Guide:Class F1
| |
| Class F1 / MSI(U)-1 "Heavy Lander" | |
|---|---|
| Class Overview | |
| Category | medium shuttle |
| Operational | 2224-2285 |
| Constructed | 693 |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 30.2 m |
| Beam | 22.4 m |
| Height | 8.7 m |
| Mass | 318 tons |
| Performance | |
| Cruise Speed | w 1 |
| Max Speed | w 1.6 |
| Endurance | 9 weeks |
| Complement | |
| Crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 10
|
| Tactical Systems | |
| Beam Weapons |
|
| Shields |
|
| Canonicity | |
| Design | TAS: “Mudd’s Passion” (Warped9) |
| Name | own |
| History | own
|
A decade into Class G warpshuttle operations, miniaturization of the involved technologies was
well underway. By 2220, the propulsive performance of G1 and the logistical worth of G2 were
being squeezed into a slightly more compact, significantly more conveniently laid out form. Thanks
to the improvements, warp-capable auxiliary craft would finally begin to be embarked on frontline
starships. While a lot remained to be done before a truly optimized auxiliary could be fielded,
Star Fleet confidently started mass production of Class F1, a pleasant-looking construct of both aero and
warp-dynamic merit.
Unlike the Class G warpcraft, F1 was supposed to perform the tedious but vital task of hauling crews and supplies from an orbiting starship down to a target planet and back. Indeed, despite the presence of a warp drive, the project was primarily intended to result in a lander, not a warp-optimized scout or liaison. While a lighter counterpart design was cancelled early on, the ‘Heavy Lander’ designation stuck with F1 – not in an entirely complimentary way, considering the difficulty of easing the weight of the warp coils onto a planetary surface.
Key to the design was a one-and-a-half-deck configuration where equipment was stowed both below the main floor and in front of and behind the cabin. This cut down on total length, allowing the craft to be stowed in quantity and moved around on starship landing decks, still without increasing the height to an unmanageable degree. A length of 11.6 meters (including a high-power deflector and FTL sensor dish that folded open from a bow boom) was still too much to be handled by the standard shuttle elevators and turntables of the time. However, it was at least within the realm of possibility that new lifts in this size range be installed on most vessels, whereas a lift retrofit accommodating the Class G heavyweights clearly was an unrealistic prospect.
The 50-ton warp nacelles sat low for stability under gravity and for ease of maintenance, yet well protected from ground contact by a three-point skid landing gear. A top speed of warp 1.6 could be maintained by the PB-698 engine and the DH-4 ion cascade powerplant which also fed the impulse engines at extreme stern. The curved nose of the craft housed crucial flight instrumentation and modular sensing gear behind a wide sensor-transparent, anti-glare cover, although the space could alternately be configured for utility or casevac duties by removing any less than vital instruments. Overlooking the nose was a wide, low windshield-type viewport that provided good visibility forward, up, to the sides and even down, thanks to the well thought out curvature of the protruding bow. Two crew sat behind the windshield; behind the portside seat was a ladderway down to a side embarkation hatch, behind the starboard one a compact galley. The aft part of the deck, situated above the powerplant, could be configured for high-standard habitation. Alternately, up to seven people could be seated for short-term missions.
Obviously, loading of outsize items onto the raised deck of the F1 was not practical, so Star Fleet kept studying even more simplified designs, boxier hull forms and squatter, easily ground-accessible layouts. Thankfully, giving warp propulsion to dedicated cargo haulers was not a priority matter, and the F1 soon proliferated across the exploration and defense fleets alike, proving to be a mediocre lander at best, but an ideal liaison craft for shipboard applications. Its smoothly curved silhouette remained a familiar sight throughout the 2260s on any but the most privileged frontline vessels as well.
However, technology kept improving, and the promise of even more compact auxiliaries made Star Fleet postpone and then abandon the fleetwide lift size increase. Class F craft were indeed soon drastically reduced in size, resulting in the F2, F3, and F4 types until a further step of miniaturization allowed the capabilities of all three to be compacted into just one design. By that time, the still perfectly serviceable F1 craft were being retired en masse. Few buyers emerged for the, by 2280s standards, awkwardly configured shuttles, and most were scrapped by the turn of the century.
A divergent path was taken by the Galactic Trailways Corporation, which in 2268 chose to equip F1 hulls with the large DB-20 engines familiar from the Greyhound. At raised positions, and in combination with a modern powerplant, the veteran coils gave greatly improved performance up to warp 3. The sensor spaces at the nose were replaced by a slim and flat basic navigation array, allowing the installation of forward portholes to the lower deck as well. Up to 16 passengers could be accommodated aboard the variant, which acquired the commercial name "Pulsar." Star Fleet Training Command made some use of the type, modified with various Fleet issue systems and in the Mk II version even re-equipped with side-mounted phaser emitters. The type lacked compatibility with all starship designs but was operable from most outposts.
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Notes
- The provided F-series shuttles do not include an F5 type, as referenced here, and the F3 appears to have more in common with the F4 than the F2, so the text was changed accordingly.
- The specs for length, beam, height, and mass were the same for both this model and the F2. As the F2 is a bigger model than the F3 and the differences in specs there seemed reasonable, and because the F1 is a large warp shuttle, the F1 specs were scaled up accordingly.