So yeah. I was wondering before why there is no air-craft type vehicles for 40k. I mean, they have tanks, buggies, hover-bikes, but no flying vehicles. They even have flying units, the assualt troops and the swooping hawks. So could games workshop just not be bothered, or what? Thoughts?

Well forgeworld has plenty of Flying vehicles for 40K and are even releasing a new game called Aeronautica Imperialis which is pure air to air ocmbat.

There are skimmers which are sort of vehicles but the main reason that there are no flyers is that they wouldn't really fit into the "normal" 40K game.

Forgeworld have rules for flyers, but they do need quite a few special rules, for instance you can shoot them in the movement phase and they can move over the entire battlefield.

I just think flyers are either too big or too fast for 40K, they could come in doing a strafing run or 2 but wouldn't be there for the entire 6+ turns.

Though the speed freaks list does allow you to buy a flyer, but no model is needed.

I love the planes and such in 40k and there is quite a few.
My personal favourite is the Imperial Thunderbolt fighter. The imperial also have almost all type of war planes, from fighters, heavy bombers, and even drop ships with a helicopter way of flying. They only miss a diving bomber basicly.

Forge world handles all the large scale stuff, so all aircraft and the like is made by them. My personal favourite has to be the eldar aircraft. They have a beatiful design that the clunky imperial aircrafts will never have.

Though who can go past the Thunderhawk...?
Armed with so many weapons you'll probably run out opponents before bullets, and with a battle cannon on top... wow that thing would get jerked around if it fired while flying...

I plan to scratch build one eventually (and have been planning on it for at least 3 years now...)

In a really massive game it wouldn't be too hard to include aircraft, but their rules would really over complicate your average game (they would cross the length your average 40K battlefield in the blink of an eye). Especially as taking them means your enemy gets to take AA mounts (about the only way you can bring the aircraft down).

Well, there you go. Forgive my ignorance on the topic; I hadn't gotten around to checking out the forgeworld site yet. I've been told they're quite pricey, and considering I live overseas, I didn't much see the point. Havng had a gander at their stock, though, I'm rather impressed! I assume the range is acceptable to use in tournaments?

I'm not completely sure, but i don't think forgeworld models are accepted in most tournaments.
Unfortunate, really.

Forgeworld models are acceptable in all GW-run events and the majority of non-GW ones too. You will find the rare exception, but those are indeed the exception and not the norm.

Forgeworld rules on the other hand far less so. It is not that there is a massive problem with them going on per se, but the price of entry as it were is rather steep since these books are quite pricey, and so a person with their Forgeworld-backed army list can present an undue challenge to the opponent just based on their 'I don't know how the hell I am even supposed to attack a Baneblade or what the rules are for massive vehicles and creatures' factor.