This is topic AeroShuttle Technology Engineering Report 4.1 (Sternbach's Final ST:Mag Tech Article) in forum Starships & Technology at Flare Sci-Fi Forums.
As good as they were, I still say it was a mere tantalizing taste of what Sternbach could have done with a complete Voyager Technical Manual.
Enjoy! -MMoM Posted by TheWoozle (Member # 929) on :
The Franchise is in a slump... I'm sure that they will print a few more heavely graphic books, like the recent map book. Never know, they might do a set of technical manuals, to go with the fairly well made TNG Enterprise D book.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
A treat as always. I especially liked the idea of a Starfleet Vor'cha and using such a huge ship to destroy a small shuttle. Sort of like crash testing a motorbike using a Challenger Tank. I also thought the mention of Voyager's Aero shuttle currently being overhauled.
One thing I haven't been able to work out it exacly where the crew is supposed to embark frrom the mothership. I assume that one or both those dark shapes on the underside are for when the landed ship is landed (perhaps one of them is a cargo lift) But I can't see any likely dorsal hatches. Unless the crew climb down through a vertical jefferies tube of course.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Why wouldn't they just go through the side hatches (like on the runabout)?
One of those bottom dark shapes could be a ramp a la KBOP in ST:IV?
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
Which side doors would those be? The ones that aren't there or...the one's that aren't there?
Lift, ramp, whichever.
Posted by SoundEffect (Member # 926) on :
There are two oval cargo hatches (of the same type found on Galaxy Classes) that may or may not be able to reach the ground. The most likely candidate comes from Sternbach's sketches showing the front landing leg of Voyager. The full size set, if they could've built it, would've had a ladder on the outboard side. So the crew would exit Voyager from the Landing Strut wells.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Oops - sorry about the doors - I just assumed that it had them seeing as it was like the Runabout.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Hmmm... a Starfleet-crewed Vor'cha is an interesting idea. But also kinda strange considering that there were no hostilities between the Fed and the Empire before 2372. The only reason I can think of is that the Klingons donated or "sold" the ship to Starfleet... but that doesn't make sense, because even in the 24th century, military secrets clearly remain important.
Still, that's a cool idea.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
It said "recovered" ... it could have been abandoned by the crew after a confrontation with the Cardassians or something.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
But the Klingons, once they found out about it, would almost certainly still want it back. I'm sure the British would want one of their Challenger tanks back if it got abandoned for whatever reason in the middle of the Iraqi desert and was picked up by the US Marines...
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
...unless they never *did* find out about it... Posted by The359 (Member # 37) on :
Maybe the hulk was so badly damaged, that the Klingons didn't really care what happened to it. Any secrets might have been destroyed or whatever.
Posted by SoundEffect (Member # 926) on :
Or it could've been part of a technology exchange. Sternbach, in an article printed when the Vor'cha was new stated that the Attack Cruiser was designed as a joint effort between the KDF and Starfleet. That's why there's a more Starfleet look to the ship than most other Klingon ships. Sternbach chose the color for the Vor'cha as a direct blend between the dark military green of the K'Tinga and the hull of the Galaxy Class to emphasize how the two powers were involved in the design.
Posted by The359 (Member # 37) on :
I seem to remember the front section of the Vor'Cha being able to detach (aka saucer seperation) and be used for a kamikaze attack against a target.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
I also remember reading that about the Vor'cha. What was it from? I think the bussard collectors were also another 'link'.
Andrew
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Very cool. I've been looking for this magazine but haven't been able to find it yet. I love the launching picture they put together.
As for a hatch, you can clearly see an embarkation corridor on the port side of the docking bay. One would assume there is some kind of concealed hatch on that side of the craft.
Posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim (Member # 646) on :
In case some people weren't aware, the shot of the AeroShuttle launching from beneath the Voyager's saucer was not created specifically for the Mag but is unused footage done by Foundation Imaging for the episode "Relativity." (There was to be a scene at Utopia Planitia showing the test-launching of the AeroShuttle.) The Fact Files featured more of these (completed but not used) FX shots in their own article on the AeroShuttle some time ago.
And Guardian of Forever also has higher-res scans of the same shots.
-MMoM Posted by SoundEffect (Member # 926) on :
quote:Originally posted by AndrewR: I also remember reading that about the Vor'cha. What was it from? I think the bussard collectors were also another 'link'.
Andrew
The article about the Vor'cha being a joint Federation/Klingon design is from a Rick Sternbach interview printed in the old Starlog Star Trek Magazine Vol. 15 (pg 14-19) (Worf, K'Ehleyr and Alexander are on the cover)
Posted by MrNeutron (Member # 524) on :
It's kind of cool, but why oh why can't just ONCE the "wings" on one of these ships actually have an aerodynamic cross-section instead of being a flat slab? Sternbach oughta know better...
Posted by Dax (Member # 191) on :
quote:Originally posted by MrNeutron: ...instead of being a flat slab? Sternbach oughta know better...
Sternbach seems to like slabs. And people complain about Eaves.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote:Originally posted by Aban Rune: As for a hatch, you can clearly see an embarkation corridor on the port side of the docking bay. One would assume there is some kind of concealed hatch on that side of the craft.
You can? Where?
All I can see is a (possible) vertical jefferies tube between the two white lights. Which infact does line up with what could be a dorsal hatch on the Aerowing itself.
quote:Originally posted by MrNeutron: ...instead of being a flat slab? Sternbach oughta know better...
Sternbach seems to like slabs. And people complain about Eaves.
Unless I'm mistaken, I don't think you can blame (or credit) Sternbach for this design. I believe this design was done independently by Foundation Imaging's Mojo, specifically for the test shots referenced by MIM.
B.J.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
This is what I'm thinking I see:
Now... Part of that indent is for the thruster nub on that side of the craft. You can see the cutout in the hull right below it. But it looks bigger than the nub to me. It looks like theres a door there.
I can also see the hole you're talking about on the ceiling of the bay. Coming in from the top, though, would seem a rather cumbersome way to access the ship. Especially if you're loading supplies.
I always wished that the access to the Sovvie's yacht had been better shown in Insurrection. It would have been very cool to get a clear picture of the top of the ship peeking up through the floor.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
Assuming my calculations are correct, that "door" would be about the same size as a Jeffries hatch, which is even more cumbersome than a vertical tube for loading cargo. Plus the fact that there is no corresponding door on the Areowing itself I think we can rule out this feature as being a point of access. More likely it is a docking clamp or just a guidance beacon.
However there dose appear to be a slightly larger hatch on the starboard side that could be a cargo bay hatch, so perhaps the embarkation ramp is on the starboard side and out of view.
Of course the most likely explanation is that the docking area model was never finished since it was only meant to be used as a proof of concept test footage.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
I see your point... that thruster assembly area isn't very tall....you'd have to crawl to get through it. Unless.... what if the cavity we're seeing is taller than the nub?
Anyway... you're most likely correct and there simply is no point of access on the Aerowing model or in the docking bay. Its unlikely they went to that much trouble just to do test footage.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
