Propulsion Methods

Sail

These are elegant light airships propelled primarily by air currents. These airships have long, sleek missile-like bodies decked out with sails. The sails are arranged around the body with masts on the dorsal, ventral, port, and starboard sides. They are designed to catch as much air as possible and also are designed to be moved from the controls on the bridge.

These airships float entirely on displacement for lift, some utilize vacuum balloons for extra lift. They often have auxiliary propulsion systems for emergency use, typically propellers.

These craft are slower than the powered aircraft, though they are very cost efficient. Typically, sail powered airships are used as pleasure craft, such as yachts or cruiseliners. There are a few commercial enterprises which use them for cargo transportation, or use a combination sail and propellers.

Propeller

Propeller-driven aircraft use either an electric engine or a combustion engine using gelled fuel and oxygen, similar to the turborocket engines. Propellers provide a decent amount of thrust and are reliable and cheap to maintain. They are not as efficient as rocket propelled aircraft, though.

Due to the uncomplicated design and versatility of the propeller-driven aircraft, these are very popular for general civilian use. They are common for both lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air aircraft. Designs tend to be streamlined with stubby variable geometry wings. Racing designs often incorporate ducted fans embedded in the main body or on nacelles. The wings are used solely for maneuvering. 

Propellers mounted on the top of the craft could be used for vertical lift-off and landing aircraft. These types of designs are common for taxis and various types of transports.

Turborocket

Chemically propelled aircraft are by far the fastest and most powerful aircraft on Venus. Nothing else can match the efficiency of the thrust-to-weight ratio of chemically powered aircraft. They are, however, limits in their use. Because of the composition of the atmosphere of Venus, there is very little oxygen that can be used for combustion. Unlike jets on Earth which use the oxygen in the atmosphere to for reaction, aircraft on Venus need to take their own oxygen with them. Aircraft carry on them an oxygenated gel mixture and a high-octane gel fuel, which are mixed to produce a chemical reaction.

Due to the high thrust-to-weight ratio, chemical rockets are often used to travel into Venus orbit or to connect with the orbital sky-hooks. Racing rockets can often go to the edge of the atmosphere, most races have ceilings and floors designating the course limits.

The engines are more complicated to build and maintain than the propeller engines and the fuel is more expensive as well. Chemically propelled aircraft as a result are typically used for commerce, defense or racing.

The racing aircraft are narrow delta-shaped craft wing variable geometry wings. The propeller driven racing craft and rocket aircraft look similar to one another.

Aircraft Racing

Starting in the 22nd century, racing aircraft began to gain popularity, the first ones were built by enthusiasts who wished to show off their engineering skills and to have some fun. Companies which manufactured aircraft began to cater to this growing market and by the mid-23rd century, it became one of the most popular sports on the planet.

There are a number of different regattas and races that take place across the world. Some are short sprints while others are marathons that circle Venus itself.

Transportation

Super-haulers

Superhaulers are large airships designed to move large cargo loads between cities or from drop sites to cities. These are long, modular airships made up of cells along a superstructure. The individual cells are composed of a circular envelope filled with a lifting gas, usually nitrogen,sometimes mixed with other gasses lighter than CO2. The central section is where containers are carried. The first module is where the control unit is located and cargo is loaded and unloaded from this section.

Super-haulers are usually not manned, rather, they are controlled remotely and they have onboard AIs. They typically use banks of propellers lining their sides for propulsion, though sometimes they use sails.

Inter-city Haulers

These are smaller airships and specialize in carrying smaller loads. They follow the same basic design philosophy as super-haulers except that they have a much smaller storage capacity. They are more often crewed, usually a pair of pilots. 

Taxis

Taxis are propeller-driven aircraft and they typically operate in and around cities or larger airships. Designs can vary, but they typically have multiple propellers to allow for vertical lift-off and landing. Most commercial models can seat four to ten occupants, but there are larger models that can seat more people. Most are fully automated, though they can be piloted manually in case of an emergency.

Cruiseliners

Cruiseliners are large airships primarily used for pleasure cruises. Designs can vary, as well as size. Some can carry upwards of several thousand passengers. People enjoy taking cruiseliners for vacations or on special occasions. They will typically use a combination of propeller and turborocket propulsion.

Yachts

Yachts are a popular form of transportation on Venus. Many people own yachts of varying size and expense. On the lower-end, yachts can be simple airships capable of holding only a few people. The most expensive can be hundreds of feet long and have sizable crews. Designs can vary greatly, and propulsion can vary as well. Some popular designs include long single-hulls, catamarans and trimarans.

Some people decide to live on yachts rather than in cities. They feel like this offers them more freedom and mobility. In some areas, more people live on yachts than in cities, such as Concordia. 

Long Range Passenger Transportation

These are passenger transports that are larger than taxis and have a longer range. Typically, these travel between cities that are more distant from one another. They usually have powerful turborocket engines.

Space Plane

Space planes used to bring people up into orbit. The space plane itself is carried by a first-stage tender, which is needed to bring it up to speed. After it gets up to speed, the space plane separates from the tender and then flies under its more powerful rocket engine. It will then connect with a skyhook that will take it up to orbit. 

Military Aircraft

Carriers

Carriers are the backbone of most professional military organizations on Venus. These carry drones and can act as forward operating bases. The larger ones carry relatively large crews, which can include drone operators and soldiers who can board other aircraft. These are often shaped like large flying wings and are propelled using powerful turborocket engines The smaller ones are unmanned, lighter-than-air airships and carry drones in a gondola. Those drones are operated remotely. 

Drones

Drones can be used for a variety of applications, including surveillance and combat. Most aerial combat on Venus is done by drones. These are light and maneuverable unmanned aircraft. Combat drones are often armed with missiles and lasers for offense. Some simpler drones are equipped only with explosives and launch kamikaze attacks. For defense, they often use their lasers, some are armed with guns as well. They also use chaff and flares to distract hostile forces, and some have electronic warfare (EW) suites as well. 

Sting Ships

Sting ships are relatively small manned combat aircraft, typically the crew will be between one and five. These aircraft are typically armed with missiles and carry a few drones of their own. They can operate independently, in squads or with carriers. These are versatile combat aircraft and will engage in direct combat themselves. They are less maneuverable than drones, but their versatility makes up for that.

Troop Transports

These are VTOL aircraft that can transport troops and boarding drones. They are typically used only for short range, such as boarding another aircraft or a nearby city. Some are simply taxis, but larger models can have longer ranges and carry more troops and drones. Carriers will often carry troop transports.

Angel Mecha

These are light mecha suits that are capable of powered individual flight in the atmosphere of Venus. There is a rocket pack on the user’s back, which powers flight, and retractable wings that are fitted to the user’s arms during flight. The wings can be retracted and stowed away when not in use. Armaments might include man-portable missiles, lasers and HVEM rifles.

Sub-orbitals

A sub-orbital is a space plane drone. The space plane is not designed to achieve orbit, rather, it skims on the edge of space. It is launched in the same way that a space plane is launched, using a first stage tender and then launching from there. It can be deployed anywhere on Venus in just a few hours. Sub-orbitals are armed with powerful lasers and a complement of drones. Due to their speed, they are a powerful weapon and only the Archipelago Sky Guard can afford to own and use them.