VB01 Vertibird

VB-01 Vertibird VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) is a multipurpose tiltwing aircraft developed by the United States military for mainly transporting troops. It is the forerunner of the VB-02 Vertibird and was used extensively on the home front prior to the Great War.

Operators

 * United States Army: The principal operator of the pre-War production run of VB-01 Vertibirds.
 * Brotherhood of Steel: Following the reclamation of a fleet of Vertibirds and the construction of The Prydwen, the Brotherhood under Elder Arthur Maxson is the sole known post-War operator of Vertibirds. Some units captured from the Brotherhood may be used by other factions.

Design
The Vertibird has a distinctive design, resembling a large dragonfly. It is a double rotor assembly, with one proprotor and transmission nacelle mounted on each wingtip. For takeoff and landing, it typically operates as a helicopter with the nacelles vertical and rotors horizontal. Once airborne, the nacelles rotate forward 90° in several seconds for horizontal flight, converting the Vertibird to a more fuel efficient, higher speed turboprop aircraft. Rotor blades and the wings themselves can be collapsed along the main fuselage for storage or retrieval by specialized apparatus, such as The Prydwen's docking arms.

The main fuselage is armored, providing protection against small arms. Heavier munitions have no trouble defeating the armor. Notably, it lacks any kind of shielding against electromagnetic pulse radiation. As such, EMP discharges can and will fry the electronics of a VB-01 and send it plummeting to the ground. The cabin is cramped, as the primary power plant is mounted inside the fuselage itself alongside fuel storage. The default configuration of the Vertibird includes two pilot seats, a single seat for a passenger, and standing space for troops in power armor, as well as a door gunner manning a minigun on a fixed mount. The cabin can easily be used to transport goods, of course, easily capable of ferrying three T-60 power armor units for repairs over extended distances.

The Vertibird has a standard, analog cockpit designed for two pilots in a side-by-side seating configuration, with instrumentation placed in a forward-mounted control console and two sets of conventional flight controls below. The cockpit is enclosed by a large glass canopy, allowing excellent visibility while in flight or in combat operations. The crew consists of two pilots, although it can be reliably flown by a single pilot. A number of Vertibirds were converted into fully automated, autonomous drones, creating Vertibots.

The Vertibird has two weapon hardpoints located below the cockpit, usually fitted with a pair of 5mm machine guns for strafing enemy positions. The Vertibird design is efficient, but not without its disadvantages. Rotor failures effectively turn it into a plummeting coffin; such was the case with Daisy Whitman's Vertibird, which crashed near Klamath around 2241.

Characteristics
Prior to the arrival of the Brotherhood in the Commonwealth, Vertibirds are exclusively found as wreckage, usually in military areas or crash sites. One fully working Vertibird is used in the pre-War section of the game to broadcast an evacuation notice and fly select citizens out of Sanctuary Hills.

After the arrival of the Brotherhood, Vertibirds become a common sight in the wasteland, usually flying combat patrols and attacking hostile creatures, such as raiders or super mutants. These carry a pair of Knights in power armor, who deploy by jumping out of a hovering Vertibird and attacking the enemy, while the gunship remains on location providing fire support from its door gunner. The Vertibirds are also used prominently in quests, such as Shadow of Steel or Show No Mercy. A captured Vertibird is used by the Railroad to infiltrate The Prydwen during Rockets' Red Glare.

Vertibirds have four grades of difficulty and power and scale with the player's level. Obviously, none of them can be attacked by melee companions, they cannot also be paralyzed, disarmed, or disintegrated.

Appearances in games
VB-01 Vertibirds appear in Fallout 4 and Fallout 76.