On a Facebook group devoted to the Traveller roleplaying game one of the other members commented on the lack of civilian antigravity vehicles in the game. There are plenty of Grav Tanks, Grav APCs, Grav Gunships, but not a lot of common, inexpensive vehicles for everyday use.

Here are some designs I’ve come up with to rectify that. I used the Cepheus Engine Vehicle Design Guide, from Moon Toad Publishing. Cepheus Engine is a Traveller clone, broadly compatible with classic Traveller and the current “official” edition from Mongoose Publishing.

Each of my vehicles is followed by some design notes which are likely incomprehensible if you don’t have the Vehicle Design Guide. The discussion of reaching orbit in a flying truck or work platform may seem crazy, but Traveller canon has mentioned flying to space in open-topped “air/rafts” for half a century now.

Zandian TL9 Jetbike

This is a “street legal” personal jet flyer made by a reputable manufacturer, as opposed to the home-built versions which sacrifice safety for speed. Uses vectored thrust jets for vertical takeoff and landing, rotating back for high speed.  Burns biofuel, which makes starting in cold weather difficult. Can only be used on breathable-atmosphere worlds, and requires considerable modifications if used on a planet other than where it was built.

Light Aerodyne, 2 Space, Open top, shipping size 2t.

Speed: 300 kph, 400 km. range, Agility +1

Armor: Open frame, 1 armor front and bottom. Hull and Structure 1.

Controls: Primitive

Accommodations: Saddle for driver and passenger, Entertainment System.

Cost: 12,000 credits

Notes: This isn’t actually a grav vehicle, but rather what the VDG calls an “aerodyne” — using jet thrust for flight. Zand is a world in my ongoing Traveller campaign.

TL9 Grav Work Platform

This is a very small, light grav platform used to replace bucket lifts and ladders for repair and inspection work. It is short-ranged and slow, built to fold up into a compact shape for transport. The manipulator arm is used as an anchor for stability and safety. It is powered by batteries recharged from grid current or the transport vehicle, with endurance of about 3 hours. While it can theoretically achieve 200kph speed, most have controls limiting that to no more than 40 — but defeating those limits is a trivial task of Electronics skill. It is theoretically possible for a single operator in a vacc suit to reach orbit on a work platform with the safety controls disabled, but with no navigation systems other than the pilot’s eyes, the difficulty and danger are enormous. They can be used on airless worlds or as manned maneuvering units in orbital space, but fail quickly in Insidious or Corrosive environments. Note that any damage is likely to cripple the platform and knock it out of the sky.

Light Grav Vehicle, 1 space. Shipping volume 0.25 dtons or 1/2 space aboard a vehicle, weight 25kg.

Speed: 200kph (limited to 40), Range 500 km., Agility +1

Controls: Basic controls, Distant Range communicator.

Manipulator Arm: Str 8, Dex 2

Accomodations: Operator, Passenger.

Structure: Hull 0, Structure 0; Open Top, Open Frame, Folding Chassis.

Cost: 25,500 credits.

Design: A very simple grid-deck platform which can unfold to 1 meter by 2 meters, with a folding railing on one side for safety, atop a boxy power and propulsion unit. The manipulator arm is folded on the side opposite the railing. Controlled by a handheld unit attached by a sturdy cable. When folded it is a flat box 1 meter square and half a meter thick. Comes with a fabric protective case which will get torn and thrown away within a week.

Notes: This is about as minimalist as you can get with the VDG rules. By reducing speed and range I almost managed to make the price a negative number — only the cost of the manipulator arm kept it in the positive range.

TL10 Grav Rescue Flyer

This is a very lightly-built, high-speed flyer equally useful for search-and-rescue and as a rapid-response ambulance. It is completely unsuitable for use in space or in any non-breathable atmosphere, and is not intended to go into combat situations. Powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

10-space Light Grav Vehicle, shipping volume 5dtons.

Speed: 400 kph, Range 1800km, Agility +2

Crew: Pilot and copilot. Advanced controls, Autopilot-2, Computer Mod/1, Standard Navigation, Very Distant comm, Basic Sensors

Accomodations: Bunks for 2 patients, Micro-Galley, seats for 2 crew and 2 paramedics.

Equipment: Winch, Autodoc, Loudspeaker system.

Cargo: 500kg. (rescue and medical gear).

Armor: Open Frame construction, 1 armor overall. 5 Hull, 5 Structure.

Design: An all-around bubble cockpit in front, the passenger compartment with big doors on the sides, and a power and propulsion unit in the rear. Five meters long, 2.5 meters wide, two meters high. The skin is thin carbon-fiber film to keep the wind out. The winch is used to lift up patients and can be deployed on either side of the main compartment.

Cost: 352,000 credits.

Notes: Another bare-bones design, but the price comes in about at what a modern-day ambulance costs. Both this and the passenger car below use an open frame to keep the cost down. I assume this means a structure clad in flimsy plastic or carbon-fiber skin, not unlike modern automobiles. The computer is a simple personal computer, not the “Model/1” from the starship design system.

TL10 Grav Truck

A flying cargo transporter built to carry a standard 4-dton space shipping container. Designed for a wide variety of environments, it is powered by hydrogen fuel cells, and can operate in space. A cheaper variant is available for planets with breathable air. Can reach orbit from most worlds in 2 hours — note that a round trip completely uses up its fuel load.

8-space Light Grav Vehicle, shipping volume 4 dtons (5 dtons loaded)

Speed: 280 kph, 1100 km range, Agility +1

Controls: Basic controls, standard navigation, very distant comm, basic sensors.

Crew: Pilot and one passenger.

Accommodations: two crew seats, Short term life support, Vacuum protection for the cockpit only.

Cargo: 8 spaces, open cargo bed.

Armor: 5 points all around. 4 Hull, 4 Structure.

Cost: 181,000 credits (“shirtsleeve” version with no vacuum protection or life support costs 151,000, and adds 250kg. storage space inside the cabin. Orbital voyages require vacc suits.)

Design: 3m wide and tall, 7.5m long, flat-fronted and boxy.

Notes: I cut speed and range to the bone in order to keep the price reasonable. It can fit into 4 spaceship tons if it isn’t carrying a cargo container, but loaded it needs 5 tons of space.

TL11 Personal Air Car

Aimed at the mass consumer market, this model is thin-skinned and short-range, but it’s a flying car! The computer can act as autopilot, and automatically does collision avoidance and emergency landings. Powered by high-desnity batteries.

4-space Light Grav Vehicle, shipping volume 2 tons, Hull 2, Structure 2.

Speed: 400kph, range 750km, Agility +1

Controls: Basic controls and navigation, autopilot-3, Distant-range comm., Computer mod/1

Accommodations: Driver, 3 passengers, 250kg. cargo.

Armor: Open frame with Armor 1 carbon fiber skin. Hull 2, Structure 2.

Cost: 20,000 Cr.

Design: There are many cosmetic variations, but all are basically the same, a rounded shape 2.5 meters wide by 2 meters high, and about 3 meters long, with a big bubble cockpit/passenger compartment atop an elliptical power and propulsion section.

Notes: As mentioned above, this is very flimsy. Reducing range frees up extra space so it can still seat four. The computer is not the same as a starship Model/1 computer; this is essentially an advanced tablet device.