(Answered) Abstract Aerospace Combat & Crashing

[SovietOnion]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to incorporate more aviation into my games, and the abstract system seems to offer a decent balance of use versus drag, although I did need to have my hand held through a fair amount of it.

A few questions I couldn't get answered -

P. 249 in Total Warfare states that any time a fighter takes damage in atmosphere, it must make a control roll. On a fail, the unit loses 1D6 altitude immediately and this may cause a crash, and the points me to p. 81. P. 81 states that DropShips or larger are destroyed on a crash, otherwise gives a formula for determining damage taken (which will be a question below.)

It goes on to detail that the controlling player must make a set of rolls to determine the number of random movement rolls that must be made, to find the crash location of the unit. "Beginning with your current hex and direction of travel..." This will be another question below.

When using the abstract aerospace combat rules, you simply place a straight flight path of hexes. (p. 17 SO) You can conduct strike, strafe or bombing attacks anywhere on that line, granted you meet the altitude requirements for the attack type. Control checks happen at the end phase of the turn. So...

1) Would the control roll happen before or after the aerospace unit leaves the ground map and returns to the radar map?
1a) If the control roll (and any resulting crashes) occur while the unit is on the ground map, where do you determine the 'current hex' to be? My KISS thought would be the last hex on the flight path that was targeted by an enemy and resulted in damage, but I don't see anything to back this up.
1b) If the roll and crash happens on the radar map, is the unit just destroyed outright?

2) The damage formula for a crash is 2D6 x 10 x Current Velocity. Are we supposed to be tracking velocity with the abstracted rules, or is it assumed to be the unit's current maximum safe thrust? If that is the case, woof, the damage potential is massive.

Thanks for the help!

[Hammer]

1) When using the Abstract Aerospace Radar Map system, aerospace units are only over the Ground Map while making a ground attack, unless the variation combining it with the Aerospace Units on Ground Mapsheets rules (see p. 91, TW) rules is used. If it is not used, the control roll is made after returning to the Inner Ring.

1a) Unless you are using the variation where an aerospace unit may use the Aerospace Units on Ground Mapsheets rules (p. 91, TW) after reaching the Inner Ring, an aerospace fighter will never crash on the ground map.

1b) You may calculate damage normally, but the crash occurs outside the map area and has no further effect on the game.

2) Yes, use the aerospace units maximum safe thrust to determine damage. Hitting the ground unintentionally with a jet aircraft tends to have less than desirable effects.