ST Incom T-70: X-Wings in the ST

Looks great and reminds me of the 70s, it's the 'black gold' of the Incom X-wings:

 

Nice - I'm hearing a "boom chicka wow wow" theme when I picture that ship in flight wonder if it is Lando's?

 

I sure hope X-wings in the ST have a socket with a built-in astromech loading system underneath, like the N-1 was shown to have in TPM. That would allow them to be loaded without a crew/crane, which limits your options. Artoo got lucky that it was a soft landing dropping off the X-wing on Dagobah (until he got eaten/spit out), and two Force users to be able to lift him when it was time to leave... most other pilots would've had to leave the astromech with the ship.

 

Perhaps most R2 units have rockets now, and they don't need crew or cranes to load them into the fighters.

 

Good point, but that always seemed like a goofy idea to me. I've always hoped that somehow Artoo's flying in the PT would be officially stated as being possible due to him being a one-off with special features equipped. (Wookieepedia lists jet thrusters as one of many aftermarket options, rather than a standard feature.) It just doesn't seem practical to add a propulsion system to a machine already so packed full of needed equipment. Where is the fuel stored?

Seems like it would be a LOT easier to simply built a simple mechanical system into the bottom of an X-wing. For instance, make it spring-loaded so that when the astromech dismounts through the bottom, it cocks a spring that lifts it back up when it's time to go back in. That would minimize energy use (the opposite of having little rockets on the droid).

 

The heat from the rockets would damage the X-wing.

 

Possibly, unless they cut them off after they are in a good position to drop in. Having a hatch on the bottom of the ship would make sense Dak, but I see it as a structural weakness, and if this xwing is like the earlier model, the small cargo compartment is in that area.

 

No need for it to be a structural weakness, if the opening is surrounded by internal space frame and covered by retractable armor when it closes. Considering it's only open when landed, the armor could even fold out externally- you wouldn't need to consider aerodynamics (not that Star Wars usually does).

 

The problem is getting out. Launching rockets in a small enclosed space would seriously damage things.

 

Good point. The hull/exterior would probably be unaffected, but the astromech IS in close contact with a lot of electrical and mechanical systems in that socket.

 

As shown in previous films, R2 units can wiggle out of the socket. What they do afterwards wouldn't cause much damage.

 

I also had a mental image of an astromech being ejected similar to the en bloc clip in an empty Garand ("ping!"). After ejection, the astromech could switch on the thrusters. Sure would make for a bad day if the thrusters, failed, though...

 

They still can't get off the X-wing.

 

R2 ejected from the Eta-2, but they were much lower to the ground than an X wing is. Non functioning thrusters would cause a problem from that height. I guess time will tell how astromechs enter and exit the fighters.

They can. Whether or not they can take the damage is a different story if they lack thrusters.

 

Ah, so I guess that's where my thought came from! Thanks for refreshing my memory.

Thrusters are at least as important for controlling attitude as softening the landing, since not landing sqaure/perpendicular with the ground would be no bueno.

 

My headcanon:
Astromech sockets have "lifts" which can raise the droid out of the socket for easier access or eject it alongside the pilot if needed; but it's still a pain getting one down from a fighter if you end up away from your ground crew.
Most pilots would simply leave the droid in the fighter if they weren't in a full-service hangar. After all, astromechs make a good basic security system to watch the ship, and most aren't quite companions on adventures the way R2 is.
Astromechs all have small propulsion jets for zero-g maneuvering and repairs - accompanying spacecraft is their main purpose. They can tether themselves to an ejected pilot and give them at least a weak tug in the right direction; but R2 flying around in the prequels was painful, and that would be a rare mod that hopefully doesn't come up much.
Some ships (maybe including the new X-Wing) would have loading devices to make it more convenient for a single pilot to load or unload an astromech, but it's usually seen as an unnecessary luxury feature for pseudo-military sporting craft that would be launched solo from private hangars.

 

Good points, Abadacus. Jets on astromechs do make sense in space; less so within the context of planetary gravity, which was all we got to see in the movies (in RotS, Artoo maneuvered within the Invisible Hand's artificial gravity).

I still like the system I proposed

Spoiler

 

since Anakin likes tinkering with things, maybe let's assume he installed the jets on R2 himself.

 

The Wookieepedia article seemed to imply that, though it doesn't explicitly state it. (Not to mention Wookieepedia not actually being "official," though to a certain degree, who cares what's "official.")

 

I doubt Anakin had the time to do so, since his assignment protecting Padme was his first time seeing R2 and Padme for a decade.

 

Hopefully the new X-Wings won't make the bottom half of R2 units cease to exist the way the ETA-2's did.

 

Wow, who knew Star Wars tech included pocket dimensions for storage? XD

Guess that explains how a YT-1300 can carry 100 tons of cargo.

 

Wow, that´s a good one.

 

Was there ever an explanation given for that? I never thought to look into it.

Any other movie and I say it was a goof, not Star Wars.