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"Phaeton" Z-1800 Exoatmospheric Multirole Fighter (Halo)

The Z-1800 Exoatmospheric Multirole Fighter, colloquially known as the ‘Phaeton’ by members of the UNSC Navy and Marine Corps, is a class of Forerunner weapon-ship employed in a role analogous to a VTOL gunship. These craft were first encountered by the UNSC sometime after the Requiem Campaign in February 2558, being piloted by Forerunner Prometheans to repel Jul 'Mdama’s Covenant forces on Meridian.

During the Forerunner-Flood War the Prometheans deployed Phaetons to combat the Flood as air support, piloted by a single soldier. Modest wings of Phaetons were also deployed alongside Guardian constructs to defend them against rebellious forces.

Almost all Forerunner created Phaetons were destroyed by the time the Halo Array was fired in 100,000 BCE. Production was resumed in October 2558 when the human AI Cortana assumed control of the Prometheans, deploying new units on Kamchatka, Meridian, Genesis, and Nuusra.

Without firm confirmation, the Office of Naval Intelligence believe that the origins of the Covenant Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft, better known as the Banshee, may have been inspired and even based off recovered knowledge of the fighters.


Authors Note: The following technical specifications and observations were taken from fighters produced in 2558 by Prometheans under the command of AI Cortana. The UNSC has yet to discover and recover samples from those created by actual Forerunners during the war with the Flood, with historical evidence in other classified reports suggesting they had been totally exhausted by the time the Halo Array was fired.

Non-Combat Features

• Atmospheric and Exoatmospheric-rated thrusters
  
• Combined Logistics and Life Support System
  
• Comprehensive Reactor System
  
• Two Camera Units - Front and Docking
  
• Distress Beacon
  
• Spotlight

Weapon & Defence Systems

• X3 Energy Shield Generators
  
• X1 ‘Hard Light Turret’ (Azimuth Turret w/ AI)
  
• X2 Limited Capacity Rocket Launchers

Disadvantages

• Propulsion system is not rated for Slipspace.
  
• During direct atmospheric ejection and reinsertion the gyroscopic systems can malfunction (Ref. Bugs).
  
• Post-Forerunner production models are slower than original models.
  
• Post-Forerunner production models lack afterburners.

Cockpit

• Control Unit - Transfers you to full control of the Phaeton.
  
• Main Hatch - Opens and closes the main hatch.

Control Unit

• Control Clock - Reboots the engine management system.
  
• Rockets - Fires 2 rockets at a time.
  
• Turret - Toggles turret.
  
• Front Camera - Views the main flight camera.
  
• Parking Camera - Views the connector docking camera.
  
• Spotlight - Toggles front spotlight.
  
• Connector - Toggles the connector lock.

Q: Why does the Phaeton need so many mods?
A: Both for practical and aesthetic reasons the Phaeton could not realistically recreated with just vanilla parts, especially with the angled body and floating rear engines.

Q: It’s too Large / Small / Disproportional compared to the actual Phaeton in the games!
A: It is very difficult to recreate a ship from another source because of the grid system that Space Engineers uses. I feel that this was the closest approximation I could achieve.

Q: Why does the ship drift in-atmosphere when it should just be hovering?
A: This is a limitation of Whip's Rotor Thruster Manager and cannot be fixed.

Q: The Phaeton doesn't have the boost function it does in the games!
A: This is because of both space constraints in the hull and how Whip's Rotor Thruster Manager works.

Q: It’s too slow / heavy / overpowered / underpowered / expensive to build!
A: I never intended the Phaeton to be a practical build for survival. It is mainly eye-candy, though it could be also used for dogfighting and machinima. You're free to modify it to solve these issues.

Q: Will you make a Helios variation?
A: No. Repaint it yourself.

Q: Can I have your Gamertag / play Halo 5 or MCC with you?
A: No. I no longer play Halo since selling my 360, except the occasional game of Halo: Online on PC. I never played Halo 5 either.


No Control of Gyroscopes / Constant Spinning

This is a issue with moving parts in Space Engineers, often occurring when the Phaeton is leaving atmosphere, attempting to take off directly from the ground or exceeding ~800 m/s while using a speed limit mod. This can be fixed by removing and replacing a single armor block on the front section of the ship.


Bungie for creating the Halo franchise.
343 Industries for creating the Phaeton and maintaining the Halo franchise.
For all the modders to create and maintain the mods used.
Whiplash141 for his Rotor Management Script. http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=757123653