Federation Hopper design I'm stealing from Rick Sternbach

[Reverend]

A little while ago someone posted this link over on Trek Tech, which the man himself said was built for a Pilot pitch that he and two others put together that, needless to say never made it to our screens (see the thread here for details.)

Anyway, the design struck me as looking very Federation/Starfleet, in a utilitarian way that I find very appealing so I'm adapting (stealing) the design to be the Federation Hopper that's been mentioned occasionally.

In the long run I plan on adapting it to two scales. A half scale hopper, the kind that was used by Starfleet to transport platoons of tactical forces over short distances (like on Ajilon Prime) among other non-military functions and a full scale hopper which is closer to the original design's purpose as a mobile surface science and exploration platform. The kind I imagine is used by Federation colonists to further explore their new world once the transports and Starships have gotten the main colony established and then moved on.

So far I'm just roughing our the major hull components, trying to get everything in roughly the right proportion.

 

[Reverend]

OK, I guess that put me in my place...

 

[BolianAuthor]

I like it a lot... even if it is reminiscent of the Heavy Raider from nuBSG. But if anyone can make it work as a Starfleet design, it's you. You're doing the right thing by using the sets from the Danube-Class for the interior... I look forward and hope to see more.

 

[Reverend]

Here's a very rough cross-section and deck plan, to make sure everything makes sense on the inside.

 

[Reverend]

Update to the exterior too.

I know it's looking a little mono-chrome and the gradients are all over the place, that'll be fixed as it progresses. First I want to get all the lines in the right place.

As I said over in the Streamrunner thread on TrekTech, I've been looking at the Steamrunner-Class as a candidate for the mothership and assuming Bernd's length of 355m is correct then it's looking pretty good. At that scale the read shuttlebay door is actually slightly bigger than the Galaxy's big door and the facilities inside the saucer should be able to comfortable hold three or four hoppers. More if the majority of the saucer's interior is given over to shuttle and cargo bays. Which is as good an explanation as I've heard for the deflector (and perhaps even the warp core) being all the way out there in a separate pod.

 

[RAMA]

A little while ago someone posted this link over on Trek Tech, which the man himself said was built for a Pilot pitch that he and two others put together that, needless to say never made it to our screens (see the thread here for details.)

Anyway, the design struck me as looking very Federation/Starfleet, in a utilitarian way that I find very appealing so I'm adapting (stealing) the design to be the Federation Hopper that's been mentioned occasionally.

In the long run I plan on adapting it to two scales. A half scale hopper, the kind that was used by Starfleet to transport platoons of tactical forces over short distances (like on Ajilon Prime) among other non-military functions and a full scale hopper which is closer to the original design's purpose as a mobile surface science and exploration platform. The kind I imagine is used by Federation colonists to further explore their new world once the transports and Starships have gotten the main colony established and then moved on.

So far I'm just roughing our the major hull components, trying to get everything in roughly the right proportion.

It looks like a WWI tank!!! Doesn't look like a dropship/support craft. I much prefer this hopper:

 

[Reverend]

That looks more like a gunship and you certainly won't fit 60-70 odd soldiers in there.
I was actually thinking of adapting that design as a smaller model, after this one is done.

 

[Reverend]

Quick update.

 

[bigguy]

I like the design quite a bit. It reminds me of the M113's I started out with in the Army, and seems to fill the role of an APC in combat. The only thing I don't like is the sharp lines on it. It seems to fit more with the TOS era and the boxy shuttles. I think if some of the lines were softened and it was given more curves it would fit in with the steamrunner era.

 

[SonicRanger]

I think I'd like it much more (as a Starfleet design) without the "claws" that serve no discernible purpose. Chop those off and get rid of the spike (that looks too '70s airplane), and I think that it would work as a Starfleet design in most eras.

 

[Reverend]

I like the design quite a bit. It reminds me of the M113's I started out with in the Army, and seems to fill the role of an APC in combat. The only thing I don't like is the sharp lines on it. It seems to fit more with the TOS era and the boxy shuttles. I think if some of the lines were softened and it was given more curves it would fit in with the steamrunner era.

I tend to think of it as more of an LCAC crossed with a Chinook. As in it drops, offloads and gets clear, then picks up after the dust has settled or if they need to retr-...uh, advance towards the rear. Not really an APC in an urban combat sense.

As for the look, it's something inherited from Sternbach's original design and I'm keen to make it look as if it was designed by the same mind behind the Danube (because, it was) and share some design ideas with my version of the Deneva and the Erewhon.
Aside from that, this is obviously a very utilitarian design, so making it all pretty and curvy wouldn't make any sense.

