LF-22 Starling

"One moment you're on the runway slowly inching into position, wondering what all the fuss was about. The next, you're 200 feet in the air and rising, a shrieking human speck on the front end of a blazing rocket trail making straight for the stratosphere. Why are you doing this? How do you get down? What happens if you start crapping out heavy munitions at this speed? Honestly, we're hoping you tell us. Please note: This aircraft is excluded from Pegasus Lifestyle Management and must be stored in a personal hangar."

- Warstock Cache & Carry description.

The LF-22 Starling is a plane featured in Grand Theft Auto Online as part of the Smuggler's Run update.

Grand Theft Auto Online
The LF-22 Starling is compact fighter plane closely based on the, which sports a rocket engine mounted in the rear, while the propeller on the front is most likely attached to an emergency generator similar to that used on its inspiration, but has a framed cockpit. The setup appears to be similar to that of the, but retaining the vertical stabilizer shape of the aforementioned Me 163 (but with the rudder mounted over the stabilizer rather than from the rear side). The machine guns positioning appears to be similar to that of the.

The Starling features enough space for the pilot and a small hatch on the underside for the bomb bay.

Grand Theft Auto Online
The Starling's performance is similar to that of a modern-day fighter jet as oppose to its real-life intention. The plane's small, compact design also makes it very easy to handle, almost too easy - the pitch remains stable, however rolling the plane can sometimes result in overestimating the amount of roll needed to perform a turn, in a similar way to the Howard NX-25's roll and pitch behavior. Nevertheless, the plane is still easily one of the best performing planes in the game. In terms of defensive capabilities, the plane lacks considerably compared to other planes, especially for its high cost. Nonetheless, its speed provides the player with enough force to evade attackers from both ground and in air (although this advantage can be considerable when equipping countermeasures).

The LF-22 Starling sports a rocket booster on the rear of the vehicle, which can be used for both take offs and cruising flight. The rocket booster provides a huge amount of acceleration, surpassing even the Hydra, Besra and P-996 Lazer. It is important to note that the rocket must recharge, however unlike regular JATO boosters found on other planes, it can recharge in mid air, although it will recharge quicker while on ground.

Unusually, the LF-22 Starling features a single main gear wheel and a tailwheel, which makes it difficult to land, as the plane tends to lose its balance easily upon contact with the ground. Extra precaution is needed when attempting to land the vehicle on a flat runway.


 * The plane is equipped with two built-in machine guns found on either wing, which provide small amount of protection against enemies in flight.
 * By default, lacks missiles, but can be added via customization, adding six units on either wing (three per wing).
 * It also features a small bomb bay to deploy up to 50 bombs (if added via customization).

Grand Theft Auto Online

 * Can be purchased on Warstock Cache & Carry for $3,657,500 or for $2,750,000 (trade price).

General

 * s are small to medium-sized passerine birds commonly found in Europe and several other continents, referencing the plane's compact design and German origins.
 * The designation "LF" could possibly stand for "Fighter (F) Equipped for Cold Weather Operations (L)", though this might be inaccurate, as neither inspirations are tasked for such purpose and "L" could have simply mean "Light", resulting in "Light Fighter".

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