Akira Class: Like or not?

[JNG]

If we squint, we can pretend the side launchers are those big bay windows like on Voyager.

Or maybe some of em are smaller impulse thrusters (cool! sideways impulse thrust!), or spaces to accept modular sensor pallets.

I know the guy really wanted them to be torpedo launchers, though He SAID fifteen in an interview, but it appears there are actually more than that on the model, so I can throw out the port-starboard ones in good conscience in the course of getting it back to fifteen. And some impressive mental contortions have taken place on this board in the past to figure out reasons why it would be designed with many small torpedo launchers instead of more centralized, larger units. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending upon how you look at it, the torpedo launchers added to the Enterprise in ST:Nemesis are like this too.

 

[TS-1838-SWATH]

LOVE for the Akira

 

[Johnnymuffintop]

I know I'm going to get condemded for this, but I actually prefer the NX class.
The layout makes more sense to me for a pre-TOS ship than a 24th century one.
Oh, and I really hate it's nacelles... well, maybe not the nacelles, but the way they're attached.

 

[Praetor]

If we squint, we can pretend the side launchers are those big bay windows like on Voyager.

Or maybe some of em are smaller impulse thrusters (cool! sideways impulse thrust!), or spaces to accept modular sensor pallets.

I know the guy really wanted them to be torpedo launchers, though He SAID fifteen in an interview, but it appears there are actually more than that on the model, so I can throw out the port-starboard ones in good conscience in the course of getting it back to fifteen. And some impressive mental contortions have taken place on this board in the past to figure out reasons why it would be designed with many small torpedo launchers instead of more centralized, larger units. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending upon how you look at it, the torpedo launchers added to the Enterprise in ST:Nemesis are like this too.

*shudder*

What torpedo launchers in Nemesis?

I know I'm going to get condemded for this, but I actually prefer the NX class.
The layout makes more sense to me for a pre-TOS ship than a 24th century one.
Oh, and I really hate it's nacelles... well, maybe not the nacelles, but the way they're attached.

Eh, not everyone flames everyone else for personal taste, my man. I actually like the NX a lot more than I used to, now that I know what thought Doug put behind fleshing it out and giving it its own identity. I like the Akira because it reminds me of an attack helicopter.

There is an interesting sketch in the "TNG Movies Sketchbook" that depicts a slightly different Akira which has a whole different rear section that is still configured roughly the same - kinda like Akira meets Norway. Not bad, really.

 

[Mr Pointy Ears]

Have always being a fan of the basic federation ships like the connie,galaxy, ambassador etc

 

[regemet]

Well i am am akira lover. As for the nacells they are exactly the same as the ones on the Luna class.

 

[Praetor]

Technically, the Luna's nacelles are the same as the Akira's. The Akira came first.

 

[Disillusioned]

I like it for the most part, but I think it should be given a more realistic number of torpedo launchers considering the E-D had only 3 of them, and could only use 2 of them in the normal docked configuration. And yes, I note the irony of describing anything about the ships as "realistic", but 15 launchers seems fanboy-ish to me.

 

[Praetor]

I'd like to think that maybe smaller ships have single-fire torpedo tubes, whereas, say, each of the D's torpedo tubes could fire a spread of six (or whatever) at once, each from the Akira could only fire one apiece. So in that regard, many tubes might be advantageous. But why not just a faster reload time?

 

[James Wright]

I like the design but why does it need 15 torpedo launchers?

James

 

[Myasishchev]

To fire fifteen torpedoes at once!

The Scimitar's insane number of torp launchers made sense to me because it seems to be designed to engage large numbers of targets in surprise attacks from cloak, but the Akira has no cloak, so it seems like pure overkill.

 

[thedude]

I like the Akria-class. I think it's an efficient design, even with the rampant debate over it's size and armament. If it is designed to be an escort vessel, than having that heavy of armament would make sense. Being able to target and attack multiple targets once would be a significant advantage... you could send one Akira to escort a ship that would have the same firepower as 4 or 5 other vessels, which would be much larger and less maneuverable. You wouldn't have to dedicate as much manpower and resources to escort vessels with an Akira.

With that said, I'm a BIG fan of the NX01 Enterprise, and as such I think it borrows a lot of it's design (obviously) from the Akira... but both ships have great qualities at most angles, and photograph very nicely - and serve their purposes to a "t."

 

[Tim Thomason]

The Akira was a nice ship when it premiered, but now it's too retroactively retro.

