Vertibird

The VB-02 VTOL craft, codenamed Vertibird, is a pre-War military multipurpose helicopter, extensively used by the Enclave in post-War America. It has a heavily armored fuselage and can be outfitted with a variety of offensive weapons and defensive countermeasures, the most common being a Gatling Laser and a missile rack.

It was still in prototype phase when the Holocaust of 2077 struck, preventing it from entering full military service (scheduled for 2085). However, aircraft that was produced was seized by Enclave members and loyalists and either transferred to their bases or secured in shelters.

Two models of the craft used by the Enclave - a less combat oriented version with a glass canopy, six legs and a large cargo bay and a dedicated gunship version with a more heavily armoured hull, four retractable landing struts and an impressive air maneuverability.

Events related to the Vertibird
In 2241 one of them crashed near the trapper town of Klamath, and was the first sign of the Enclave encountered by the Chosen One. The Chosen One later stole the Vertibird Plans from the Navarro base, but it is not certain whether he gave them to the Brotherhood of Steel, the Shi, or simply kept them.

Design background
The Vertibird is a lateral twin-rotor (non-synchronized) helicopter design. An actual experimental prototype for this type of aircraft was the Platt-LePage XR-1/XR-1A tested by the US Army in the 1940's. Others included the German Fa 223 and the McDonnell XHJD-1 "Whirlaway".

The XR-1 was the first American military helicopter to takeoff and hover with good control, but the lateral design was generally plagued by significant vibration and control problems when in motion. Synchronized lateral rotor aircraft like the Kellett XR-10 worked better, but the concept was eventually abandoned in favor of the tandem (fore-aft) twin-rotor configuration that is in use today (e.g. the Chinook). In Fallout 3, closer inspection has revealed that they are indeed tilt-rotor craft.

The name "Vertibird" is the trademark for a toy helicopter playset popular in the 70's. Some design aspects of the unusual aircraft appear to be inspired by that hovering insect, the dragonfly. For example, the six legged landing gear and twin bulges in the forward fuselage.

Random Vertibird landing encounter
In Fallout 3, at some stage of the game, Vertibird landing encounters will start to appear. Occurrence of this event seems to be random. It can occur either in the Washington DC or on the Capital Wasteland. If you are in exterior place (everywhere from where you can use Fast Travel), Vertibird will arrive from random direction, land on the ground near your position and deploy up to 3 Enclave soldiers equipped with either Enclave Advanced Power Armor Mark II or Tesla Armor and carry Plasma Rifles or Laser Rifles. Of course, they are hostile to you. If they don't see you, they will simply start patrolling area and attack anybody around.

Note: If you have enough firepower, you can destroy the Vertibird. (The Fat Man performs quite nicely, or if you have the Experimental MIRV and lots of ammo, try it. The Gatling Laser also works nicely). Even if the troops have disembarked when the vertibird is destroyed, the resulting explosion will kill them if they are close enough.

Appearances in games
Vertibirds appear in Fallout 2 and Fallout 3.