All values are per square meter of liftwood and assume a thickness of 5 cm (2").  Liftwood bestows an armor value 1 on the hull.  Ether flyers typically use 4" thick planks (and typically halve the mass lifted per hull size).   Double the above values for ether flyers.  Æther flyers automatically have an AV of 2 for their hulls.

Mass is included because, while the liftwood defies gravity, it still has mass.

Natural liftwood loses 10 percent of its lift value per year.   Synthetic liftwood does not decay.

Improved Liftwood

At TL 5, a chemical composition, liftwood enhancer, becomes available to treat natural liftwood (it has no effect upon artificial liftwood).   Treated liftwood doubles the liftwood's lifting power (LV=8) but does not affect its decay.   The treatment costs Cr3 per square meter of liftwood.  For purposes of transportation and storage, liftwood enhancer weighs one kilogram and costs Cr18 per liter.  Each liter can treat 6 square meters of liftwood.

Quick Liftwood Flyer Design

In keeping with the spirit of Space 1889, we offer the quick liftwood flyer hull design. Choose a hull rating from FF&S. Each hull rating has 2.5 square meters of liftwood (0.125 cubic meters, 0.0875 tonnes, Cr1,000, LV10).

Liftwood Flyer Altitude

Total up the number of square meters of liftwood on the hull and multiply by appropriate number in the LV column above. This is the Lift Value (LV) of the flyer. Divide this by the tonnage of the flyer.

• If the result is 1.2 or higher, the craft's maximum altitude is Very High (3000 meters). 

• If the result is 1 or higher, the craft's maximum altitude is High (2400 meters). 

• If the result is 0.8 or higher, the craft's maximum altitude is Medium (1800 meters). 

• If the result is 0.6 or higher, the craft's maximum altitude is Low (1200 meters). 

• If the result is 0.4 or higher, the craft's maximum altitude is Very Low (600 meters).

For results of less than 0.4 divide the result by 0.4 and multiply this by 600 to determine the flyer's maximum altitude in meters.

Æther flyers must have an LV ÷ tonnage result of 4 or higher.  They have an automatic maximum altitude of Orbital (Low Planetary Orbit — 2 percent of the planet's diameter).

Liftwood Flyer Damage

Use the Vessel Damage table for hits on liftwood flyers.  Treat waterline hits as lifter hits. 

A flyer has lifter hits equal to its FF&S displacement rating.

Subtract the armor value of the flyer from the final penetration of the weapon.  This is the number of lifter hits the flyer takes in addition to any other damage rolled.  Each lifter hit reduces the maximum altitude of the flyer by 60 meters (10 lifter hits would reduce the flyer's maximum altitude by one flight level).  On a Major Waterline result, the vessel takes lifter hits as above in addition to a damage roll, but the flyer also suffers a loss of trim.  Recovering from a loss of trim result is a Difficult:  Pilot task and may be made immediately.  If successful, the ship immediately recovers trim, but everyone on board loses an action that turn (they are too shaken to act).  If the pilot fails his initial check, he may try again the next turn.  In the interim, the ship plummets 60 meters.  If the pilot recovers on the second or subsequent turns no one on board may take any actions for 2-12 turns (player characters and certain NPCs may subtract their initiative from this roll).  If the pilot does not recover before the flyer impacts the ground, the ship is destroyed and all aboard are killed.