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The Roc is a support vessel carried by the Askad-Halarine class. It is designed to search out damaged fighters and bring them back
to the ship safely for repair. The Roc gives new meaning to the word "utalitarian"; much of the craft doesn't even have a skin, leaving
the ZPEX and power conversion tower open to space. Although technically capable of atmospheric flight, the Roc is not at all at home
in a planetary atmosphere and only a brave or foolish pilot would try it.

There are four midspace shunts in tandem pairs; although this type of engine configuration is poor in terms of efficiency, speed,
and agility, it does allow opposed fields to be balanced against one another. This lets the Roc hold its position precisely in
midspace, vital for its recovery mission. To capture damaged fighters the Roc has two large extendable arms, while a pair of grapples
holds them in place once captured.

The Roc has a crew of four; a pilot and navigator sit up front, with a sensor system operator behind the navigator. Another station at the
aft of the cockpit module is used to control the arms and grapnels.

More great work, Graham.

*hauls ass to revise notes and add a few more ship classes*

I really like how this one turned out, actually.

I am thinking of holding off posting more though. I have loads... but I'm overwhelming this whole subforum as it is!

i've been slacking on my designs... i'll do another one soon, help balance it out a bit

Nice ship btw!

GrahamKennedy wrote:I really like how this one turned out, actually.

I am thinking of holding off posting more though. I have loads... but I'm overwhelming this whole subforum as it is!

If the others are of the same quality as the ones you've already posted (and I'm sure they are) overwhelm to your heart's content. This one reminds me quite strongly of the Skycrane.

I knew of the Skycrane, but I didn't have that specifically in mind when I made the Roc. But really... if you want to carry big objects, you
basically have to have a spine to hang them off, a cockpit at the front... then it's just where you put the engines.

One thing I do find is that when you make ships like I do, by laying down rules about how the technology works and "building" designs from
there, you get to a point when ideas start to kind of spin off from one another. So for instance I'd got to very large capital ships... which
meant that very large numbers of fighters would be needed to attack them... which meant that capital ships would have lots of AA defences...
which meant lots of fighters would be wrecked in attacks... which meant that it would be really useful to have a way to go and recover those
wrecks and fix them up. And then if you're gonna have those, you really need a class that specialises in carrying out that mission, and
fixing the fighters back up... and so on.

Graham, you should make a section just for your designs. That way you don't have to worry about overloading the current section.

I second that proposal. Although I don't think you're overloading anything with such great designs.

I don't think a subforum just for me would be a good idea, honestly. The forum, like DITL itself, is mostly intended as a service to Trek fandom rather than a "look at how cool Graham is" exercise. Other members don't get their own private subforums, so I don't see why I should.

Most likely I will limit myself to posting one or two items a week. A range of cruisers, frigates and destroyers are up next, then some more support ships...

Other members don't get their own private subforums, so I don't see why I should.

Now that you bring it up Graham I think I should get my own sub forum where everyone can tell me how great I am.

GrahamKennedy wrote:I don't think a subforum just for me would be a good idea, honestly. The forum, like DITL itself, is mostly intended as a service to Trek fandom rather than a "look at how cool Graham is" exercise.

In this case a subforum would not be because of your status as the site/forum owner, but because you're the most prolific poster of ship designs in A&D. Were anyone else to post almost twenty original, interesting, detailed designs in the same way you have, with more in the pipeline, I suspect people would be suggesting a sub-forum dedicated to honouring their work.

I, personally, wouldn't see anything wrong with creating a seperate sub-forum for your designs, Graham.

Nor I - especially if you keep turning them out at this level of quality. It could also be a place to post some fo the related fiction... (hint, hint...)

Anyway, kudos once again for both remembering the types of ships that are necessary, but almost always forgotten; and for not giving in to the temptation to make it "hot" or sexy" yet completely impractical.