Why is the lower Saucer deck concave?

[Redfern]

Frisbee

Makes me wonder...Has anybody glued the two pieces of the old AMT kit and tossed around the primary hull? I suspect the "teardrop/egg" shape of the B/C deck section along with that beveled strip leading to the stern of the disc would throw it off balance, resulting on a wobbling flight. (I say "suspect" because I never dared try it myself as I didn't want to damage the kit I was building.)

 

[plynch]

Anybody have a good pic of how the JJ Bulbous-prise got rid of the concavity?

Edit: I do: https://img.trekmovie.com/images/merchandise/QMx-Eprise-11.jpg

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Anybody have a good pic of how the JJ Bulbous-prise got rid of the concavity?

Edit: I do: https://img.trekmovie.com/images/merchandise/QMx-Eprise-11.jpg

Yecch. To me, that will always be the Dr. Seuss version of a starship.

 

[Mytran]

Anybody have a good pic of how the JJ Bulbous-prise got rid of the concavity?

Edit: I do: https://img.trekmovie.com/images/merchandise/QMx-Eprise-11.jpg

you mean they just filled it in?

 

[UssGlenn]

Same as on the Discovery version. I can live with it, but I don't like it. It removes too much visual interest from the bottom of the saucer.

 

[Neopeius]

Makes me wonder...Has anybody glued the two pieces of the old AMT kit and tossed around the primary hull? I suspect the "teardrop/egg" shape of the B/C deck section along with that beveled strip leading to the stern of the disc would throw it off balance, resulting on a wobbling flight. (I say "suspect" because I never dared try it myself as I didn't want to damage the kit I was building.)

I have an unbuilt AMT kit -- I'll have to try that before I add the other bits!

(I also grew up with an assembled but somewhat beat up AMT kit circa 1980 -- the Klingon ship was missing its head, the Romulan its wind vane, and we only had the saucer section by the time I was playing with it. I never frisbeed it, though...)

 

[johnnybear]

But you haven't seen the show yet, Neopeius? So why would you buy the kit? How long now till it starts in your frame of time ? The problems of time differentials...
JB

 

[F. King Daniel]

Anybody have a good pic of how the JJ Bulbous-prise got rid of the concavity?

Edit: I do: https://img.trekmovie.com/images/merchandise/QMx-Eprise-11.jpg

Here's an infinitely better picture

The Discovery/Strange New Worlds Enterprise and the Kelvinverse 1701-A also lack the saucer undercut.

 

[StarCruiser]

Yecch. To me, that will always be the Dr. Seuss version of a starship.

HEY! Don't go off insulting Dr. Seuss! That's not his fault...

 

[Maurice]

HEY! Don't go off insulting Dr. Seuss! That's not his fault...

Blame these copycats instead...

 

[publiusr]

I'd be interested to know just how aerodynamic the saucer actually is and how much difference that concavity would make.
Do I vaguely recall seeing experiments somewhere done on the shape or did I imagine that?

Do a search on Pye Wacket at astronautix.com with the term “lenticular”

ROOST inventor Phil Bono loosely drew a saucer shaped mega rocket about as wide as the TOS saucer. The USAF was looking into a Saturn IB sized bomber of similar design that was featured in Pop Mech’ and modeled by Fantastic Plastic

 

[Maurice]

Do a search on Pye Wacket at astronautix.com with the term “lenticular”

Direct link to the page about the Lenticular Defense Missile.

 

[oberth]

it's filled with styrofoam to insulate against the cold of space

 

[publiusr]

Wide saucers allow roomy decks, and less of a side target

 

[Timo]

As for the functionality of the concavity, I gather it has none in a non-spinning circular airfoil. In a spinner, it's advantageous to concentrate mass on the rim for better imparting of the spin, and (unless one goes for a ring instead of a disk) this is best achieved by adding a rim that extends down and thus preserves the airfoil shape; it also gives a convenient gripping surface for the hand-thrown frisbee.

For a non-hand-thrown, non-spinning disk, the concavity shouldn't matter much one way or another, although it no doubt slightly mars the aerodynamics at low speeds. But both disks and rings are unstable if not spinning. Nevertheless, since the ring is the vastly superior frisbee shape, it is cute enough for Starfleet to move from disks to rings eventually...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mytran]

For a non-hand-thrown, non-spinning disk, the concavity shouldn't matter much one way or another, although it no doubt slightly mars the aerodynamics at low speeds. But both disks and rings are unstable if not spinning. Nevertheless, since the ring is the vastly superior frisbee shape, it is cute enough for Starfleet to move from disks to rings eventually...

Ah yes, I too recall the aerobie revolution of 1984!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobie

 

[oberth]

Ah yes, I too recall the aerobie revolution of 1984!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobie

never heard of that

 

[Mytran]

never heard of that

I was unable to find the advert from those years but I remember the AMAZING ability of flexing the ring before you threw it. It was cutting edge tech!
Also, I owned one for a while.

 

[publiusr]

Good days

 

[Qonundrum]

Because convex issues are more difficult?