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Vehicle File

Sea Sparrow

The helicopter that lands on water. Float-equipped, Keys-capable, and the aircraft that connects the outer islands to Vice City without the need for a runway.

Brand
Buckingham / Civilian
Float-equipped helicopter. The coastal configuration that the Keys geography requires.
Real-World Counterpart
MD 500 / Schweizer 300 (Float Config)
Light helicopter with pontoon float equipment. The configuration standard for coastal and maritime helicopter operations.
Handling
Single Rotor Float-Equipped
The Maverick airframe with floats. Water landing capability at the cost of some performance relative to the skid configuration.

Field Assessment

The Sea Sparrow solves the problem the Leonida Keys creates: how to move between the outer islands when there is no runway and no road. The float equipment allows water landings at any calm water surface, which in the Keys means the aircraft can reach locations the road network and the standard helicopter cannot serve.

The Keys geography makes the Sea Sparrow specifically relevant. The outer islands have beaches and docks. Neither requires a runway. The Sea Sparrow lands at both. The operational range of the Keys becomes the operational range of whoever is flying it.

The floats reduce performance relative to the standard skid helicopter configuration. The weight and drag of the pontoons are the cost of the water landing capability. For Keys operations this is the correct trade.

Related Vehicles

Location
Leonida Keys
The Sea Sparrow's primary operating environment.
Helicopter
Buckingham Maverick
The standard helicopter on skids.
Watercraft
Nagasaki Dinghy
The surface water transport alternative.
Speedboat
Pegassi Speeder
Fast surface transport in the same Keys territory.