Heat radiated off the desert floor as the X-12 rolled out of its hangar for the first time. Military officials were astonished as they witnessed what looked like a Me-262 crossed with a X-84 ThunderScreech roll slowly onto the tarmac. Ugly was the word on the street. And boy did it look it’s part. Initially built to determine the feasibility of a mixed propulsion aircraft, this bird was never built for production. After a little more than two dozen flights between October of 1949 and September of 1951, it was decommisoned and sent off to the Smithsonian musuem. It was an attempt to have the speed of a jet engine with the efficient fuel consumption of a turbo prop. Ultimately, it proved itself to be rather cumbersome. Built as one of the last gunfighters, it was eventually a test bed for new weapon systems. The 20mm Phantom cannons, the 50 caliber machine guns, and the Onslaught Rocket System were all experimental. This airframe is equipped with all three. As it turned out to be one of the crappiest dogfighters since the days of the first world war, it was decided to turn it into a strike fighter. It didn’t exactly excel in that role either. It was decided to eventually give it to the musuem, and there it sat for many years, were vistors gave it the nickname The Ugliest Duckling for it’s hideous looks. And that’s it for the story!!! Controls are fairly normal, just be a bit careful with the pitch as it causes massive amounts of airspeed to be lost when thrown around like a fighter. The only special group is Ag.1, which releases the Jet pods under the wings on a parachute. Physics kinda goes out the window at that point, so don’t get your tail torn off by a rampaging parachute! Safe Flying - TAS