#Delta Flyer

[alphamecha-mkii]

Skyship Voyager by Jetfreak-7

[baelannagorgeous]

May I present Tom Paris having bisexual panic *delta flyer edition*

[defconprime]

Delta Flyer hangar pet from Star Trek Online

[usstrekart]

"Thirty Days" (S05E08, Stardate 52179.4) has a cool high concept sci-fi idea, and and interesting storytelling hook. But it can't decide if it wants to be an interesting sci-fi story, an environmental morality play or a debate over the Prime Directive so the end result is a bit messy.

My episode poster features a solitary Tom Paris being very lonely while he serves his time thinking about what he has done…

[sshbpodcast]

Shuttle, Shuttle, Boil and Buttle: Shuttlecraft in Star Trek

By Ames

Diagrams emphatically not to scale here.

A Star to Steer Her By is hitting the open road today. Or open space, I suppose. Pack a lunch for a nice day trip because you can’t get too far in a shuttlecraft in Star Trek, but you still need some flexibility outside your massive hero ship. We’ve covered all those Federation starships before (check out parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 here!). Like they say, “warp’s fine if you like going fast in a straight line,” but what if we wanna do some offroading? Now it’s the little guys’ time to shine!

We’re only going to be looking at classic Trek shuttles from The Original Series through Enterprise because newer series just have too many types of shuttles to count and also because Ex Astris Scientia has a great selection of these shuttles chronicled for easier reference. So strap in and scroll on to see all the screengrabs we could find and listen to this week’s podcast episode (discussion at 1:01:56) for a couple games of “I Spy.” It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

[Images © CBS/Paramount, Ex Astris Scientia, Eaglemoss Ltd., probably others]

TOS: Class F

This simple boxy affair is probably the most recognizable shuttlecraft, especially after the Galileo-7’s starring turn in the eponymous “The Galileo Seven,” among many other episodes throughout TOS. It’s definitely function over form with this basic brick of a vehicle, but that just makes it more endearing.

TAS: Aquashuttle

The Animated Series had a little more flexibility to showcase some new designs, though just how much was getting designed is still really minimal on that cheapskate show. It was nice to see a craft that could transition from space to atmosphere to water when we saw this eraser stub of an aquashuttle in “The Ambergris Element,” so that’s something at least.

TAS: Copernicus-type

We meet the Copernicus in “The Slaver Weapon” and it’s a cute little mosquito of a ship. Everything about her is just so pointy and sharp, and she looks fast to boot. We know very little else about this type of craft, but we appreciate her typical nacelles and her speedboat shape.

TAS: Heavy shuttle

Comparatively more bulbous than the Copernicus we just looked at is this much heavier-looking shuttle from “Mudd’s Passion.” Again, we don’t see much of this thing, but it looks like it’s more durable and able to take a bit of a beating, and it even has a little bit of curve to its windshield!

TOS Films: Travel pod

There’s much more budget by the time we get to The Motion Picture, so the model for this small travel pod that ferries crewmen around spacedock is pretty logical even if some of the compositing is… less so. The purpose of the pod is so simple that its design really reflects that. It even returns for a hot second in the final scene of The Voyage Home.

TOS Films: Executive shuttle

We catch a couple of glimpses of the SD-103 Executive Shuttle from The Undiscovered Country, and again, it’s a pretty simple shape that does its job and then goes home for the day without needing to do much more. This one has a polite little wedge shape, clearly allowing the most room it can to move people back and forth and that’s that.

TOS Films: Type 4 Shuttle

In The Final Frontier, we have a new Galileo and it’s looking like a pretty obvious progression from the original television show. This is what the Type F would look like if they’d had the money and time in the 60s, and we’re digging it. It has the same kind of pointy front, a window that could still stand to be bigger, and empty cavernous space inside that we expect from a shuttle.

TNG Films: Hawking

I’m putting this one back to back with the Type 4 so you can appreciate the very slight differences between the Galileo and the Hawking that we see in Generations. Is it just the added side windows that’s particularly different? And why did it take them so long to add side windows in the first place?

TNG: Type 15 Shuttlepod

Let’s step back to the rest of TNG, now that we’ve already gotten things out of order. We see these things throughout Next Gen and they’re like tiny little remote-controlled toy cars. You can barely fit one person in these things, let alone anything more than that. We hope you’re not flying too far because these flying mousedroids look cramped!

TNG: Type 6 Shuttle

We see these things throughout TNG and Voyager. You’ll notice they are very very similar to the shuttle from Generations above, but a little more squished. One could surmise that the model designers whipped out the Type 4 from The Final Frontier since it was already of the necessary quality for film, and decided to take a cue from this shuttle for the extra windows!

TNG: Type 7 Shuttle

A new design for yet another new Galileo. These things run concurrently with the Type 6 as we also see them consistently throughout TNG, but their design is much more distinct. Their edges are more rounded and their rumps more spankable. Their nacelles also look more like the Enterprise-D’s nacelles. They even come with two options for their much more curved window unit: long and extra long!

