So I was flying around hav zones, testing out Cutter configs, and wasting a crap load of engineering mats (virtually none left), seeing what modifications and experimental I liked. A Keely jumped into the Nav beacon, as it always has, but this time I noticed the best little twisting of its thrusters and while I probably wouldn’t give it too much of a thought for combat? Though I’m sure it’s just as good as a Cobra, engineered, I dabbled with some Coriolis settings and came up with a great little 40LY+ explorer build! And I think that will be my new explorer (vs my usual Cobra/ Phantom). It’s aesthetic just screams explorer.
The overlooked ship, the Keelback.
- Thread starter Staarlord
- Start date
You're just one step away from the perfect explorer--the Type 6!
TBH I've tried so hard to get my Keelback to be good at anything and it's just...not. Literally anything it can do, other ships can do better, including the T6.
No way! That’s one I’ve never considered. I know they say the Dolphin makes a great one too. And has decent ship kits.
I had not realized it fitted a fighter. That’s pretty cool.
Good for surface work as the landing gear struts are quite tall so easy to get the SRV under, can hire and fire a crew member for the odd fighter excursion for a change. Handles well fully engineered too.
It's also something people often don't consider they need for exploration, but space madness is a real thing, and flying a fighter among asteroids or through canyons can help alleviate it.
They should up the keel back to type10 size and Add two more vtol thrusters! I love flying bricks
I love the Keelback!
Now days when I start a new account is the second or third ship I buy usually within a day or even hours of starting the account!
Hopefully the Panther Clipper will end up having a four rotating thrusters look!
Now days when I start a new account is the second or third ship I buy usually within a day or even hours of starting the account!
Hopefully the Panther Clipper will end up having a four rotating thrusters look!
I have one still from my early days, outfitted for mining and was my third ship. I haven't flown it once (or my Adder and Sidewinder) once I upgraded to the Asp X.
My explorer alt flies a T6, which is just a Keelback lite, and it's fantastic. Nearly the same size as a DBX, but permaboosts faster and has an AspX like view. Great pick mate!
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I've always liked it better than the Asp, although it can't jump quite so far. There's someone else who posted a long thread in the exploration forum about his exploits in a Type 6.
"Keelback Mounntain"....my second favorite ship of all time.
love my keelback. my first half serious exploration trip i did in a keelback, with slf, just because. excellent ship to roleplay, and it has indeed a lot of character (the inefficiencies are part of it) and is very nice looking: trade ships in elite are actually the most realistic looking with designs that make some actual sense.
I engineered one Keelback, I find it a pretty meh ship. Has similar hardpoint setup as my Cobra MkIII but they are not the same, one is a medium and the other is a small ship. Has better jump range but slower in top speed and boost speed. As for exploration, my Ash Explorer and Diamondback Explorer are better than it.
I find it a real shame that you can get it in a few hours of play and completely miss out on the hauler, added, eagle, cobra, viper etc.
But I agree that it's a great ship. I used one for while, and used it for many different things like bounty hunting, mining, trade and exploration. It's a great all-rounder.
The dolphin is far better, and you can literally sit on stars all day without the thing overheating.
The type 6 does sound better though.