www.ditl.org

Hmm. Must be me. Can I have a link?

I can't see it either...

It's at Doug Drexler's site.

I can see it, and I don't think I've ever been to that site since I last cleared my cache.

What browser are you guys using?

I looks nice. Wish they had started along those lines.

The side view looks a bit off to me. But then again not many ships looks great from all angles.

I think even if they started from season 1 with this design, it would still look too 'modern' well at least for what some think would be 22nd century should be.

McAvoy wrote:The side view looks a bit off to me...

Agreed. Still better than what we got, though.

True. But I think it's basically a slap-on part which probably gives it that odd look.

I wonder how much internal working they would have to do for that anyway. I presume that engineering would be relocated in the new hull which means many conduits and other components would have to removed and relocated.

I do loike they were going to plate over the nacelles for a more TOS look too.

A lot of it would be quite sensible, though.

For instance as it stands, the power transfer conduits of the NX slope diagonally up and out until they hit the struts, then turn and go straight down the struts, then turn again and go diagonally up the pylons to the nacelles.

In the refitted version they would have to come out of the core pretty much sideways, then slope diagonally up to the nacelles in one straight line - actually looking at the diagram there might be a slight kink along the way, but it's at least mostly straight. You've taken out two 90 degree turns, and surely that has to improve the plasma flow and give some kind of efficiency improvement.

The core is also in a module, making it FAR easier to dump it as needed, and far easier to replace it as upgrades become available - and with a brand new and revolutionary design like this, surely major upgrades come frequently.

Looks like they've removed the "bomb bay" hangar doors and installed rear-facing doors, too. That seems inherently safer to me, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they gained space for extra shuttles in the conversion.

All in all, a very worthy rebuild.

In a Trek ship I don't see any safety issues with the bomb-bay style. You've got to match relative motion with the NX regardless of how you approach. From there you maneuver into the bay. Which given their sensor technology and ability to move in 3 dimensions is relative child's play. The real issue is that in the original style bay you couldn't mount much on the floor. You lose floor space for storage and flexibility as opposed to the horizontal entrance where one wall is just not used. If they were in zero G no big deal but when you've got a definite DOWN orientation on the ship it becomes a pain.

Well, with the rear-facing doors a shuttle pilot could see directly where he was going. That alone offers an advantage.

Yeah but the pilot can also look up. The pilot sat in a bubble that didn't impede upward vision as far as I could tell.

Tyyr wrote:Yeah but the pilot can also look up.

The doors also opened down.

Tyyr wrote:Yeah but the pilot can also look up. The pilot sat in a bubble that didn't impede upward vision as far as I could tell.

Fair point. I can't quite recall how the cockpit of the shuttles looked.

Though in that case, a rear-facing door would at least be more comfortable, as you wouldn't have to crane your neck back to look.

I think it's a more natural orientation given the way the Federation operates but there's no real reason not to use ventral doors if that's your only option.