X-Men's Helicopter Technology

The X-Men have owned two helicopters to date. These helicopters were used by the X-Men for fast travel in the Tri-State area (south-eastern New York, northern New Jersey, and eastern Connecticut) where the X-Van would be inappropriate or too slow.

The first helicopter started its operational life as a Bell-412 corporate helicopter owned by Worthington Industries and "appropriated" by Warren K. Worthington III for the X-Men's use. Because they didn't intend for the helicopter to provide anything besides basic transportation, it was unaltered from its original factory specifications, with the exception of a new coat of paint with the X-Men's logo on the side. This helicopter served the X-Men faithfully for several months before being destroyed in a confrontation with Magneto.

The X-Men's current helicopter, affectionately called the X-Copter, is built upon similar lines. The biggest changes to the airframe include adding additional non-ferrous armor and replacing as much metal in the helicopter as possible with non-ferrous metals (such as aluminum) and non-metal composites, to the point where only the engines contain any metal at all. The X-Copter was built by Bell utilizing special Stark Industries and Worthington Industries equipment. The X-Copter has also added a special electronic warfare sensor pod on the nose.

Bell has officially designated the new X-Copter as the 412-X, and is pitching it to the US Army and Marine Corps as the UH-1X.

First Post-Reboot Appearance: UNCANNY X-MEN #

Front Hull:

[1-2] Armor, Advanced Metallic Laminate; DR 40, $40K

[3] Control Room; C4 computer, Comm/Sensor 3, 1 Control Stations, $20K

[4] Tactical Sensor Array; Comm/Sensor 4, $100K

[5-6] Passenger Seating; 2 seats, $60K

Central Hull:

[1-2] Armor, Advanced Metallic Laminate; DR 40, $40K

[3!] Helicopter Rotor; $100K

[4] Power Plant, Gas Turbine; 2PP, $30K

[5-6, core] Passenger Seating; 3 seats, $90K

Rear Hull:

[1-2] Armor, Advanced Metallic Laminate; DR 40, $40K

[3-6, core] Passenger Seating; 5 seats, $150K

Design Features:

Hardened Armor; $120K

NBC Filters Only; x1.5 seats

PILOTING (HELICOPTOR)
TL	Vehicle	ST/HP	Hnd/SR	HT	Move	LWt	Load	SM	Occ	DR	Range	Cost	Notes
9	X-Men's Helicopter	150	+0/4	12	8/100	10	1.6	+6	1+15S	40	800	$7.9M	[1]

Notes:

[1] Price is that of a one of a kind prototype; mass-production price is $790K

Design Notes:

1. The Bell 412 has a fuselage that is 43 feet long and 15 feet high (can't find a width figure for the 412, but the Bell 212 it was based on has a fuselage width of 8 feet 7 inches), a maximum takeoff weight of 5.4 tons and an empty weight of 3 tons, and can carry 13 passengers with 2 pilots. This technically makes it an SM +6 craft by size alone (SM +5 based on length, and being an "elongated box" puts it to SM +6), but with a mass matching what would be SM +4 or maybe even SM +3 using the scale shown in Spaceships. I have chosen then to build the X-Copter according to the SM +4 mass, but with better armor and slightly increased performance (due to differences between Spaceships and reality) and a listed SM matching the size.

2. I toyed with the possibility of adding fuel tanks, but ended up with a helicopter that could either go from New York City to Los Angeles (one tank) or circumnavigate the globe (two tanks) without refueling. The default gas turbine from Pyramid #3/34: Alternate GURPS comes with a small fuel tank already built in.

3. I wasn't able to find actual acceleration figures for the Bell 412, so I'm unsure as to whether the first number under Move is valid or not.