Editing Crucible:Super-Stilt 300 (section)

== Extension And Retraction ==

Deployment occurs in a controlled telescoping sequence. The lowest cylinder stages extend first, lifting the capsule clear of surrounding obstacles. Successive stages then rise and lock until the selected height is reached.

Full extension is not instantaneous. Rapid deployment consumes most of the stored pressure in the accumulators and subjects the entire structure to severe transient loads. Lipschitz nevertheless favors it because a slowly rising Hydraulic Man does not produce the entrance he desires.

Retraction normally reverses the sequence, with each collar releasing only after the stage above it has been secured. Hydraulic pressure controls the descent and prevents the capsule from simply dropping under its own weight.

An '''emergency retraction system''' can collapse the stilts much more quickly. Sequential valves open under computer control, mechanical locks release in order, and the machine descends through a series of damped stages. The process is violent but survivable when operating correctly.

Emergency retraction becomes significantly less controlled after Booster has shot holes in it.