Airship (Generation 1)
"They will be close-watching the chutes and the streets. They will never think to look above their heads!"
— Toa Metru Matau, Enemies of Metru Nui
| Airship | |
| |
| Vehicle | |
| Manufacturer | Le-Matoran |
| Users | Matoran, Toa Metru (both formerly) |
| Function | Transport goods |
| Status | Out of use |
An Airship was a class of flying vehicle used in the Matoran Universe.
History
The Matoran of Metru Nui used Airships primarily to transport cargo. Like all forms of transport, they were based at the Moto-Hub in Le-Metru. Airships were built, maintained, and piloted by the Le-Matoran of Metru Nui. Until the Great Cataclysm, Airships were one of the primary methods of transportation in Metru Nui, along with the Protodermis Canals and the Chute network. Cargo usually included Rahi shipments to Onu-Metru, solid Protodermis blocks and tools to Po-Metru, and other bulk items to be carried to points around the city. Passenger Airships were never put into use because they are much slower than Chutes and Ussal carts.
Prior to the Great Cataclysm, travel via airship was strictly prohibited for ordinary Matoran without a supervisor's authorization. Airship pilots were highly respected because it could have taken years for them to master this complicated piloting system.
Toa Metru Vakama, Nokama and Matau once snuck aboard a cargo Airship taking off from Le-Metru during their search for Toa Mangai Lhikan, but also on board were several Vahki Nuurakh. Although the Toa managed to dispatch the Vahki, the Dark Hunters Nidhiki and Krekka soon attacked the vessel. Krekka was ejected mid-flight from the Airship using a teleportation Kanoka. With Nidhiki trapped under debris, the Toa departed from the vessel using Vakama's Kanoka Launcher and Matau's Aero Slicers.
The Visorak destroyed all Airships in Le-Metru when they invaded the city. As a result, the Toa Hordika and the Rahaga had to find the resources needed to build six Airships to carry all of the sleeping Matoran of Metru Nui through a rift in the Great Barrier and onward to Mata Nui. The Airships used to transport the Matoran Spheres to Mata Nui were melted down and used in the construction of the six Koro.
Cargo Hauler
A Cargo Hauler was a miniaturized robotic version of the standard Airship model. Produced in Le-Metru, these transports employed the same Kanoka-based lift technology as their Airship counterparts. They were commonly used in Ta-Metru and Onu-Metru to transport materials and Archives artifacts, respectively.[citation needed]
Features
Airships utilized a complicated system of Levitation and Increase Weight Kanoka Disks.[1] A Matoran pilot controlled pulleys that caused either the levitation or the weight increase Kanoka Disks to strike the Airship's framework, causing the Airship either to rise or to fall.[2] When the need arose to carry more cargo than one airship could manage, multiple airships could be tethered together by an umbilical control system, effectively allowing one pilot to operate as many airships as was needed.[3]
A portion of a transport Chute capped at both ends was built into the back of the Airship. It provided forward thrust when it let a small portion of the Liquid Protodermis that was under high pressure jet out from the back.
Appearances
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References
See also
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