I think I'd like it much more (as a Starfleet design) without the "claws" that serve no discernible purpose. Chop those off and get rid of the spike (that looks too '70s airplane), and I think that it would work as a Starfleet design in most eras.

Again, that's straight from Rick's design and when I steal something, I like to steal as much as possible.
Seriously though I haven't exactly figured out what those claws are yet. At the moment I'm thinking they're docking clamps, but I'm far from certain.
I suppose I could ask Rick Sternbach, but that would be taking the piss.
As for the spike, that would be a active sensor boom, so it stays.

 

[SonicRanger]

^^^

Yes, those elements are part of Sternbach's original design... for an Earth-bound military hovercraft in a completely different universe than Star Trek.

bigguy and I are just saying what revisions we think would make it fit in the Starfleet design ethos (in our humble opinions). I'm sure that, if Rick was in a pinch and wanted to recycle this as a Starfleet design, he would've made a number of revisions to make it more Trekish.

Back to the claws, I could take them if you moved them to the rear so that you could add workbee-like "train cars" or runabout-type "mission modules" attached behind the main body. In their current position, they're hard to justify as part of a docking system because there is no forward airlock.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

I love it! Esp. the name!

 

[Mysterion]

ISeriously though I haven't exactly figured out what those claws are yet. At the moment I'm thinking they're docking clamps, but I'm far from certain.

Re: the claws.

Perhaps some sort of obstacle/mine clearing mechanism?

Or they are boarding clamps perhpaps? (as oppossed to docking clamps) These would just keep the bugger held onto the side of whatever they're trying to get into while the crews cuts a big hole in it.

Either way, the boom will have to be shorter or retractable as it looks to reach out farther than the clamp thingies.

 

[Reverend]

I like the boarding clamps idea, though I can't see what is essentially an atmospheric ship having to perform that function. That sort of thing would be done by shuttles, I should think. Though you're right, the boom should be retractable.

Perhaps the claws are for attaching a large cargo container, or an undeployed prefab building to the front. Or perhaps other vehicles, or heavy colony type equipment.
If this thing is a heavy lifter it should be able to manage quite a heavy load and it makes sense for the extra payload to be at the front - away from the big hot engines exhaust.
I happen to live right next to the largest army training ground in England and it's not an uncommon sight to see a jeep or an artillery gun flying through the air...while attached to a Chinook by a 50ft cable. So it's not beyond the bounds of possibility.

 

[Mysterion]

I like the boarding clamps idea, though I can't see what is essentially an atmospheric ship having to perform that function. That sort of thing would be done by shuttles, I should think. Though you're right, the boom should be retractable.

Perhaps the claws are for attaching a large cargo container, or an undeployed prefab building to the front. Or perhaps other vehicles, or heavy colony type equipment.
If this thing is a heavy lifter it should be able to manage quite a heavy load and it makes sense for the extra payload to be at the front - away from the big hot engines exhaust.

Good points. The load would need to have some sort of anti-grav unit(s) attached to keep the whole shebang in balance, though.

I happen to live right next to the largest army training ground in England and it's not an uncommon sight to see a jeep or an artillery gun flying through the air...while attached to a Chinook by a 50ft cable. So it's not beyond the bounds of possibility.

Wait until you see them lose a load. If whatever they've got slung under the helicopter starts swinging they gotta cut it lose or crash. It can be quite entertaining. Especially if it's one of those large (500 gallon) fuel blivets. It's like a really big water balloon.

 

[Reverend]

Well I imagine the on-board SIF & IDF generators could compensate for the shift in mass and inertia on their own, but a few small secondary generators at the front end of the pontoons (or perhaps built into the grapplers themselves) certainly wouldn't be out of the question.

As for a Chinook dropping it's cargo, I've lived here 26 years and have neither seen nor heard of it happening. Good thing too because my back garden is VERY close to the flightpath and sometimes the buggers are known for taking shortcuts.

 

[Mysterion]

^^^^^
Maybe the Chinooks are just more stable. I was mostly around Hueys.

 

[Reverend]

Well yeah, a Chinook is a twin rotor, so it's bound to be more stable, plus, next to a Huey they're huge. So you'd probably have to try very hard to loose control of it. I don't think I've ever seen a Huey around here, even back when they yanks would visit Boscombe Down, so I don't think the RAF ever flew them.