UC Remote Weaponry

[AU_Gundam MK II]

Can the funnels of the Qubeley, Sazabi, and Nu Gundam be used in Earth?

[Wingnut]

They could, but there would be no chance of them returning to the suit after one use and their range would be drastically cut short as there is both gravity and air resistance to slow the weapon down and make it burn up its already finite supply of fuel.

[HalfDemonInuyasha]

Yeah, the only time I recall funnels being used on Earth was the Qubeley Mark II vs. Psyco Gundam Mark II in ZZ Gundam. (normal funnels and reflector bits respectively)...though there's no telling if they can return since, IIRC, all of each of them were destroyed.

[OpMegs]

Essentially, any kind of UC remote weaponry would be able to operate on Earth. After all, strap enough rocket fuel on a brick and it can fly so long as the fuel holds out to keep gravity from reasserting its pull. In a way, it's similar to the Gouf Flight Types from the OYW. They all had the aerodynamics of bricks or worse, so their flight time was severely limited. While funnels could, presumably, make due on less propellant and thus have an extended operational time, there's no possible way they could be recovered, as the kind of intricate maneuvering required to re-dock them would only be possible in zero-G.

Also, quite a bit of combat funnel effectiveness would be lost by operating them in an atmosphere. The funnels' thrusters work best in zero-G where a split second of thrust can send them flying in a completely different direction on momentum alone(regardless if they're animated more as guided missiles with guns strapped on). In an atmosphere, they'd have to burn an amount of propellant that's greater by an order of magnitude to make the wide sloping turn necessary to change directions. Remember how maneuverable the Zeong was in a turn without its legs? It's just the same problem, writ small.

[Genocide]

While funnels could, presumably, make due on less propellant and thus have an extended operational time, there's no possible way they could be recovered, as the kind of intricate maneuvering required to re-dock them would only be possible in zero-G.

You know, there's nothing to say remote weapons can only be recovered in zero-G, especially since they are shown in the animation to be just as maneuverable in either scenerio (ie, reflector bits gracefully intercepting beams). They are, afterall, controlled by thought patterns, and certainly if mobile suits themselves can easily adapt between space and atmospheric use, there should be little complication with funnels in that regard. Propellent supply would be a problem, however - although for bits and Fin Funnels it might be less of an issue since their internal reactors allow fuel to be burned more efficiently. On the other hand, remote weapons like the Fin Funnels can't be refueled by the mobile suit, so they would definitely be of more use in space. Regardless, I certainly wouldn't put them in the same category as Gouf Flight Types, even for comparison.

Personally, I'm a bit surprised they never outfitted any bit weapons with thermonuclear jet engines, since that would allow them to operate theoretically forever in the atmosphere. Then again, I guess the majority of UC conflicts take place in space anyway.

[saneman]

Personally, I'm a bit surprised they never outfitted any bit weapons with thermonuclear jet engines, since that would allow them to operate theoretically forever in the atmosphere. Then again, I guess the majority of UC conflicts take place in space anyway.

thermonuclear jet engines would be too large to fit in, maybe?

[supperrfreek]

I think that it would be very hard to run the funnels based on rocket fuel in earth's atmoshpere. it would have to be based off some sort of jet that charges everytime it comes in contact with the mobile suit.