Modern Transportation

Modern transportation describes the various extremely modern vehicles found in the first two Ultima installments. They can only be explained by the twisting of the time-stream, as they partially employ technology many years beyond what is currently available on Earth.

Shuttle

The shuttle is the only spaceship capable of leaving and re-entering the planet's atmosphere in Ultima I. Surprisingly, it is rather trivial to buy a shuttle (at a certain point in the game), but it is deadly to use if one isn't wearing Reflect Armour. Note that the shuttle has no weaponry, and therefore an aspiring "space ace" will want to switch to a different craft, once docked in space.

Air Car

This vehicle is a lot like a landspeeder from Star Wars. It hovers over the ground and has no trouble with land or water, but can't pass through forests. Additionally, it is armed with powerful lasers, and can shoot enemies at a distance. The air car was found in Ultima I and could be bought when the time was right.

Bi-Plane

A bi-plane is a real, existing airplane. In Ultima II, it is capable of flying over all kinds of terrain. When not flying, it is capable of rolling over grassland. Be warned that the plane can only land on grass, not forests or water, and will crash outright if a landing is attempted in the mountains.

Bi-Planes could be found on Earth, both in 1990 A.D. in New San Antonio and in 2112 A.D. Aftermath in Pirate Harbour, though some were found on the outer planets, notably Pluto. To actually be able to use a plane, one needed a Skull Key and a Brass Button (both items unique to Ultima II).

Rocket

Space rockets are only available in the Aftermath town Pirate Harbour in Ultima II. To operate one after stealing it from the communists, a Reflect or Power Armour is absolutely needed, as well as an Ankh to start it and Tri-Lithium to fuel it. Once in space, a set of three coordinates (X-Y-Z) have to be entered to engage a hyperwarp to the target, using one Tri-Lithium per trip.

Landing is much more tricky; the rocket needs to land on grass, or it will crash and explode. Death also occurs should the pilot carelessly deplete the rocket's supply of Tri-Lithium.

Trivia

 * The reason behind this bizarre mix of medieval scenario and modern/sci-fi technology was that, at the beginning, Richard Garriott hadn't decided what direction he should take the series. After Ultima II, he'd decided to (mostly) drop the sci-fi stuff, and the story got more mature.