Falcon

"Primary air-to-ground support/transport VTOL"

- Description in the Halo: Reach Instruction Manual.

The Falcon is a light aerospace vehicle introduced in Halo: Reach. It is a medium-sized aircraft.

Universe and lore
Created by Misriah Armory and introduced in 2497, the Falcon first saw use during the Insurrection. Numerous variants have been produced since, with service continuing all the way to 2552. The Falcon would continue to see service with the UNSC up to at least 2557.

The following is a list of all vehicles known by the "Falcon" moniker in Halo lore that have appeared in the games:

Overview
The Falcon, in both operation and appearance, is the stereotypical utility helicopter primarily geared more towards the movement of troops over full air combat.

Counterparts
There are a few analogous vehicles to the Falcon across the various Halo games. One is the Hornet, which acts as the mainline UNSC air in Halo 3 and Halo 2: Anniversary and features dual passenger seats. Halo 4 also includes a Pelican that has side-mounted gunner seats as well.

First-person shooters
Unless the player jumps on top of a rotor hub, he or she cannot be killed by the Falcon's rotors. However, touching the rotor hub will kill the player instantly.

Unlike most vehicles in Halo: Reach, the smoke from a badly damaged Falcon blocks a substantial portion of the screen, increasing the difficulty of flying a critically damaged aircraft.

The Falcon can also be skyjacked by players of either species. This also includes Non-playable character Elites in the campaign. It as well has a slightly unique Heads-up display with an altimeter on it.

Campaign
Much like UNSC aircraft in Halo Wars, Falcons that cannot be piloted have yellow windshields. If one punches out the windows of these Falcons, they'll notice that there is no character inside piloting the Falcon.

It is possible to fly the Falcon in the first level. The player must hit the Falcon that Jun is not in with an overcharged plasma pistol shot. When it falls, the Falcon has a small chance of flipping on the ground and forcing the pilot out.

The Falcon used in the level Tip of the Spear is equipped with semi-automatic grenade launchers which can produce an EMP effect when the trigger is held down, then released to manually detonate the grenade. This EMP can shut down enemy vehicles.

The player pilots a Falcon during the level New Alexandria which is equipped with a pilot-controlled, chin-mounted autocannon that has a larger field of fire, and is more accurate and more powerful than the side-mounted machine guns (this is not in multiplayer). In Co-Op on this level, other players can ride in the passenger seats of one or fly their own, as there will be an extra Falcon with mounted Grenade Launchers.

Multiplayer
While the Falcon can be used to insert players near enemy objectives, players carrying objective items cannot ride in Falcons, as there is no "passenger seat". The carrier can stand on the top of the Falcon, however, though he must walk continuously in the same direction it's traveling as to not fall off.

Forge
The Falcon can be spawned in Halo: Reach's Forge on the maps Forge World, Tempest, Spire, Highlands, Breakpoint, Ridgeline, and Breakneck.

The Falcon can be affected by the Turretless vehicle glitch.

As part of the "Thorage" update for the Halo: The Master Chief Collection version of Halo: Reach, several more Falcon variants were added. They can be found in the "Vehicles (MCC)" category on the maps Tempest and Forge World.

Advantages

 * Can move several people at once.
 * These players can reach areas that are harder to access on foot.
 * Greatly extended Motion Tracker Range while using the Falcon.
 * While hard to control this outcome, locked on Rocket launcher rockets can sometimes pass clean through the troop bay.

Disadvantages

 * The side-mounted machine guns on some Falcons are extremely short-ranged.
 * Passengers are exposed.
 * Passengers sitting in non-gunner seats cannot fire back, while still being exposed.

Production notes
Originally due to balancing purposes, the Falcon in Halo: Reach multiplayer lacks the chin-mounted autocannon that is normally usable by the pilot.

However, eventually the chin-mounted autocannon campaign Falcons, and a Transport Falcon capable of transporting five players as passengers was added to the Halo: The Master Chief Collection version of Halo: Reach Forge when Halo 3 was added to PC.

Additionally, the Falcon was one of several vehicles concepted and considered for inclusion - though ultimately cut from - Halo 4.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Reach