Ancient Kobolian: Galleon
The Caprican Viper is a military aircraft used for atmospheric flight on Caprica in the years prior to the Cylon War.
A Viper flight simulator featuring these single-pilot fighter jets is available through the virtual world interface. Fifty-eight years before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, Zoe Graystone and Philomon fly vipers over a simulated sea and oil rigs. Unfamiliar with the controls, however, Zoe accidentally collides with Philomon's fighter, sending both jets crashing into the water (CAP: "The Imperfections of Memory".
An even older model of Viper also appears in the virtual world's New Cap City. Based on a propeller plane and launched from a massive dirigible, these vintage Vipers would strafe the streets of New Cap City, derezzing users (CAP: "There Is Another Sky").
Notes
- The Caprican Viper seen in "The Imperfections of Memory" appears to be related to the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft seen in "End of Line" and "Apotheosis" as all three vehicles are marked with the pentagonal shape seen on the Cylon Raider of The Original Series and the similar Cylon War-era Raider in the Re-imagined Series.
- Interior shots of the Viper in that episode featured several cuts to existing footage from episodes of Battlestar Galactica, including one from "Razor" that featured the cockpit and DRADIS console of the Viper Mark II. [1]
- The Caprican Viper appears to be a marriage of components from existing military aircraft like the F-18 and F-14.
- In materials prepared by Doug Drexler for 2010 Emmy Awards voters, the New Cap City Viper is referred to as the "Vintage Viper" and described as:
- Careering through the noir canyons of New Cap City, these wild street strafing aircraft are launched from a monster dirigible. A spin on the P-40 Tomahawk, these retro Vipers take center stage while raining chaos upon the denizens of this neon festooned urban underbelly. Like the Phoenix, this vintage Viper CG model is fully functional and rigged. A calculated economical poly count of 169109. [2]