TNG Films: Type 11 Shuttle

Picard and Worf chase Data around in Insurrection in one of these cute little doorstops. Everything about these shuttles looks pointy, from the face to the windows to the nacelles! It pretty much clicks that this is the kind of craft you’d find on the Enterprise-E, a ship that’s much longer and more streamlined than the rounder and more bloated D.

TNG Films: Captain’s yacht

In Insurrection, we also steal a glimpse of the Cousteau, also known as the captain’s yacht. What the hell a more weaponized ship like the Enterprise-E needs with a yacht is debatable, but it’s got some of the more movie-era design elements on it, like the pointier nacelles and tapered face. We also like that it looks like those nacelles tuck in for easy storage!

TNG Films: Argo

One last instance from the TNG films and it’s not a favorite (both the film and this vessel). In Nemesis, Picard and friends go down to a primitive planet in the Argo (great name; I’ll admit that), whose purpose seems mostly to be carrying a dune buggy for no damn reason. That aside, this shuttle also just looks unfriendly. More like a fighter jet than a diplomatic craft and that’s not our thing.

DS9: Type 10 Shuttle

Apparently this thing, the Chaffee, lives on the Defiant, though we’re damned if we can figure out where because the Defiant doesn’t even seem big enough to house a full-sized shuttle of any kind, much less a shuttle bay. But in “The Sound of Her Voice” we do get a quick shot or several of this weird little dustbuster of a ship that shares the same tucked-in nacelle look as its mommy ship. Weird.

DS9: Type 18 Shuttle

Oh boy, I’m glad Deep Space Nine mostly used Runabouts instead of these things because they’re goofy as all get out. They do get used in season 3 episodes “The Search” and “Destiny” before we settled into the Defiant, and it’s a good thing because the Type 18 just looks like an old school UFO or something, with a protruding undercarriage like a submarine ride in an amusement park. This design is just trying too hard.

VOY: Type 8 Shuttle

We see these things mostly in early Voyager before the Delta Flyer is introduced, and they look so similar to the Type 6 in TNG that they may as well have not bothered with the update. When in doubt, always check if the nacelles look like they belong on your hero ship or not. That’s my rule of thumb, anyway.

VOY: Type 9 Shuttle (AKA Class 2)

That rule also works on the other shuttle we see pretty frequently in Voyager, especially notably in “Threshold” when the Cochrane breaks the warp 10 barrier. It’s a nifty little ship, closer to the shuttles that we saw in Insurrection than the other series ships in that it looks streamlined and zippy and a little bit like a phaser without a handle.

VOY: Delta Flyer

Once Voyager introduces the Delta Flyer in “Extreme Risk” early in season 5, we use this thing all over the place, even replacing it almost perfectly after it shatters to confetti in “Unimatrix Zero.” And it’s a solid design! It’s clear Tom put a lot of effort into the ship because it looks incredibly sturdy with its triangular shape, embedded nacelles like the Defiant has, and nifty front window that almost reminds me of a stained-glass window.

VOY: SC-4 Shuttle

This special, slightly futuristic shuttle visits us in the series finale “Endgame.” It’s a lot like the Class 2 shuttle in its shape and resemblance to a phaser, but this one’s also got nifty shields like a suit of armor that it fits within! So that’s something to look forward to later in our watch.

ENT: Inspection pod

Moving on to Enterprise, the last leg of our day trip. We’ve mentioned before how much we appreciate the design elements in Enterprise looked like the stepping stones between today’s space technology and the future aesthetics we see in Star Trek, and this little pod with its docking side and its conical shape flat out looks like the module on a modern rocket ship! Cool!

ENT: Shuttlepod

We see an absolute ton of these things in Enterprise (in a majority of episodes, as a matter of fact!) because the transporter didn’t quite work consistently yet. So it’s shuttles or nothing for our prequel friends and this one is actually incredibly cute, with its sorta submarine feel and its cyclops-eye window like a porthole looking out into space.

— Get that barricade ready as we come into the shuttlebay. It’s so good to be back because we’ve got so much to do around the ship! We’re still traveling through the Delta Quadrant with Voyager over on SoundCloud or your favorite podcast application, we’re still sending out a distress signal on Facebook and Twitter, and we’re shuttling off to buttle-oh!

[isagrimorie]

I just really love the Delta Flyer. I know it's not a capital ship or the Defiant, but I love this.

Captain Seven would definitely commission Delta Flyer class shuttles.

I know I posted about this before but I have fully accepted I'm just the sort to love ships. No matter the sci fi series, if there's a beautiful ship - I will start loving them. And also coveting a model for myself.

[startrekships]

Delta Flyer via BlueBrixx

[acoochimoya]

I mean, there is no WAY Tom Paris didn't try to install a sound system in the Delta Flyer, which Tuvok made him delete along with the fins

[chernobog13]

A cutaway of the Delta Flyer from Star Trek: Voyager, by Christopher Cushman.

