Well, the river thing I understand, but it's still a realism issue, not a gameplay one. You can simply fly across the river first, then attack.
The Gunship does have one feature other ground units lack, and it's the ability to unload off a Transport and attack inland on the same turn. This includes the ability to fly inland and pillage!
Just try thinking of the Gunship as a Ground Unit (which in game logic terms, it IS, with one or two special rules applied) and everything will make sense on the gameplay level.
Sulla: Custom Continents provided a lot of variety! That's one reason why I wanted to feature it in our first SG.
- Sirian