Vehicle power is provided by a Magneto Hydrodynamic (MHD) power plant in combination with a rechargeable energy cell. Two power sources are provided as total power plant failure usually means a serious crash with an air vehicle. In the event of one power source failing the other takes over automatically, power is dropped to a minimum, and an alarm sounds.
An MHD power plant is probably the most efficient choice of power plant in terms of cost, mass and fuel consumption. Its main contender, the Fuel Cell, is about a third more fuel efficient and a similar price, but weighs more and occupies more space, which has a knock on effect on vehicle design. The other contenders NPU and RTG cost too much for a private vehicle (over KCr 20 whereas MHD and Fuel Cell power plants cost around KCr 2).
The rechargeable energy (rE) cell is used to provide "instant response" colour, as well as topping off the power demand and providing backup power. A TL10 rE cell provides 100 kwh of stored energy. At Cr 2000 the energy cell is quite an expensive backup option, but an energy storage medium seems an obvious all round choice. The energy cell is often used as the primary power source on short journeys to conserve fuel, though for safety it is advised to also keep the MHD running at minimum output at all times.
The MHD uses hydrogen fuel combined with atmospheric oxygen to produce energy with a water exhaust (H2O). In a non-oxygen atmosphere oxygen must be carried and endurance is reduced by a third (or extra tank modules should be added).
Each tank module costs Cr 3.3 to refill with Hydrogen or Oxygen under VE2 rules. Endurance is designed for around 8 hours at max acceleration/speed. Cruising at half speed quarters the fuel requirement and therefore quadruples the endurance or doubles the range.
Contragravity lift is provided with 100% redundancy, so that in the event of 50% of the CG units failing the craft can still fly. Because of this the power drain figures only include half of the CG power rating.
An additional safety feature is the use of lifting-body hulls. This reduces the stall speed without CG and makes a dead stick landing survivable. Vehicles are advised to fly faster than their unpowered stall speed whenever practical.
Avionics are one of the most expensive parts of the craft. The Basic Avionics option from GVDS is quite expensive for a small craft (over KCr 20). Using the Bare Bones Avionics option from GTS would save about 20 KCr but means the pilot has to do all the hard work as there is no autopilot and limited sensors. A compromise option is shown in the modules below.
All seats include 200 pounds of mass for the crew member or passenger.
All craft are designed with GTS/GVDS with the addition of the new modules below. Some are non-standard sizes (for GVDS) but represent the most likely sizes required for small vehicles.