Full name: Launchpad McQuack
Age: Mid-thirties? Never stated in series.
Appearance: Tall, red hair, cleft in chin, broad shoulders. Nearly always wears a brown leather aviator's jacket, tan jodpurs, black boots, a scarf, and a flight cap with aviator goggles over it. The flight cap is almost never removed. When it is, he sometimes has short hair underneath, but on occasion is animated as bald. (ick.)
First Appearance: DuckTales pilot episode/movie.
Known relatives: The Flying McQuacks.
Occupation: Pilot; full-time sidekick to Darkwing Duck (heck, he lives in the same house).
Relation to Darkwing: Sidekick, and presumably his best friend. Launchpad stands by while Darkwing pours out his heart, offers advice, takes abuse good-naturedly, and helps raise Gosalyn. Geez - he's practically Darkwing's wife. *eg*
Special Skills: Mechanic (built the ThunderQuack himself); some past experience as a spy; known to have a history of torrid love affairs (well, heh, kind of *g*)
Quirks: Known to (proudly) crash every vehicle he pilots (air or land); so bad a cook that he can make brownies which are apparently spicy; addicted to particular soap operas.

Sidekick, pilot, hero in his own right. Ladies' man. ;) Yeah, all these describe Launchpad, and there are still more terms that one can use. But let's not go nuts with the descriptive phrases. Who is this unlucky pilot with a heart of gold? Since his debut over ten years ago on Disney's "DuckTales", Launchpad has become a recurring favourite in Disney TV- even going so far as to become something of a figurehead for the Disney Afternoon.

During his stint on DuckTales, Launchpad proved that his faith and bravery were as pervading as his tendency to crash every vehicle he ever piloted. Often portrayed as something of an idiot, he was also possessed of a never-say-die spirit and a heart with a whole lot of room. Enough room to even like Scrooge McDuck. Yeesh. ;) Despite his dubious flight abilities, Launchpad is a capable mechanic and a more than capable adventurer. Thus it was only natural that he would show up on another show after DuckTales had finished its run... And thankfully, that show was "Darkwing Duck". :)