Wait? When was this?!? I thought all were User Bound? Isn't yours? But cool thanks for the info.
Edit/update:
Or wait a sec. Yes they did have a few on sale in auction for 50k if I'm right and those were the black ones which could be space ready some day?
No. The black ones were just the first few (I don't know how many, guess about 5) dropships handed out to the first players who completed the Payback mission, similar to the Skullcandy reward for the first month when Viceroy came out. They are called "Dropship Vanguard" and are not formally attached to a firebase, which determines for everybody else who follows whether they get the desert, jungle or arctic design.
All of those acquired through the mission are user-bound, because they are really a bonus, a gift on top of the already pretty decent skill rewards (was universal ammo in the beginning which meant you could essentially do it for free, but it seems they were forced to change that). As you progress through the mission you are promoted through military ranks, and together with the equipment given will eventually be priviledged to play a leading role in future events, think big military operations as the announcement suggested.
One funny fact is, even though they are not tradable, they are listed in the auction house under orders/available. Go have a look in the vehicles section.
There is no evidence to support that they will be spaceworthy one day. Those rumours are solely the players' wishful thinking. The latest space-going "Firebird Limited Edition" is technically the same as Quad-Wing Equus, only its design is based on the shape of a Dropship. It is sold under the same conditions also, i.e. 50k from the source. Arkadia Studios only switched from offering them under "Global Auctions" to the regular planet auction. There are some waiting for a buyer right now, you can check them out.
All this information is publicly available, prominently and much discussed on the planet partner's forum which is also Arkadia's official communication platform. Why there is so much confusion about simple information, even among those who frequent the other forums, remains a mystery.