The Gamma Flyer was built for the crew of the USS Atlantis; it has standard features for a shuttle of its size and shape. The Gamma Flyer is currently the prototype. Officially, the Gamma Flyer project is still in the testing stage, but the crew of the Atlantis have long ago started to use the prototype as a regular shuttlecraft. Having been in active use for over a year now, the Gamma Flyer has lived up to the expectation. Having undergone its trial by fire in battle a long time ago, the Gamma Flyer has become the preferred ship to use on a shuttle mission. To date, it remains unknown whether Starfleet will construct more crafts of this class.
With the USS Atlantis crew constantly testing the new shuttle and sending back its performance data, Starfleet found a dangerous electro spike in its prototype weaponry and on further tests found it unstable. According to Starfleet regulation safeties, the shuttle was sent back to the Alpha Quadrant to have its weapons replaced with the Pulse Phaser Type II model.
The Shuttle is now armed with a variation of the original pulse phasers that were originally constructed for the Defiant. The type II is designed for smaller craft. There are two phaser arrays -- one fore, one aft -- that gives the shuttle the best possible short range attacks, making the Flyer durable and able to handle her own. The micro-launcher is placed fore above the main deflector, and has a compliment of ten micro-torpedoes and ten probes. The probes can be configured into torpedoes if need be, although the pulse phasers are the main weapons onboard the shuttle. The Deflector grid is standard based with the smaller version of the regenerative shield in usage on the larger starships. This entails that the shields are capable of siphoning off energy from incoming attacks and using it to bolster its own protection.
The engines have been improved and are closely related to the Danube Runabouts engines LF-7X2; they were redeveloped and can produce more power. The size of the shuttle has a large amount to play as well at being 4 metres shorter in length; this gives the shuttle more ability than the original Danube class. The impulse engines are updated as well, giving the Gamma Flyer more manoeuvrability. All in all, the improvements allow the Flyer to be deployed on a wider variety of specific missions.
The shuttle's science department is comparable to those of scientific shuttles such as the Type 6 shuttle and the Delta Flyer class. The Gamma Shuttle is instrumental in sensory data and has the wide broadband of spectrums to scan through. there are four forward facing sensory outputs which can be used in tandem or separate; the science officer can determine whether he or she wishes to do this.
The interior of the shuttle has been divided into various sections to create easy and practical living. At the very front of the shuttle is the main cockpit where all of the shuttle's main functions are carried out. Behind the cockpit is the two man transporter allowing travel to and from a planet, space station or starship. It can also be used to bring cargo aboard. Also in this section are the weapons and environmental suits lockers, which can only be opened from the cockpit in order to minimise security risks.
The small space aboard the Gamma Flyer is used efficiently: there is a small sickbay at the rear of the shuttle, which also doubles as quarters and, if necessary, an office for commanding officers to be separated from the piloting crew. Next door to this area is the cargo hold, which can also double as crew quarters during longer away missions.
The Gamma Flyer comes equipped with a separately constructed nose cone which has been enahnced with its own Structural Integrity Field system (SIF), which allows the shuttle to survive a reasonably rough crash landing if an emergency arises. The nose cone can also function as a small escape pod and comes with limited supplies, reaction control thrusters and a homing beacon. After an emergency landing on the planet, the material of the nose cone can relatively easily be used to create emergency housing.
With the Gamma Flyer in active service on the Atlantis for over a year already, the Atlantis crew have come to regard it as a durable and sturdy shuttlecraft. For that reason, it has been the primary choice of shuttlecraft for many mission commanders in the past, and it will undoubtedly go on many more dangerous and challenging missions in the future.
Credits
Gamma Flyer specifications and data collected and comprised by Martin Miller for the USS Atlantis. Input of crewmembers was appreciated and taken into account.
