Vanship

A vanship is a type of flying machine from the animated series Last Exile. It is often referred to as a "flying boat" in that it does not fly by means of aerodynamics like planes do, but rather by floating on the air and propelling itself through the use of a substance known as Claudia.

Claudia & the Vanship Powerplant
Claudia is a fluorescent blue ore with intriguing(potentially explosive) properties mined on the floating world of Prester. It is vital to the operation of Vanships. It is processed into liquid Claudia fuel by dissolving small amounts of it in water - the more that is dissolved, the more potent the fuel.

A Claudia engine is effectively a low-tech reactionless drive. The exact process by which it is used is never explained in the series, but it can be roughly described as a pressure reaction - the steam engine pressurizes the dissolved Claudia in the fuel, effectively "burning" it to produce a motive force. The mechanics of the craft then direct this force as desired. Purer Claudia mixes create more force with less pressure, and thus greater force with greater pressure(but most engines have a limit to how pure a mix they can handle without destroying themselves.) The only known byproduct of Claudia use is a release of steam from the rear of the Vanship, particularly when traveling at high speed.

Claudia is also the primary currency of Prester, and well suited for this purpose - as it is constantly burned in Claudia engines it is not subject to inflation and cannot be counterfeited. It is a robust currency, comparable to early 20th century American dollars. A frugal person will spend less than 80 Claudia on room and board in a week. It is also quite potent - in its refined state, several billion Claudia is only a fist-sized stone.

Vanship Mechanics
Volume 1 of the DVD released in the US had an insert with a diagram of Claus and Lavie's vanship. It is shown that the bulky forward section of the vessel contains the Vanship's largest single component - an enormous steam engine. The engine is flanked on either side by what are called "lift coils". Pressurized liquid Claudia is pumped down through these to provide lift for the craft. When the craft is directed to move, Claudia is cycled through the "thruster", long circuits of pipe projected from the rear of the craft, to provide thrust. The longer the pipe, the more efficiently it converts force into thrust(though longer pipes have higher basic power needs). A Vanship thus does not require wings to generate lift, and can hover in place like a modern VTOL craft.

Types of Vanships
Vanships in general prior to the events of Last Exile were couriers, traveling long distances to deliver cargoes (usually messages). Some Vanships thus include tools for towing solid objects. Any Vanship intended to dock with a capital ship has a set of cables to act as anchors. All couriers receive their jobs from their local "Vanship union", which assigns each a difficulty rating: one or two stars for most jobs, three for transport into a battle zone, etc. The transport of Alvis Hamiliton to the Silvana was set at an amazing seven stars due to the inevitable interference of the Guild, and the peace message intended for Disith had an unprecedented ten star rating because it was apparently impossible - it required a courier to cross the Grand Stream for the first time in Anatoray's history.

When not earning their keep as couriers, Vanship pilots often keep their skills sharp by racing. Many of these are rallies, taking place in towns, underground waterways and canyons. Racing Vanships are small and narrow with a single, high-powered thruster, giving the ship an impressive thrust-to-drag ratio. Like any Vanship intended to achieve high speeds, they have stub wings, far too small themselves to provide lift. They simply act as mounts for ailerons to provide better steering, as pivoting the thruster would put undue stress on the assembly at high speeds. Racing Vanships are permitted to utilize "boosters" (akin to a supercharger in a race car).

Passenger or cargo Vanships are the largest that can be built by any save the Guild, and are approximately the size of buses. As these are intended for efficiency instead of speed they have multiple thrusters and no ailerons, as sufficient control is achieved merely by pivoting their thrusters. The Silvana's transport Vanships have thrusters that fold onto the side for easier stowage.

Over the course of Last Exile, Vanships are adapted for combat. This process resembles the evolving roles that aircraft held during WW1; originally developed for scouting and suveillance, but eventually equipped with bombs and machine guns to become potent fightercraft.

The Vanship fighters of Anatoray have overpowered dual thrusters for unparalleled acceleration and maneuvering. They are the only Vanships equipped with onboard weapons; a pair of 600 rpm machine guns with 200-round clips, underside racks for carrying bombs, drop-pods, and external tanks to compensate for the lower fuel efficiency of the overpowered thrusters.

Claus and Lavie's Vanship is different from all the others in the series; light and fast with exceptional acceleration like a racer, but also equipped with a unique hardened, ribbed hull. At the beginning of the series, Claus and Lavie lack the funds to fit their Vanship with a true racing engine. Instead, they have lightened it by drilling holes in its frame. Though this grants a great amount of maneuverability (which Claus puts to great use, taking right-angle turns at top speed), it sacrifices so much mass that their top speed is lowered, meaning they cannot outrun more powerful models in the straightaways. Lavie thus acquires a booster for their Vanship as part of their preparation for the Norkia Cup. Its initial purpose, however, makes it truly unique. It was specifically designed by their parents for what many would consider a fool's errand - an attempt to withstand the torrential winds of the Grand Stream and travel from Anatoray to Disith. Even though Disith makes the crossing regularly in huge capital ships, it is not uncommon for them to be destroyed in the attempt despite their size and power. Most believe that crossing the Stream in a Vanship to be impossible - but Claus and Lavie achieve this in the final episode, making their Vanship the only one capable of doing so.

Series Info

All vanships in the series were rendered as 3D images, a hallmark of Japanese animation studio GONZO Dijimation, makers of such series as Vandread and Blue Submarine No. 6.

Two DVD volumes, 3 and 5, of the series on DVD released in the US came with small, papercraft models of vanships, and used tabs and small lengths of string to hold together. The one in Volume 3 was of Claus and Lavie's Vanship, and the one in volume 5 was of Tatiana and Alister's.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu