Model
number: MS-07H8 Code name: Gouf Flight Type Unit type: prototype ground combat mobile suit Manufacturer: Zeonic Company Operator: Principality of Zeon First deployment: UC 0079 Accommodation: pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso Dimensions: overall height 18.7 meters; head height 18.2
meters Weight: empty 61.5 metric tons; max gross 77.6 metric tons Powerplant: Minovsky type ultracompact fusion reactor,
output rated at 1130 kW Propulsion: rocket thrusters/jet engines: 108400 kg total Performance: maximum thruster acceleration 1.40 G Equipment and design features: sensors, range 3600 meters Fixed armaments: none Optional fixed armaments: 3-barrel 35mm machine gun, clip-fed,
mounts on left forearm; Gatling shield, mounts 75mm Gatling
gun, drum-and-belt fed; heat saber, battery powered, stored in
Gatling shield, hand-carried in use
Technical
and Historical Notes
With the
serious problems encountered in the attempt to develop an atmospheric
flight-capable mobile suit during the One Year War, the Zeon
military halted its program to actively develop a flying mobile
suit. However, the idea continued to linger, and experimental
units still occasionally found their way into the field for
testing. The eighth incarnation of the Gouf Flight Type was
the MS-07H8, which was equipped with an improved backpack and
more powerful thrusters and thermonuclear jet engines. Aerodynamic
control surface wings were added to the backpack and waist armor,
giving the Gouf Flight Type more stability in flight. Unfortunately,
the H8 still suffered some of the same problems encountered
by previous versions: engine overheating and rapid fuel consumption
at high altitudes and high speeds, limiting its range and flight
time.