Thanks for the info. My problem is that the PAX will have to deal with people that wear plate armor, carry spears, swords, knives and crossbows and know how to use them. Somehow, the PAX have to survive at least one engagement without being totally slaughtered.
The PAX, at this point, have spent a few months learning to hunt with spears, knives and are familiar with them - if not fully experienced.
Luckily for the PAX, there is one grizzled Iraq veteran who can train them in the basics. But, they are realistic about what they can achieve with limited training (weeks, not months before they are attacked).
They have to use their advantages (the plane, technology, defending) to deal with an attack they know is coming.
They will be able to make gunpowder where they are, but they won't do that before they are attacked. They also won't be able to set up a distillery before being attacked. Of course, they do have some Jet A fuel left...
There are fairly simple wooden designs for a crossbow on the Internet. I'm not sure what else would be effective against plate armor. I think they could build 5-6 crossbows and using them, with other defensive means, could repel the attack. I like the idea of the bola, I hadn't thought of that.
BTW, I just thought of using the snubber that holds the overhead bins. Is that a dampened piston with a SS shaft going into a aluminum body or something? If I separate those parts, and use the SS shaft, do I have my bolt? There must be a lot of those on the plane.