Pirate Fighter

Of all the planes traversing the skies, the sight of a squadron of CT-37 fighters is enough to send most pilots scrambling for the controls. Designed and developed as combat aircraft for the military, the CT-37 instead ended up in the hands of pirates and thieves and is now — with the exception of the Iron Vulture — the most widely-recognized symbol of the dreaded Air Pirates of Don Karnage.

CT-37s — more commonly known as "pirate fighters" — utilize a biplane wing configuration, the only fighter plane to do so since the bygone fighters of the Great War period. Instead of a raised-wing design, the wings are attached to the sides of the fighter plane and connected by metal braces to stabilize them.

Not equipped with landing gear, the CT-37 instead uses pontoons mounted on the bottom of each wing brace. While this enables the fighter to make water landings, the pontoons tend to gather momentum during rapid maneuvers, making it difficult for the pilot to steer his plane at times. In addition, the rocker-like shape of the pontoon underside causes the plane to flip over during landing if the nose is too far forward. Several rookie pilots have wound up with their noses in the dirt by forgetting to pull back on the stick after touching down.

The CT-37 has a standard tail assembly, albeit with an unusually large rudder. This design lets the pilot side-slip (turn using the rudder only) very quickly, making complicated maneuvers possible. Of course, one must be careful when using such a powerful rudder, as the slightest overcorrection can put the plane in an uncontrolled spinning dive.

Working in tandem, these wing surfaces give the fighter amazing maneuverability rivaling that of even Khan’s vaunted Panther fighter/interceptors. It takes a skilled pilot and an equally nimble plane to out-fly a CT-37. However, like all combat aircraft, the CT-37 is only as effective as the person who flies it, and there are not many pilots who can successfully get the most out of their planes. Air pirates are typically undertrained and unpolished flyers, but their ferocity in combat makes the pirate fighter a deadly opponent for any pilot to face. Today, CT-37 fighters are found only among Don Karnage's Air Pirates, and no other parties — civilian or otherwise — are known to operate or maintain these planes.

Except for their drab blue and brown color schemes, pirate CT-37s are quite different than they were when first built. Several have new components, many have replaced or salvaged parts in them, all have had something done to the controls and instruments, and a select few have been completely overhauled — although operations of this degree are a luxury to the parts-hungry Pirates.

Pirate fighters are used almost constantly in shipping raids and combat with air patrol planes. As a result, CT-37s have the lowest survival rate of any one-man aircraft in service. Although several planes a month are lost to gunfire, crashes, or ordinary wear and tear, the Air Pirates seem to have an endless supply of them — at least enough at any one time for each pirate to use. This suggests that the pirates may actually construct their own CT-37s from scratch, or simply salvage enough parts from the wrecks to rebuild them.

Each pirate to some extent personalizes the plane he rides in. While each pirate-modified CT-37 carries illegal radio equipment, other custom features can also be incorporated. Some pirates install homemade ejection seats; others slap makeshift bomb racks on the underside of their planes. Very few pirates add a custom paint job to their planes, often because they lack sufficient rank to do so.

A group of pirate fighters grounded for repairs. Notice the pontoons have been replaced with landing gear.

The most important modifications, however, are those done to the weapons. Originally the CT-37s came standard equipped with two 20-millimeter cannons mounted on the wing stabilizers. Observers claim that the guns on the fighters have not been replaced, but they have been modified to use various types of ammunition — an important innovation, since the pirates’ raids seldom provide them with the one unique type of ammo the guns originally required.

	Don Karnage's personal air fighter, the Tri-Wing Terror.

The most interesting modification involves adding a third pair of wings to the fighter. This results in the CT-37 Triplane, an extremely rare variant of the CT-37. This version of the fighter is very uncommon — in fact, the only known pirate triplane in existence is the personal aircraft of Captain Don Karnage, with four extra cannons added for increased firepower.

In spite of all its superior attributes, the CT-37 has its share of flaws, the biggest of which lies in the construction of the plane itself. The engine, fuel tank, and cockpit are all packed into the main fuselage, making a rather large portion of the fighter especially vulnerable to attack. With the key components so close to each other, a few well-placed hits up the belly can send the CT-37 down in flames.

	CT-37s experiencing engine problems. Steep climbs cause the fighter's engine to stall.

Also, the plane's engine has a critical fault. A Viper Turbo-1 powerplant, the engine performs well enough during normal flight, but steep climbs have some unknown effect on the fuel manifold and air intakes, causing the engine to stall in midair. Unless the fighter was flying at a high altitude, there usually isn't enough time for the engine to restart before the plane hits the deck.

In spite of these aforementioned limitations, the CT-37 fighter in the hands of the Air Pirates remains nearly unequaled in the air.