The Falcon has a Backup Hyperdrive!

[MKSheppard]

From Galaxy Guide 3, Page 54:

For all his Academy training, Solo wasn't exactly a man who believed in being prepared. The Millennium Falcon is prime example of this, as its recalcitrant hyperdrive system is backed up by an even more stubborn hyperdrive.

About a month after Solo acquired the Falcon, he replaced the existing hyperdrive backup with an inferior model to shunt more power into the main sublight and hyperdrives. The hyperdrive backup, an old Republic Sienar Systems model, wasn't even connected to the power cell bank, meaning that to activate it required extensive power rerouting. Furthermore, the hyperdrive backup didn't even have a hard-link to the ship's navicomputer, meaning that all coordinates had to calculated separately, and placed manually into the backup's vector guides.

After Solo's daring maneuver with the Star Destroyer Avenger, the reverse-triggering of his acceleration compensator cracked the casing in the main hyperdrive motivator, and caused a severe systems failure in the hyperdrive backup. While the damage was not critical, the Falcon's painfully slow backup hyperdrive could only operate for several hours.

Solo risked it, for short hyperspace skips from Anoat to Bespin, but a great deal of the trip was done at sublight speed. With such slow, straight-vector piloting, the Slave I had no problem tracking the ship to Bespin.

[Noble Ire]

Still a significant portion of the trip at sublight 'eh?

The question of just how long still remains I guess, although at least we know it didnt take a year or some crazy figure like that.

[MKSheppard]

I would imagine between a month and a few months, because remember,
the Falcon doesn't have that much food on it...and they didn't look starved
when they arrived on Bespin.

EDIT:

Aha! the Dark Empire Sourcebook lists the Falcon's consumables at
two months; so they were out there for a maximum of 60 days.

[RedImperator]

Stupid half-assed EU writers. They could have made the trip in a few weeks' subjective time if they accelerated to near C, which Star Wars ships are perfectly capable of.

[Patrick Degan]

I'd always assumed that they'd stayed attatched to the Avenger as the squadron hopped from system to system conducting their search until the opportunity came for them to detatch within range of Bespin. A backup hyperdrive system would also explain the transit.

[Isolder74]

I would imagine between a month and a few months, because remember,
the Falcon doesn't have that much food on it...and they didn't look starved
when they arrived on Bespin.

So the Back up took them there most of the way and then they limped the rest of the trip. actually this helps us explain how Vader and Boba Fett could beat them there. Remember the Executer had left the area to a possible place that the Falcon might have gone. So Fett made a holonet call to Vader and then they jumped to the system and then made a 'deal' with Lando all in plenty of time to hide the massive Executor before Han shows up.

[Illuminatus Primus]

I still, like Dr. Saxton, prefer purely a relativistic jint between the trash dump and Bespin. It gives Luke months to prepare on Dagobah, and the film clearly indicates no hyperdrive was available.

[MKSheppard]

Stupid half-assed EU writers. They could have made the trip in a few weeks' subjective time if they accelerated to near C, which Star Wars ships are perfectly capable of.

Yet we don't see any appreciable amount of time passing with Luke on Dagobah. His clothes don't get torn up badly, etc, which rules out the
acelerate to near C bit.

[Illuminatus Primus]

And its assumed he can't get an extra change of clothes between caring for them and having probably a few changes in his personal compartment? How the hell does he go from barely lifting a lightsaber with the Force to being able to duel competently with the Dark Lord of the Sith without at least a few months of training?

[Noble Ire]

And its assumed he can't get an extra change of clothes between caring for them and having probably a few changes in his personal compartment? How the hell does he go from barely lifting a lightsaber with the Force to being able to duel competently with the Dark Lord of the Sith without at least a few months of training?

There is no direct contradicton. Besides, 2 months of training, perhaps a bit more even is allowed by these sources.

[Durandal]

Stupid half-assed EU writers. They could have made the trip in a few weeks' subjective time if they accelerated to near C, which Star Wars ships are perfectly capable of.

Yet we don't see any appreciable amount of time passing with Luke on Dagobah. His clothes don't get torn up badly, etc, which rules out the
acelerate to near C bit.

He had plenty of crap in the X-Wing's cargo hold. It's not exactly implausible that he had spare fatigues.

[SCVN 2812]

Stupid half-assed EU writers. They could have made the trip in a few weeks' subjective time if they accelerated to near C, which Star Wars ships are perfectly capable of.

Yet we don't see any appreciable amount of time passing with Luke on Dagobah. His clothes don't get torn up badly, etc, which rules out the
acelerate to near C bit.

He had plenty of crap in the X-Wing's cargo hold. It's not exactly implausible that he had spare fatigues.

There's always Jedi Home Ed.

"Feel the seams you must to bind the tears well. Let the Force guide your needle."

[Durandal]

There's always Jedi Home Ed.

"Feel the seams you must to bind the tears well. Let the Force guide your needle."

LUKE: Aw, but I feel so gay!
YODA: Your sexuality, you should not be worried about.
LUKE: Huh?
YODA: Kissed your sister, you did. With tongue, it was.
LUKE: Gross!
YODA: Fantasized about her, you have.
LUKE: Stop! This is fucking gross!
YODA: Kinkiness there was. Use a lightsaber that way, you should not.

