, Necrosis is a Grievous clone... so the creator of Necrosis may have wanted (or perhaps Necrosis himself, being a clone) a GSF for his creation... Hence the way to get the GSF. How good is this craft? IMO It shouldnt be as good as the JSF (but definitely have more mass imo than the JSF).

On to the JSF...

Before the fall of the Old Republic and the extermination of the Jedi, the JSF was a standard issue item. These would have been produced en masse, since there were lots of younglings (growing up) who would later need them.

With the fall of the Jedi, the ships would have been either scrapped for parts (and possible cannibalized by the Empire), stolen (and eventually decay to the point of abandonment), or squirreled away (by collectors).

Darth Vader presents us with his old JSF (squirreled away)... and since Vader prefers the TIE/A, the JSF should be slightly inferior to it. The JSF is very sleek, and barring it being made from a SUPERIOR material... should be relatively low mass. 90k is a bit much imo - but hey, that is only my opinion. Obviously manueverability should be extreme, since a force sensitive pilot would have the reaction time to take advantage of the craft... A non FS pilot would probably crash the ship, due to the sensitivity of the controls.

The JSF would probably be the ancestral cousin of the TIE fighter... but I wouldnt say it is the father of the TIE.

The ARC-170... was a Republic Fighter. Based on Ep3, this was the standard Republic fighter (flying with JSF's against Grievous' battlegroup in the begining of Ep3). Given the nature of the craft, requiring 2 persons... and the overall size of the craft (lots of mass), it isnt surprising the Empire abandoned the idea. The manufacturer would have certainly noted this shift in ship philosophy and abandoned the seemingly "obsolete" chassis from their plants.

These craft would have slowly deteriorated over time, due to a lack of spare parts (out of production)...

Perhaps the Z-95 is the by product of the ARC... "Hey, let's steal that design, drop the tail gunner... fix the wings... yeah!"

Who knows =)

Obiously, I am not a Star Wars expert... =)

Clicky For You


Nice link man. No wonder I didn't see it before, its so tiny. =)

Jedi Starfighter (should be called "Jedi Interceptor"

and this

V-Wing

sorta made this

TIE Fighter


this

ARC-170

led to this

X-Wing