 

[Praetor]

I like the Akria-class. I think it's an efficient design, even with the rampant debate over it's size and armament. If it is designed to be an escort vessel, than having that heavy of armament would make sense. Being able to target and attack multiple targets once would be a significant advantage... you could send one Akira to escort a ship that would have the same firepower as 4 or 5 other vessels, which would be much larger and less maneuverable. You wouldn't have to dedicate as much manpower and resources to escort vessels with an Akira.

With that said, I'm a BIG fan of the NX01 Enterprise, and as such I think it borrows a lot of it's design (obviously) from the Akira... but both ships have great qualities at most angles, and photograph very nicely - and serve their purposes to a "t."

I think the caveat for the launchers being plausible is if they are single-fire, not multi-fires like on the Galaxy and Sovereign. With that, I can live with it.

And, Doug Drexler once said that the producers of "Enterprise" wanted to use the Akira design as it was, completely with no changes whatsoever. Apparently he and the other art department gurus had to talk them into making retrofying changes to it.

 

[JNG]

And, Doug Drexler once said that the producers of "Enterprise" wanted to use the Akira design as it was, completely with no changes whatsoever. Apparently he and the other art department gurus had to talk them into making retrofying changes to it.

They didn't think anyone would notice.

I'm going to type that again.

They didn't think anyone would notice.

Typing that on the Trek Tech forum feels kind of like carrying a big golden calf into a church. There are fans who have counted the individual phaser emitter segments on the different filming miniatures of the Enterprise-D and they thought no one would notice a straight reuse of the Akira-class starship for the starring role in a prequel set two hundred years earlier.

I mean, yeah, we're nerds to care about the tech and yadda yadda yadda, but if I ever come to the point that I think my audience cares that little about my creative output, I''ll figure it's time for me to hang it up—whether they do or not.

 

[Bill Morris]

Well, nobody seems to like my theory, which is that the chief designer of the NX-01 was the same guy who picked up Daniels' dropped PADD one day at the 601 Club, immediately handed it back to him, and was inspired by the image of an Akira-class ship on the display.

 

[Praetor]

And, Doug Drexler once said that the producers of "Enterprise" wanted to use the Akira design as it was, completely with no changes whatsoever. Apparently he and the other art department gurus had to talk them into making retrofying changes to it.

They didn't think anyone would notice.

I'm going to type that again.

They didn't think anyone would notice.

Typing that on the Trek Tech forum feels kind of like carrying a big golden calf into a church. There are fans who have counted the individual phaser emitter segments on the different filming miniatures of the Enterprise-D and they thought no one would notice a straight reuse of the Akira-class starship for the starring role in a prequel set two hundred years earlier.

I mean, yeah, we're nerds to care about the tech and yadda yadda yadda, but if I ever come to the point that I think my audience cares that little about my creative output, I''ll figure it's time for me to hang it up—whether they do or not.

Preach, my brother.

Well, nobody seems to like my theory, which is that the chief designer of the NX-01 was the same guy who picked up Daniels' dropped PADD one day at the 601 Club, immediately handed it back to him, and was inspired by the image of an Akira-class ship on the display.

I like that theory fine,combined with the idea that Cochrane had a brief, fleeting glimpse of the E, it's just unfortunate that we have to make that kind of retcon.

(Perhaps that man that picked up the pad was the mysterious Captain Jefferies? )

 

[Captain Fine]

Personally I like both the Akira and the NX-01

I wish we'd gotten to see more Akiras in action. Although it's been a while since I watched DS9, but I could have sworn there were Akiras in some of those battles. I really wish there HADN'T been ANY Miranda-class ships in those Federation fleets. Like seriously, MIRANDA-class? How many museums did they have to ransack to build their fleets?

 

[Disillusioned]

I never really understood why they should have active Miranda and Excelsior class ships when all the Constitution class ships were supposed to have been retired (along with the Soyuz class, for that matter, which was 80% or better the same as the Miranda class). I know the real reason was probably to save it for movies and because they thought it might confuse people, but that's still pretty lame.

As for the NX-01, I never really liked it all that much, but I have to admit that it grew on me.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Well, the Excelsior was quite a bit newer than the Constitution and Miranda, so it'd last further into the 24th century of course. Starfleet probably got further mileage out of them by updating the design as they were built. Most of the Excelsiors in use are probably from later production runs from the 2330s onwards(considering the registry numbers... assuming the Okudian model of sequencial registry is correct). The hull design itself is pretty ubiquitous and long-lived, but most earlier examples of the class are probably out of service.

My thoughts on all the old ships seen in fleet scenes is that Starfleet built them as a reserve fleet back in the 23rd or early 24th. Starfleet likely updated what they could, armed them and shoved them out the door. Probably gave Starfleet a crucial numerical boost, to boot.