One of my favorite tropes is when characters are forced to fight with non-military equipment. Usually requires a lot of plot-armor.
In this case, a Zedconian heavy-lift VTOL, a Container Dragon, is forced into a dogfight against some attack helicopter. They are totally unarmed, so some improvisation will be necessary.
I wrote a short story to go with this scene: ----
You gripped the well worn metal handholds as tightly as you physically could as the earth and sky whizzed by outside the flat cockpit windows. Your seat was located at the rear of the somewhat cramped space. The front seat was occupied by the zedconian pilot you had met only hours before. He was extremely busy frantically manipulating the controls that surrounded him.
The scene was chaotic. So many alarms were blaring you could hardly tell them apart. Numerous colored indicators blinked and flashed at various rates all across the busy instrument panel. Needles on the gauges spun and bounced crazily. The whole aircraft shook constantly, so much that it was painful to your spine. The machine's large diesel engine screamed in agony as it was pushed to its limits, clearly running over the red-line. The turbochargers cried shrill screams while the four huge prop-rotors howled fiercely.
During a particularly hard left roll you were able to catch a glimpse of one of the front rotors. The whole pylon shook violently as if the whole thing was barely holding together. The control surfaces fluttered as they struggled to maintain control under the severe overspeed conditions. Light smoke streamed out from just under the rotor hub.
During another hard turn you finally were able to spot your pursuer; a combat helicopter of some kind. It tilted and rolled easily as it kept pace with the much larger quad rotor.
Suddenly, a particularly urgent alarm rang out over the chaos. At the same moment the zedconian pilot shoved the controls hard and slammed a lever back. The four rotors rapidly tilted and their long pylons shifted. You felt your body compress painfully and you lost your orientation. You could feel and hear the airframe groaning under the extreme strain. This aircraft was a heavy lift VTOL, not a fighter.
There was a sharp crack followed instantly by a deafening boom that violently shook the whole machine. The windows briefly flashed with a blinding light, then suddenly went completely dark. Debris pelted the craft, cracking two of the rectangular glass windows. After only a moment the windows cleared and the blue sky was visible again.
"FUCKING HELL!" the zedconian shouted loudly, "doesn't he know this is a civilian aircraft!" As if in response, bright yellow streaks of bullets flew past the cockpit windows, forcing the zedconian to jerk the controls and send the aircraft into a roll, which he then followed by a steep climb.
The pursuing helicopter attempted to match the climb, but wasn't able. The dragon-like VTOL had too much momentum. It's four big rotors begging for mercy as it rolled onto its back before falling into a steep dive. More electronic alarms wailed as the aircraft picked up speed. You could see the airspeed indicator plunge off the scale and the hands of the altimeter spin wildly.
The helicopter came into view out of the front glass. You were closing in at an extremely high rate. Fearing a collision, the helicopter maneuvered hard to the right, but the zedconian anticipated the move and made a quick course adjustment. He then reached over and yanked down on two levers labeled 'container claw', forcing them into the 'deployed' position.
You braced yourself for the impending horrible high-speed crash. Pushing yourself back into the seat you became filled with a crushing dread. You couldn't even scream. The zedconian pilot leaned forward, his teeth barred. He focused intensely on lining his aircraft up just right.
The cockpit passed just barely clearing the rotor of the helo, but the VTOL's outstretched rear legs, with their deployed claw-like steel hooks, smashed directly into the upper half of the helicopter. Its rotor exploded and its engines were torn off. The impact was so severe it forced the big VTOL into an uncontrolled endover tumble. You were thrown against the seat's restraint so hard it knocked your breath away. The frame of the chopper quickly folded totally in half and fell to the earth in a ball of fire.
The zedconian fought the controls but was able to bring the craft back into stable flight. He pulled back hard on the controls, your spine compressed and the airframe groaned. Your heart pounded in your chest as the rapidly closing view of the terrain shifted towards the horizon. The aircraft leveled out only a few dozen meters above the treeline, ending their perilous dive. He pulled back on the throttle, moving the lever off the 'emergency power' region. The harsh mechanical cries of the aircraft's drivetrain relaxed. He briefly looked over at you, making a toothy grin. "I can't believe that worked!" he exclaimed "Haha!" He was quite worked up from the intense few minutes.
