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Airstilting

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this technique for landing a starship was considered a last resort, to be used when the only other option was to crash. It was used primarily in those situations when repulsorlift engines failed, elminating a pilot's ability to lower a ship to the ground using anti-gravity. Airstilting involved turning a ship upright with respect to the ground, so that its main sublight drives were pointing downward. With careful modulation, the sublight drives could be used to drop the ship to drop close to the ground, but not all the way. The thrust generated by the drives prevented this. In order to land, the sublight drives had to be cut off just above the ground, dropping the ship onto its rear with a jarring thud. Then, with luck, the ship would topple over in such a way that it ended up on its landing struts, again with a jarring thud. Quite often, the ship's tail fins and landing struts were badly damaged as a result, but the primary systems were kept intact.