[space-dorks]

[alphamecha-mkii]

Searching the Asteroid Field by Chris Cardwell

[marcstwocents]

Trekology: Voyager & The Redemption of Thomas Eugene Paris/Nick Locarno

It’s really no secret, Robert Duncan McNeill’s character on Voyager is directly tied to his appearance as Cadet Nicholas Locarno on The Next Generation’s “The First Duty” Season 5, Episode 19. The premise of the episode is that Starfleet Cadet, Wesley Crusher is involved in an accident that claimed one of his fellow cadet’s lives when their squadron decided to go against Starfleet rules and…

[defconprime]

Alternate cover for Star Trek issue 14. Cover art by Phil Murphy, 2023.

[usstrekart]

"Once Upon a Time" (S05E05, Stardate UNKNOWN) offers Neelix the chance to rise to the occasion as a godfather, and he continually makes the choice to shelter rather than parent. There is something to learn in there, but I often skip this one.

I kept this episode poster simple in concept, and featured Voyager and the Delta Flyer as pieces of a pop-up story book.

[ironcaniac]

Review of BlueBrixx’s Delta Flyer ... by the U.S.S. Voyager crew  ;)

Tom Paris: Behold the Delta Flyer. Ultra-aerodynamic contours, retractable nacelles, para-metallic hull plating, unimatrix shielding based on Tuvok’s brilliant design for the multi-spatial probe, and a Borg-inspired weapons system.

Seven: Basic design elements are ... adequate.

Tom: High praise.

Harry Kim: If we used iso-magnetic EPS conduits in the plasma manifold, we could maximize the power distribution.

Tuvok: My shield designs could be successfully applied to a vessel of this size.

Captain Janeway: I’m impressed, but how quickly can it be built?

Tom: We could replicate the alloys and the new design components, use spare parts from storage. If we worked around the clock we could have it up and running inside a week.

[It actually took me about a day’s time in total to finish the Delta Flyer.  There aren’t as many pieces as the Rio Grande model, but some of the steps are a bit trickier than just snapping two bricks together.]

Seven: I suggest we turn our attention to the matter of structural integrity.

Tuvok: Agreed.

Seven: Lieutenant Torres’ hull design is flawed. We should be using tetraburnium alloys instead of titanium.

[Once again, BlueBrixx did an excellent job recreating the basic structure of the Delta Flyer seen in Star Trek: Voyager.  Unlike the similarly minifig-scale Galileo and Rio Grande, the bases of which were largely rectangular shaped, the Delta Flyer has a lot of sloping angles that the brickset designers could only replicate with building blocks through very creative and unconventional techniques.  As a result, the Delta Flyer is not as clean-looking of a model as its minifig-scale predecessors. There are a few places where the adjacent pieces had to be positioned in a certain way to recreate the proper angle but left gaps and seams as a result.  Not a bad trade-off in my opinion to get a brick model in this scale that resembles the onscreen Flyer so closely.  Plus, when viewed (or photographed) from certain angles, the gaps are barely noticeable.]

Harry: I keep telling you, we’ve got to reinforce the hull with kellinite. That’s all there is to it.

Tuvok: Proposing the same flawed strategy over and over again will not make it more effective, Ensign.

Harry: Well, we’ve got to come up with something or we’ll never get this thing off the ground.

Tuvok: Unless we find a way to reconfigure the structural integrity field, the hull will incur microfractures during descent.

Tom: Microfractures, Tuvok. Doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll have a hull breach.

Tuvok: And if we do, I suppose these useless design elements from your Captain Proton scenario will compensate for the problem.

Tom: Hey, every one of these knobs and levers is fully functional.

Tuvok: And completely superfluous.

Tom: Maybe to you. I am tired of tapping panels. For once, I want controls that let me actually feel the ship I’m piloting.

[Some time later]

Irina: Vectored exhaust ports, accelerated driver coils. Your vessel must be fast.

Tom: Gets us where we want to go.

Irina: Check your scanners. You’ll see a comet on the other side of the asteroid field. I wonder which of our ships could get there first.

Tom: Sounds like a challenge.

Harry: Not that I’m endorsing this misguided exercise, but maybe we can even the odds. New impulse thrusters.

Tom: Now that’s the spirit, Harry.

[One notable characteristic of the Delta Flyer model that distinguishes it from the Rio Grande and Galileo is that the Flyer has a lot of movable features. These include the aforementioned retractable nacelles and pop-out impulse thrusters.  There’s also the rear access hatch, the dorsal cover for the incorporated Borg technology, and a pullout bio-bed in the aft compartment. Fun!]

Special thanks to http://www.chakoteya.net/ for the Star Trek: VOY dialogue transcriptions from the “Extreme Risk” and “Drive” episodes.

And now for the photos with minifigs:

Why is Namor piloting the Delta Flyer?  If you know, you know.  ;)

[isagrimorie]

I also like the Defiant as any Trek fan who likes Federation ships but also I feel like the Delta Flyer's being slept on -- that's a little shuttlecraft that could.

I hope Ent-G gets a Delta Flyer-type shuttlecraft.