The Khan Fighter is the military-fighter-plane of Khan Industries. They are also called the panther-class fighters.
Characteristics[]
Khan Industries' "Panther" class fighter is one of the most successful air combat planes ever developed. Sleek, maneuverable, and heavily-armed, the Panther has become the fighter of choice in Shere Khan's personal elite squadrons, where it outclasses just about any other combat plane in the sky, including the Air Pirates' CT-37 fighter.
The Panther is a marvel of military aviation. A wide wingspan and rather large elevator assembly gives the Panther unrivaled agility in the air. This nimble craft can flick out of turns in the blink of an eye and fly rings around other fighters with ease. While the Panther is spry, it has remarkable stability in level flight; even rookie pilots have no trouble handling the fighter, making it an excellent trainer for cadets.
However, the primary asset of the Panther is its speed. At full combat throttle, the Panther can attain airspeeds of well over 250 miles per hour, making it fast enough to outrace even the most hopped-up joyriding planes. The Khan Industries in-line engine that provides such massive thrust is very reliable. Some engines have gone for a full year before significant repairs became necessary.
The Panther comes standard equipped with fixed landing gear for runway landing. Water landings are only possible with the installment of pontoons over the landing gear, resulting in the naval counterpart of the Khan fighter, the Panther-N. Most squadrons are provided with both land and sea versions of the Panther to handle any type of mission they are given. Naval versions of the Khan fighter are distinguished by a bluish color scheme instead of the standard grey.
In military applications — its primary function — the Panther excels. The fighter comes armed with a combination of two .50 caliber machine guns mounted on the wings, and two 20-millimeter cannons on the fuselage. The latter configuration is preferred by most Khan pilots, as the .50 caliber guns can cause vibrations along the wing edge that interfere with the plane's handling. The naval variant of the Khan fighter has nose cannons only, because the placement of the pontoons prevents wing-mounted weapons from being fitted.
For such an advanced fighter, the controls are rather basic. The Panther's flight panel is not cluttered up by any fancy gauges or unnecessary instruments, making it very easy for novices to master the craft. The only problem with the Panther is its open-air cockpit — except for the windshield and his own clothing, the pilot has little protection against the elements. To ward off the cold of high altitudes, Panther jockeys commonly wear insulated flak jackets which also serve as part of their uniforms.
Unlike Khan's "Tiger" fighter used by the Cape Suzette air defense squadron, the Panther has not been freely distributed to any and all buyers. Only large defense stations and coast guard organizations could possibly have the credentials or the finances to purchase them. Shere Khan exclusively uses the Panthers in his private air corps, where they serve on escort duty and "special missions."
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