They never said that it was the most advanced fighter in the galaxy, and it’s entirely possible that they designed the things to handle alot like the T-33 (or whatever it was that Luke flew on Jerkwater) because being the rebellion, they weren’t going to have lots of opportunities to train their pilots before they sent them into combat. So if they had a craft which was similar to something that prospective pilots had been flying for years, they could simply limit their training to: “Here’s your targeting computer and if you push this button, the laser thingie goes kerblewie!”
Well, I never said Independence Day was a sensible movie–they brought an alien race to its knees with only a Macintosh computer, fer cryin’ out loud.
And I liked Tuckerfan’s response.
Look for him on Hoth.
It was made in 1980: computers weren’t quite up to that yet. They could have made glowing blue lines all over his body though: that would have been cool.
I was always under the impression that the X-Wing was a superior fighter compared to the TIE fighters (which for all practical purposes is the relevant ‘galaxy’ of spacecraft).
Either way, you are probably right.
Deleted scene:
Flight Instructor: “Look…You space-monkeys are cheaper then droids so don’t touch anything, let the R2 unit pilot the ship and press this red button when the targeting computer tells you to…oh yeah and may the force be with you, meat-sack”
According to the EU, no, Lando was not ever a military man that I know of. Now, Han, he was in the military - and I think you know which one. Did’t work out though, so he jumped ship and tyook Chewie with him. Lando was a pal of his later on, and he won the Falcon from Lando in a game of Sabacc (like Poker, only the hand-victory conditions can change every round!).
Well, yes and no. Its not an on/of proposition. The X-Wing has a serious advantage in firepower and it comes with decent shields - which saved Luke and Wedge in that fight. The Tie fighter, on the other hand, is built for maximum manuverability and raw speed, and you saw that a good hit from it would easily trash the X-Wing anyway. In the hands of a really good pilot, the Tie is a superior dogfighter.
Now, after the battle of Yavin (the first movie) the Alliance picked up a a lot of new recruits and a lot of new funding, and they spread throughout the outer reaches of the galaxy. They starte using the X-Wings and the faster A-Wings (seen in RotJ) to prey on Imperial shipping like pirates. They used the X-Wing’s superior firepower to take out Tie’s and the A-Wing’s speed for hit-and-run tactics.
About this time, the Empire, getting tiured of this crap, introduces the Tie Interceptor. It doesn’t have shields, but they can be mass-produced and they are a match for the X-Wing in every other way. Awesome ship.
The Y-Wing seen inthe movie is fairly old. That model was in use during the Clone Wars. Another Clone Wars model was the Z-95 headhunter, which was redesigned to make the X-Wing. We may or may not see those ships in the upcoming flick, though, since we (a) don’t know if there will be any huge space battles, and (b) those weren’t the only fighters around, anyway.
[nerd]
T-16
[/nerd]
Plus wasn’t he a pilot during the Vietnam War? I thought that was mentioned in passing. Probably prior to the aliens probing his backside, and his becoming a crop dusting drunk.
Not that it matters- The movie almost requires you to turn off your brain.
Yeah, he was 'nam jet fighter.
The “Battle of Tanaab” was an event where Lando helped a planet with no military presence fend off a pirate raid. It made him some-what famous.
Psychopachik Vampire
Entirely correct. Note that you can see Luke playing with a T-33 model in the beginning of the movie, in the garage. They share a cockpit, and Luke can shoot from his. “Bulls-eye Womp-rats.”
Furthermore, it’s more that X-Wings don’t handle as well, but have shields. They’re a bit tougher, too. Just TIEs are cheaper.
Incom was the company that manufactured the X-Wing, Z-95 Headhunter, and the T-16 Skyhopper that Luke owned back on the moisture farm. It makes sense that they would all be quite similar.
Perhaps we’re mistaken in thinking of starfighters as being like our jetfighters.
Perhaps it would be more akin to our automobiles. (After all, this is an advanced spacefaring civilization.)
Thus, if I could drive a Chevy Cavalier, I could also probably drive a Winston Cup car. The handling, speed, and acceleration just might be a tad different from model to model.
Well, prior to the Battle of Yavin (I think the events of the movie take place over a few weeks), they probably had sims that Luke could work in before going into battle.
And neither Han nor Lando were in the Corellian military. Han himself WAS in the Imperial Navy, but was kicked out after rescueing a Wookiee slave-Chewie. That’s why Chewie has a life debt with Han.
It might have been in the book, but I could swear that before the battle of Yavin a commander told Luke that they would handle a lot like the T-16 he flew at home, plus he, and Biggs, used to hunt wombats with it, and they are not more than two meters across.
As I understand it, A New Hope takes place over only a few days. Apparently there’s a rule of thumb that a hyperspace journey always takes approximately 24 hours.
This was based on research one of Dark Horse Comics’ writers was doing for the current stories in Star Wars: Empire. He needed to calculate the exact amount of time that took place in ANH for his Biggs storyline.
http://www.decipher.com/starwars/cardlists/hoth/light/large/majorbrenderlin.html
Cliff Claven, Rebel Hero.
Those are some pretty darn big wombats.
I believe the name is womp rats, not wombats
[Cliff Claven]
“Actually, it’s a little known fact that the desert womp rat of Tatooine is almost extinct…”
[/Cliff Claven]
Personally, I’d just guess that the wardrobe department wasn’t particularly on the ball for that scene
“What do you mean Billy Dee’s costume isn’t finished yet? We’re ready to shoot. Hmmm. What are we gonna do? Ford and Williams are roughly the same size. Just go get one of Ford’s.”