The Shuttlecraft, Runabout and it's Capabilities in Each Trek Series.

[Tyjos]

So here comes yet another thread resultant from so many episode viewings of TNG,DS9,VOY,and Enterprise....

The Shuttlecraft seems like a nice support craft, looks like they designed them well and yet they seem to loose a few Shuttlecraft here and there [Voyager's the worst example of this what do they have a Shuttlecraft Workshop onboard that they can rebuild an entire shuttle? course they must have cause they built 2 Delta Flyers]

From Transporters to Replicators they seem to have loaded the Shuttle with everything you could need [unless it's one of the smaller Shuttlecraft versions like the Type 9]

Which Series had the Best Shuttlecraft?

Course TNG,DS9,and Voyager used the Same type Shuttlecraft but one can appreciate the fact that they came up with an good Support ship for the main vessel. From Forcefield Generators,Transport Capabilities, Warp Drive, and Replicators Type 6 Shuttlecraft and Runabouts seem like the luxury lines of Shuttles.

Runabouts being used mainly in Deep Space Nine and I think one or two Episodes of Star Trek The Next Generation they seemed like a good ship as well. -I wonder how Voyager would have done if they had 2 Runabouts on board but since Voyager's a Smaller Vessel I doubt they could carry more than one but looks like the Delta Flyer might be the same size as a Runabout-

Also the Original Series Shuttlecraft and the Shutlepod from Enterprise just doesn't have that much to it when compared to the Shuttlecraft of the TNG/Voyager Era[Yes I know it's due to the difference in Tech Levels between the old shuttle and new one]...If anythin to me it seems like your best choice for survival if you're seperated from your ship in the TNG/DS9/Voyager Era would be a Runabout or a Type 6 Shuttlecraft.


The Runabout I do like for it's optional components that can be added on that we saw in "The Maquis" with the additional weapons that could be added on.

Also Voyager seems to have used it's shuttlecraft a lot during it's 7 season run and The Next Generation used the Shuttlecraft a good bit as well, I'm not sure which series has actually utilized the Shuttlecraft the best at this point.

-I'll just have to watch each series over again a few times to check to see exactly which series has best used the shuttle and if it's not been over used in Star Trek.

[escyos]

All of their ships seemed very inconsistent to me, one minute all they had was a small bathroom in one and the next they had a massive dining area in the back and multiple levels. Granted they were probably different models but they never seemed to vary in teh cockpit at all (and yes I am aware that they filmed in the same set)

[Snowman37]

TOS: The shuttlecraft was used sparingly. It's horribly dated when compared to the total redesign in The Final Frontier. However, within the series, I loved seeing the shuttlecraft. It was just cool to see the main characters use conventional transportation from time to time instead of the transporter room.

TNG: One of the two shuttles built for The Final Frontier was rebuilt to represent an Enterprise-D shuttle. Ultimately, we saw three kinds: the shuttlepod, the curvy shuttle, and the boxy shuttle. I think the curvy shuttle was phased out once the boxy shuttle showed up. I think only the shuttlepods were without warp drive, right? Regardless, due to 1980's/90's production and a bigger budget, we got to see shuttles regularly. A rnabout, as seen on DS9, did show up in just one episode where it was heavily used. Ironically, the only time we saw the back room was on the one TNG appearance.

DS9: Most of the shuttles seen were alien shuttles. I always saw DS9's three runabouts as small starships rather than large shuttles. My only frustration with their depiction on the show is that we only ever saw the cockpit. There were references to rooms in the middle and back of the ship. The closest we ever came to seeing any of this was the lounge and bunks from TNG's "Timescape." I think the only Starfleet shuttles depicted were the TNG boxy shuttle and two shuttlepods from the Defiant. Weren't there also fighters as background ships during the Dominion War? In the end, DS9 ultimately had four ships stationed: the Defiant (with one or two shuttepods) and three runabouts.

VOY: I think this series utilized the shuttlecraft the most. There were no Starfleet starbases to stop at. There were no Starfleet vessels to aide Voyager. This meant that away teams often took shuttles to go wherever without Voyager stopping all over the place. All the destroyed shuttles raised questions. For me, this was answered when the first Delta Flyer was built within one episodes. If they can built that, replacing lost and destroyed shuttles isn't an issue.

ENT: The ship had two drop bays, each capable of holding two ships. One held two shuttlepods, the other was empty, presumably reserved for incoming alien vessels. I loved how the shuttlepod was the primary means of travel to and from the ship. It helped set this show as a prequel, a century before Kirk's Enterprise.

All of their ships seemed very inconsistent to me, one minute all they had was a small bathroom in one and the next they had a massive dining area in the back and multiple levels. Granted they were probably different models but they never seemed to vary in teh cockpit at all (and yes I am aware that they filmed in the same set)

I think you're a bit confused here. Most of the shuttlecraft depicted from the various series have generally been a single cabin with doors to the outside. The only shuttlecraft that had multiple rooms were the two Delta Flyers (VOY) and the Enterprise-E shuttle from Insurrection. The shuttle was massive, but instead of a massive interior, we only saw a cockpit. Presumably, there was a door somewhere to the back of the shuttle. I always wondered why this shuttle was so massive compared to traditional shuttles. I guess simply because it was made for a big movie? The Runabouts had a cockpit up front, and a lounge with bunks in the back. We never saw the interior of the midsection, but it would have presumably been a bathroom and various scientific stations and equipment.

[Starsaber]

Delta Flyers[/I] (VOY) and the Enterprise-E shuttle from Insurrection. The shuttle was massive, but instead of a massive interior, we only saw a cockpit. Presumably, there was a door somewhere to the back of the shuttle. I always wondered why this shuttle was so massive compared to traditional shuttles. I guess simply because it was made for a big movie? The Runabouts had a cockpit up front, and a lounge with bunks in the back. We never saw the interior of the midsection, but it would have presumably been a bathroom and various scientific stations and equipment.

Which Insurrection shuttle did you mean? I think there were 3 Starfleet "shuttles" we saw. One was the scout ship Data had when he was malfunctioning that seemed like a fighter. The second was the shuttle Picard and Worf used to recover him, which I don't remember much about. The third was actually the Captain's Yacht that detached from the saucer section. They had something similar on the Enterprise D that they never actually ended up using, but it was intended to be more like a Runabout than a standard shuttle.

[Snowman37]

There was only one shuttle in the movie, the one Picard and Worf launched from the Enterprise in pursuit of Data. Data's ship was a scoutship for Admiral Daugherty and his people to use. You'll notice that they did not have a full size starship of their own, well, besides the cloak and dagger holodeck ship. Presumably, it was probably for getting around the Ba'ku planet and locating a new planet to relocate them to. It was a beefy little ship, more like the runabouts on DS9 which were effectively tiny, one-deck starships. The Captain's Yacht wasn't really a shuttlecraft either, it is just that... the Captain's Yacht, meaning it would be reserved soley for the Captain. A ship can be small like a shuttle, but that doesn't necessarily make it a shuttlecraft.