Why did they wait?

[Mikey]

They'd naturally have to paint the buggies red... to go faster.

[Deepcrush]

They'd naturally have to paint the buggies red... to go faster.

Explains the redshirts... they bleed out faster.

snip

Why would you have to rebuild a whole ship after one use??? The Intrepid class can land and all you need is a ramp on the back of the ship for vehicles to travel down. That or just attach a container with the vehicles in them to the bottom of the ship. Ship lands, drops containers, deploys personnel and then you good to go.

[kostmayer]

Silly idea I know, but why not have a specially designed Saucer section as a landing craft? The Enterprise D managed to crash land with nary a casualty. Could a similiar shaped Saucer section make a controlled but speedy landing, and then take off again? It'd need to be stronger strucually I guess, and maybe beefier impulse engines to allow it to take off and acheive orbit again.

[Deepcrush]

Detaching ship parts means having to have a ship on station to pick it up later. You're better off with just having a ship designed or refitted to serve the same process.

[Captain Seafort]

Silly idea I know, but why not have a specially designed Saucer section as a landing craft? The Enterprise D managed to crash land with nary a casualty. Could a similiar shaped Saucer section make a controlled but speedy landing, and then take off again? It'd need to be stronger strucually I guess, and maybe beefier impulse engines to allow it to take off and acheive orbit again.

Not a chance. The E-D got down without loosing anyone, but they got tossed around like they were in a washing machine, and she got seriously smashed up in the process. The Intrepid exists, is designed to land and recover, and is plenty big enough for the purpose.

[Sonic Glitch]

Silly idea I know, but why not have a specially designed Saucer section as a landing craft? The Enterprise D managed to crash land with nary a casualty. Could a similiar shaped Saucer section make a controlled but speedy landing, and then take off again? It'd need to be stronger strucually I guess, and maybe beefier impulse engines to allow it to take off and acheive orbit again.

Not a chance. The E-D got down without loosing anyone, but they got tossed around like they were in a washing machine, and she got seriously smashed up in the process. The Intrepid exists, is designed to land and recover, and is plenty big enough for the purpose.

Just because it happened in that instance doesn't mean it CAN'T land well. Not to rehash an old debate, but if the saucer was redesigned (and/or a trained pilot ) to land smother, it could work.

[Captain Seafort]

Just because it happened in that instance doesn't mean it CAN'T land well. Not to rehash an old debate, but if the saucer was redesigned (and/or a trained pilot ) to land smother, it could work.

I'm sure it could land better than the E-D did, but it simply isn't designed as an orbit-surface-orbit ship. You'd need, at the very least, a big set of legs a la Intrepid, which there's no evidence of, and would involve gutting and rebuilding the thing to install. It would be a complete waste when you've already got a viable lander.

[Graham Kennedy]

Friend of mine had a good idea once; a Nebula class pod that was basically a big flying wing designed to carry a load of troops and cargo. Capable of making one atmospheric entry and landing, whereupon it acts as a ready made base for the troops. Kind of a neat concept.

[Mikey]

I like the idea of having such a pre-fab position to drop when you need to establish a beachhead, but it sort of limits its applications. What about when you're trying to assault an mobile or fortified enemy rather than establish a static presence? What about when you need to extract those troops en masse the way you landed them?

[Graham Kennedy]

I suppose you could have a more expensive version capable of lifting off again. She was more concerned with a "raid the beaches" sort of mission.

[Mikey]

A "she" who thinks of such things?! You might want to consider putting a ring on it, GK.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

I always had a crack idea of refitting a Nebula to land on a planet and become a fortress there. Maybe because of the way the nacelles are positioned.

[Graham Kennedy]

A "she" who thinks of such things?! You might want to consider putting a ring on it, GK.

The thought crossed my mind, especially as she's quite the babe, and a big fan of me / the site.

Alas, she's already taken.

[Mikey]

They always are, aren't they?

[Graham Kennedy]

Only the good ones.