Michar-Duuce Heavy Fighter

Michar-Duuce produced many of the Venrock air forces fighters and transports during the Great War. They were a civilian aircraft supplier before the war, and were amalgamated into the Concentric Semi-Circle Corporation after the conflict concluded.

The MD HF 4 was the fourth heavy fighter fielded by the
Venrock air force, the first two being prop-powered. It's a fast, well armed and armored ground and airship-launchable fighter, capable of defeating any Vulpesant aircraft it faced during the war. The aircraft-carrier launchable variant wasn't introduced till near the end of the war, and was equipped with rocket-bottles to assist in take-off. It was armed with four "half-lob" machine guns and hardpoints for two "thirty-lob" bombs and up to twelve "seven-lob" rockets. Its cockpit was equipped with a self-freeing ejection seat, which was the first used on any Venrock fighter, and was also heated for the comfort of the cold-blooded pilot.

The fighter was powered by a hybrid rocket turbine, which inhaled air that cooled water flowing through coils within the turbine. This water was then sprayed in bursts into a catalytic chamber where it would explode into steam, propelling the vehicle. The waters reaction was much more vigorous at colder temperatures, so the fighter saw much action near the poles and at high altitudes. With an endurance of over six hours, this fighter was a favorite of long distance raids and bomber escort missions.

When launching from the ground, the fighter would use it's main landing gear, which would then tuck up into recesses between the wings and fuselage. The front landing gear would fold against the hull, but was prone to damage due to excessive vibration. This was rectified in the Mark 3 model of the aircraft, with gear that folded away completely. Due to the possibility of the hybrid rocket's nozzle hitting the runway on take off or landing, it was protected by a pair of skid plates to prevent damage.