In Search of Spock: WarBird

[Getback]

Never noticed it before but the Clingon WarBird has flaps!

[Tac]

B'rel class warbird

[MachFly]

I haven't watched that movie, so I'll have to ask you. Does it actually use those flaps or are they just drawn on the hull?

Tac, I don't see flaps on that picture. Can you be more specific?

[Tac]

Its drawn, part of the feather-like hull design artwork. Makes them look like flaps.

[Saxman]

First, it's called a Bird of Prey. Warbirds were the very large TNG-era Romulan warships.

Second:







No sign of flaps, top or bottom, on the film model. The wings, however, do move for different flight modes (lowered for combat, level for cruise, and raised for landing). Well, at least they did prior to breaking the mechanism when reusing the model for TNG...

Looking closely at the winglets, it looks like they're designed to rotate independently of the wing....

[FiLtH]

    I think when Kirk hit it just as it uncloaked the Photon torpedoes should have wasted it. After all its scout class ship hit by 1-2 torpedoes from a heavy cruiser class vessel. It should have whacked the shields and fried the electrical systems in the ship. Also when the Enterprise self destructed it should have taken the Klingon ship with it.

[Saxman]

The hits on Kruge's Bird of Prey COULD have been enough to decide the fight if Enterprise was fully-crewed and their automation hadn't shorted out. Kruge's ship was effectively disabled for a few seconds after the first two hits. If Enterprise had been able to keep firing, the Klingons would never have been able to get off a shot.

Compare the end of VI. Chang's ship was effectively dead once the first torpedo hit, but she still took quite a few hits from both Enterprise AND Excelsior before she finally went down.

[wil3ur]

Cloak still allows raised shields, the power output for weapons was beyond most ships at the time which they found a way around...  still bet they weren't flying around without shields though.

As for flaps, I doubt it... however the B'rel is rated for atmospheric flight and combat, so it's a good possiblity that it's got all sorts of nice thrusters to swing it around.

Did any of you guys play Birth of the Federation?  There was an online aspect to that game that was actually pretty fun.  My favorite ship was the b'rel 'cause you could fly it right in between the nacels of a Sovereign Class or park it on an off angle of any ship in the game and just sit there and pummel them stupid.  That was great fun.

[Saxman]

There was an online aspect to that game that was actually pretty fun.  My favorite ship was the b'rel 'cause you could fly it right in between the nacels of a Sovereign Class or park it on an off angle of any ship in the game and just sit there and pummel them stupid.

The only reason that works is because game developers like leaving the weapons batteries off the engineering hulls of Federation starships for "balance." For example, the refit Enterprise shown in the movies not only has six twin batteries on the upper hull (three above and three below) but also has a quad battery on the very bottom of the engineering module and two single mounts right above the shuttle bay doors. Enterprise-D's engineering hull phasers are even more obvious (because they actually used those on screen on the show).

I see it as being like leaving the ball turret, tail, and side guns off a B-17 in a flight sim because it's too heavily armed.

[wil3ur]

They had weapons in these areas, the trick was getting outside of their firing arc which basically meant you were nearly planted on top of their main hull.  Add to that it being an 'off' shield as far as GW output went, and you were in for some fun.

I used to play a Telnet Star Trek game for years that had a pretty badass coded space system to it.  The space ones are fun when it takes into account all the different firing and shield arcs, and having to balance power output in the middle of a fight.  The space system even took into account angular velocity in deciding weapons hits/accuracy which was pretty sweet for a texted based game.  Using proper triangulation and 1 second warp hops you could really play havoc on a big federation ships shields.

Too bad they completely screwed Star Trek and Star Wars Online...  they need to come out with an X-Wing or TIE Fighter styled MMO, that would be kickass.

[Getback]

Okay I stand corrected on the name, It's Bird of Prey.

However, if you watch the trailer you will see the wings in different positions. Then when they land on Vulcan the wings lift as if being used as flaps. Thought it was kind of funny.

[wil3ur]

Okay I stand corrected on the name, It's Bird of Prey.

However, if you watch the trailer you will see the wings in different positions. Then when they land on Vulcan the wings lift as if being used as flaps. Thought it was kind of funny.

Variable geometry is not flaps...

[Gman]

There are 2 different sizes of Birds of Prey as well, one large, the other a small scout class ship with a crew of about 15.  One may have different stuff on the hull than the other.

[Saxman]

There are 2 different sizes of Birds of Prey as well, one large, the other a small scout class ship with a crew of about 15.  One may have different stuff on the hull than the other.

The SFX model used for the larger cruiser-scale Bird of Prey was the same one used for Kruge's scout in III (they broke the mechanism that allowed the wing position to change, however) so outwardly the only difference between the two was size.

[Delirium]

For the record, I am no longer surprised why few agree on flight modeling in Aces High. This group even argues about fictitious planes/ships/vessels from a TV show!