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Thunderbird 1, built by Brains and piloted by Scott Tracy, is a variable geometry (swing wing) VTOL rocket plane belonging to International Rescue. Like Thunderbird 2, it is used for earthbound rescue missions, operating at a maximum height of 150,000 feet.

Thunderbird 1 is capable of 15,000 miles per hour, making it one of the fastest planes in the world, if not the fastest. The only known ships to be able to exceed it in terms of speed was the prototype TV-21, Jeff Tracy's first ship prior to the formation of International Rescue, and The Icarus, piloted by Professor Quark. The primary role of Thunderbird 1 is often to simply get to the danger zone and scout around so that a rescue operation can be planned before the equipment needed arrives via Thunderbird 2, but it'll often play a supporting role alongside the jolly green giant with its own gear and special abilities, which occasionally makes it the only Thunderbird necessary for the job.

Specifications[]

  • Length: 115 feet[1]
  • Weight: 140 tonnes[1]
  • Maximum speed: 15,000 mph/24,140 km/h[2]
  • Maximum altitude: 28.4 miles/45.7 km[2]

Design[]

With a sharp red nosecone, a cylindrical silver body, and a powerful blue engine, TB1 is built for pure speed and can reach anywhere on Earth within an hour, evident from the fact it has the most number of rearward thrusters of all Thunderbirds alone. TB1 takes off from Tracy Island vertically, but shifts and stays into horizontal flight shortly after. TB1 has a high speed mode and a slow/landing speed mode. During the former, which it launches in, the small sweep wings are entirely tucked in, and the cross shaped bottom is positioned in the manner of a plus sign. When coming into land or simply when flying slower and steadier, the wings extend and the back rotates into an X. The wings must always be extended when landing horizontally, since landing legs are located within them. TB1 only lands vertically when returning to Tracy Island.

TB1 has a definite underside and topside when flying horizontally; the underside has four VTOL jets, a large glass window for the pilot, and bay doors in the midsection, while the topside just has "THUNDERBIRD" written down it, completed by the "1" painted on both sides of the blue coloured section.

The interior goes from the nosecone to the wings. The pilot's chair is located at the front (near the nosecone) where the windows are. There are no front facing windows with the aerodynamic nosecone taking up the entire front. Thunderbird 1 flies almost entirely via instrumentation provided by the forward holographic display. The windows underneath can open up, and the chair can be carried outside via a robotic arm, providing swift entrance and exit. The underside bay doors lead to the rest of the interior, where the ceiling contains a long-ranged electromagnetic cable that can have different attachments at the end such as clips, and ladders allowing swift passenger boarding. Despite being designed as a first responder and scouting craft, it has occasionally been enough to make her the only Thunderbird needed for a mission, as seen in Runaway. It also has a rescue capsule that is used to transport a single individual is seen in Brains vs. Brawn but it is unknown how many capsules can be stored in Thunderbird 1.

Cockpit[]

Thunderbird 1’s cockpit is located just behind the craft’s nose cone, and has a rectangular floor plan. The pilot seat is held up by a hydraulic arm directly above the window and contains all of the buttons and levers used to pilot the craft. On the sides of the arm rest are the primary levers that control the speed and direction of Thunderbird 1. Next to the right arm rest is a lever that controls the altitude of the craft. Next to the left arm rest is a lever that controls the wingspan of Thunderbird 1. In front of the left primary lever are three buttons that control the landing gear, horizontal flight and the movement of the pilot chair. In front of the right primary lever are three buttons that control the auxiliary hatch and all of the equipment that can be launched out of it. In front of the pilot seat is a holographic display that is used to navigate the craft and communicate with anyone.

Equipment[]

The craft has many pieces of equipment to help in rescues. The fuselage contains a grapple, cargo net and ladder, which can be used by opening the bay doors. The craft also carries a rescue capsule that can be attached to the grapple in order to be used. The blue section containing the engine also contains several remote control drones.

Grapple[]

Thunderbird 1 has a grapple installed in the cargo bay. The end of it can also be swapped for a clip, like seen in the episode Runaway.

Skypod[]

When dealing with an unstable aerial platform, Scott gets in close to examine the platform using the 'Skypod', a short-range flying capsule that allows him to get in close to a target where Thunderbird 1's size would be a disadvantage.

Remote Control Drones[]

Thunderbird 1 is equipped with several remote operated drones that can be deployed to search multiple areas or places that cannot be reached by conventional means (an area that Scott cannot fit). They were first seen in SOS Part 1 when Gordon uses them to search for Sherbet when he goes missing.

Later on, in Avalanche, Scott used two drones to find Brandon Berrenger's colleague Goose who was trapped inside a crevasse.

Then, finally in Firebreak, Scott deployed a squadron of drones to help Thunderbirds 1 and 2 in lifting the Crablogger clear of the flood from an exploded disused dam, which put out the forest fire.

Launch Sequence[]

Main article: Thunderbird 1 (TB2015)/Launch Sequence

Thunderbird 1 is kept in the middle of the refuelling hangar on Tracy Island. To launch, Scott goes to the light brackets to the right of the portraits in the lounge, and pulls them over his shoulders like a harness. This causes the wall to rotate 180° clockwise into a secret compartment containing his flight suit, gauntlets and boots. Scott stands with his back towards the suit, causing the lift to descend. During the descent, Scott’s gauntlets and boots are attached to him by robotic arms with him personally putting on his flight suit, gloves and sash. At the end of the launch tube, the doors open revealing Thunderbird 1 standing-by directly in front of him. At this point, any co-pilots are raised to the fuselage by a platform connected to a loading arm. Scott walks out of the lift onto the platform which extends towards Thunderbird 1. Once it has stopped, Scott gets into the craft’s pilot seat which is lifted into the cockpit by its hydraulic arm, with the cockpit windows closing during this action.

Thunderbirds_Are_Go_-_Thunderbird_1_Launch

Thunderbirds Are Go - Thunderbird 1 Launch

Missions[]

Main article: /Missions

Gallery[]

Concept Art[]

Trivia[]

  • Thunderbird 1 has the least amount of physical instrumentation hardware among all the Thunderbird aircraft, with a handful of buttons and most flight controls slaved to three levers, most of which are built into the pilot's seat. This is probably a result of it being built based on the TV-21's designs; a plane that Jeff Tracy wanted to be the fastest and sported the most advanced technology. All other Thunderbirds aircraft since were built with more conventional cockpit designs.
  • Interestingly, when Brains built the TV-21 for Jeff Tracy, its main rocket booster is more powerful than even Thunderbird 1's and the TV-21 is 300 mph faster.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Issue 11 of the Thunderbirds Are Go Magazine. These figures are the same as TB1's classic counterpart, making them of dubious in-universe value.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2016 Thunderbirds Are Go! annual
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