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In _Last Exile_ , the aircraft known as vanships do not rely on wings to
generate lift. So, has the technology that the vanships use to fly been
described in any detail?


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2013-02-12T23:44:42.560
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2013-02-13T01:04:35.193
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question
last-exile
How do vanships stay aloft?


The floating ships in _Last Exile_ use something called the [Claudia
Unit](http://lastexile.wikia.com/wiki/Claudia_Unit) (see
[picture](https://i.stack.imgur.com/jrZMS.jpg)).

These units use a mixture of
[Claudia](http://lastexile.wikia.com/wiki/Claudia), the glowing blue ore, and
water/alcohol as fuel. The Claudia Units themselves are fairly complicated
devices and are provided solely by [The
Guild](http://lastexile.wikia.com/wiki/Guild) on loan to engineers of the
different factions/countries. When warships become damaged, their Claudia
Units detach and can fly its way back to the Guild, which usually leads to the
demise of the ship. Additionally, the Guild can remotely recall Claudia Units.
The exception being the [Silvius](http://lastexile.wikia.com/wiki/Silvius)
which has a stolen unit that the Guild cannot recall.

The smaller _Vanships_ also use Claudia fueled engines (called "Claudia
Engines" to differentiate between ones that are used by the larger ships) that
are much smaller and simpler than the units that the Guild controls. Some of
these engines are so stripped down, they require external electricity to
"start" the engine.

In this picture of the Silvana and Claus and Lavie's Vanship, you can see
details of the Claudia Unit and Engine. ![Concept art of The Silvana and Claus
and Lavie's Vanship](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GQMIH.jpg)

[Anthony Kostabi](http://lastexile.wikia.com/wiki/Anthony_Kostabi) mentions
that the burning of Claudia inside the engines/units create a some kind of
field (I think he uses the term "magnetic field") directed downwards to
produce lift. In Episode 13, we learn that Vanship engines work by circulating
near-vaporized Claudia at very high pressures through pipes at the rear of
Vanships. You can see the pair of pipes in the rear of Tatiana's Vanship:

![Details of Tatiana's Vanship](https://i.stack.imgur.com/xesT4.jpg)

The _Vespas_ from **Last Exile - Fam, The Silver Wing** are smaller than
Vanships but still use Claudia engines:

![The Claudia Engine on Fam's Vespa](https://i.stack.imgur.com/AH0dz.jpg)


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