[Kazuaki Shimazaki]

About a month after Solo acquired the Falcon, he replaced the existing hyperdrive backup with an inferior model to shunt more power into the main sublight and hyperdrives. The hyperdrive backup, an old Republic Sienar Systems model, wasn't even connected to the power cell bank, meaning that to activate it required extensive power rerouting. Furthermore, the hyperdrive backup didn't even have a hard-link to the ship's navicomputer, meaning that all coordinates had to calculated separately, and placed manually into the backup's vector guides.

At least this explains why he didn't just use it when he was being chased by the Star Destroyers.

After Solo's daring maneuver with the Star Destroyer Avenger, the reverse-triggering of his acceleration compensator cracked the casing in the main hyperdrive motivator, and caused a severe systems failure in the hyperdrive backup.

Not the "acceleration compensator" trick again! At least they didn't invent this stupidity, HTTE did (unless HTTE itself pulled it from another book).

Still, a backup hyperdrive does sound more likely than the idea of Anoat just happening to be within one light year of Hoth.

[Connor MacLeod]

If my (admittedly rough) calculations are correct, the Falcon needed some hundreds of thousands of tons worth of fuel (if not more, since I was largely assuming 100% efficiency) to reach near-lightspeed. (assumign 1500 ton starship, ignoring the contribution of fuel to the ship's overall mass, and assuming between .9 and .99c velocity and 3000 gee acceleration.) Thats means the Falcon would ahve to carry about 200-250 times its own mass in fuel, just to make it that far...

Edit: On the other hand, a few hours should have been sufficient to make Bespin on "backup hyperdrive" - even at a mere 2 light-year distance a speed of around 9,000-15,000c would be sufficient to reach Bespin (unless the route is particularily hazardous.)

[Illuminatus Primus]

And its assumed he can't get an extra change of clothes between caring for them and having probably a few changes in his personal compartment? How the hell does he go from barely lifting a lightsaber with the Force to being able to duel competently with the Dark Lord of the Sith without at least a few months of training?

There is no direct contradicton. Besides, 2 months of training, perhaps a bit more even is allowed by these sources.

I didn't say they contradict. I said I don't like WEG's addition. Its unnecessary and goes against the implication, if not the explicit statement, of the movies.

[weemadando]

Given the indications of Hyperspace speed in RotS, even tiny hops in Hyperspce would be enough to ensure that a significant portion of the voyage at sublight speed wouldn't have taken long at all.

[VT-16]

I always liked the little theory that backup-drives in sw ships is warp-speed. *chuckle*

[Shroom Man 777]

Even if Luke didn't have spare clothes, clothes made with Star Wars tech might be unusually strong and stuff. Heheh.

[Drooling Iguana]

Even if Luke didn't have spare clothes, clothes made with Star Wars tech might be unusually strong and stuff. Heheh.

Unless you're a senator from Naboo.

[Glimmervoid]

Edit: On the other hand, a few hours should have been sufficient to make Bespin on "backup hyperdrive" - even at a mere 2 light-year distance a speed of around 9,000-15,000c would be sufficient to reach Bespin (unless the route is particularily hazardous.)

Not if they are doing a lot of leap froging. They may only spend a few seconds in hyperspace and the days in normal getting things ready for the next jump.

[Spartan]

Glimmervoid wrote:

Not if they are doing a lot of leap froging. They may only spend a few seconds in hyperspace and the days in normal getting things ready for the next jump.

Hyperdrive does not work like that. Once you enter hyperspace you stay there until you use the hyperdrive to revert back to realspace. Once they make jump they're good to go, until they reach their destination. Unless they have to drop out of hyperspace to make frequent course corrections. Which is essentially what Conner said, and is what the quotes imply by stating that the hyperdrive coordinates have to be manually entered manually.

If the hyperdrive is functioning enough to bring themback to realspace as you imply, then they should make it to Bespin no problem. Hyperdrive just jumps you across the light barrier, and away you go. The HD probably doesn't even have power going to it while in hyperspace.

[Crazedwraith]

Glimmervoid wrote:

Not if they are doing a lot of leap froging. They may only spend a few seconds in hyperspace and the days in normal getting things ready for the next jump.

Hyperdrive does not work like that. Once you enter hyperspace you stay there until you use the hyperdrive to revert back to realspace. Once they make jump they're good to go, until they reach their destination. Unless they have to drop out of hyperspace to make frequent course corrections. Which is essentially what Conner said, and is what the quotes imply by stating that the hyperdrive coordinates have to be manually entered manually.

If the hyperdrive is functioning enough to bring themback to realspace as you imply, then they should make it to Bespin no problem. Hyperdrive just jumps you across the light barrier, and away you go. The HD probably doesn't even have power going to it while in hyperspace.

This more or less backed up in the X-Wing books. It's stated sublight engines guzzles fuels comapred to hyperdrives sipping them. It mentions a lot of fuel is burnt in the run up to hyperspace.

[Drunk Monkey]

There's always Jedi Home Ed.

"Feel the seams you must to bind the tears well. Let the Force guide your needle."

LUKE: Aw, but I feel so gay!
YODA: Your sexuality, you should not be worried about.
LUKE: Huh?
YODA: Kissed your sister, you did. With tongue, it was.
LUKE: Gross!
YODA: Fantasized about her, you have.
LUKE: Stop! This is fucking gross!
YODA: Kinkiness there was. Use a lightsaber that way, you should not.

That’s just plane wrong dam it!