[Christopher Halsey]

I've recently starting re-watching Voyager and it's once again started to annoy me that the Aeroshuttle was never once actually used especially since given Voyager's situation a multi-purpose warp capable vessel that was considerably better equipped than a Starfleet shuttlecraft would have really come in helpful.

Of course Voyager eventually got such a ship in the form of the Delta Flyer but it always seems weird both from an in-universe and real world point of view than an entirely new ship was designed when a perfectly acceptable one was sitting there waiting to be used.



From an in-universe perspective the Aeroshuttle was meant to be considerably better at atmospheric flight than Starfleet shuttles or Runabouts (over 400% improvement in atmospheric flight tolerance) which seems to perfectly fit the extremely specific situation that the Delta Flyer was produced for. Not only that but Voyager is meant to have limited resources and the Delta Flyer was needed in a hurry, it seems illogical to waste time and resources on something you don't need when you have an alternative sitting there not being used.

From a real world perspective it seems weird to spend the money designing and creating models and sets for a new ship design when you already have all of that at your disposal.

Personally I think the Aeroshuttle is really nice design and the fact that it detaches from the ship could have led to some pretty cool scenes. Tom Paris said he wanted the Delta Flyer to look mean and intimidating, ok so Tuvok got rid of the tail fins but even with them I think the Aeroshuttle (which is about twice as big as the Flyer) looks considerably tougher and more stylish.



It's been said that the producers were worried about the Aeroshuttle stealing the thunder of the Captain's Yacht in Insurrection but Voyager pre-dated Insurrection by 3 years and Insurrection certainly wasn't in production that long or it would have started production before even First Contact was completed.

What does everyone else think about the Aeroshuttle? Should it have just been used instead of creating the Delta Flyer and why do you think it wasn't utilised?

[Kains]

I never could figure that one out, and all I can assume is that it was the result of the same brain trust who came up with episodes like Threshold. Might have been some 'brilliant' idea to give Tom a little more substance? Maybe they felt the aeroshuttle was *just* another Captain's Yacht, so doing the Delta Flyer gave something unique?

I dunno, those are lazy excuses in my mind, so I really have no idea. Not utilizing the shuttle always seemed like a wasted opportunity for story to me.

Cool to see that test footage, and I can't wait to see it in STO!

[LynxMukka]

I'd never really given it much thought but, after the justification you gave and the video, I really don't understand why they didn't take that thing out for a spin every week!

[Cehus]

Aesthetically speaking, I always preferred the Aeroshuttle to the Delta Flyer. I really wish they used it in Voyager.

[Curzon Peers]

Maybe they felt the aeroshuttle was *just* another Captain's Yacht, so doing the Delta Flyer gave something unique?

Speaking of which, the Enterprise D had a captains yacht they never used either, though at least in that instance they were planning on doing so but went with models they already had built to save money.

[Christopher Halsey]

I never could figure that one out, and all I can assume is that it was the result of the same brain trust who came up with episodes like Threshold. Might have been some 'brilliant' idea to give Tom a little more substance? Maybe they felt the aeroshuttle was *just* another Captain's Yacht, so doing the Delta Flyer gave something unique?

I dunno, those are lazy excuses in my mind, so I really have no idea. Not utilizing the shuttle always seemed like a wasted opportunity for story to me.

Cool to see that test footage, and I can't wait to see it in STO!

There must be some reasoning behind the decision not to use it, whether that reasoning is good or not I don't know. You might be right about the Captain's Yacht thing but I think Insurrection was still the first time in Star Trek we actually saw a Captain's Yacht in use so I doubt it would have had a negative impact.

The only other reason I can think of is that perhaps they were worried that it was too similar to a Runabout (since the interior was the same set) and in the lore the Aeroshuttle is a relative of the Runabout class. That said by the time Voyager hit TV screens the Defiant had already featured in DS9 which resulted in a sharp drop in the usage of Runabouts and if the Aeroshuttle was used infrequently (like for example the Saucer Separation in TNG) I doubt it would have caused issues and if that were the reason they could easily redress a Runabout set to make it look sufficiently different.

[Curzon Peers]

My guess is they they just weren't well enough versed about their own show to know the aeroshuttle existed.

[Noram]

They try to explain it away in soft-canon by saying Voyager was rushed into deployment and didn't actually have an Aeroshuttle when it launched. That that piece that looks like an Aeroshuttle was actually just a bit of hull plating shaped to fill the gap where the Aeroshuttle was meant to go

[Kains]

Ooooh, I like that one: Makes a certain amount of sense to. Kudos to whatever author came up with that explanation!

[Noram]

I really wish I could find the source now...I might have to go digging through my hardcopies...

[Christopher Halsey]

I really wish I could find the source now...I might have to go digging through my hardcopies...

I believe that explanation was created by one of the authors of the Star Trek: Starship Spotter book however it wasn't allowed to be included as it hadn't been referenced in canon. That is a good in-universe excuse for the ship not being used but that reasoning did come after the Delta Flyer was introduced so it still doesn't explain why the producers didn't use it especially since no canon explanation for it's lack of usage had never been stated.

It should be noted that some books and comics that showed that the Aeroshuttle was operational during Voyager's time in the Delta Quadrant but it wouldn't be the first time that Star Trek has contradicted itself especially when not limited to canon.

[Kains]

Sometimes stuff just gets left by the way side, or writters get caught up in the excitement of a project, I get that. I still make a bit of fun of it, but I do get it.

I can certainly never be accused of getting so caught up in something I fail to notice the obvious

But it means I have a great deal of respect for writters who need to clean up after that, and this example is prime: Simple and is a real world explanation (No tachyons needed!)

[Bridger]

I have also heard that the Aeroshuttle was damaged when Voyager wad pulled into the Delta Quadrant and they salvaged parts from it to repair Voyager.

Another possible reason why it was never onscreen, might be the cost of the CGI, think about it how often have we seen the Delta Flyer leaving the shuttlebay two times or so and this animation would have been shown probably more often and would have cost to much.

[Christopher Halsey]

I have also heard that the Aeroshuttle was damaged when Voyager wad pulled into the Delta Quadrant and they salvaged parts from it to repair Voyager.

That is a possibility but again why not simply state that? It doesn't seem to make sense that they never once refer to it being there.

Another possible reason why it was never onscreen, might be the cost of the CGI, think about it how often have we seen the Delta Flyer leaving the shuttlebay two times or so and this animation would have been shown probably more often and would have cost to much.

Possible but you would think they could re-use the footage like they did of Runabouts launching in DS9 or the Enterprise separating it's saucer section. In terms of money I would have still thought it would be cheaper to use assets they already had (the Aeroshuttle) than design an entirely new ship (the Delta Flyer). There is also the cost of the interior, the Aeroshuttle was to use a slightly re-dressed Runabout set which must have been far cheaper than designing and putting together the Delta Flyer interior.

[Bridger]

Possible but you would think they could re-use the footage like they did of Runabouts launching in DS9 or the Enterprise separating it's saucer section. In terms of money I would have still thought it would be cheaper to use assets they already had (the Aeroshuttle) than design an entirely new ship (the Delta Flyer). There is also the cost of the interior, the Aeroshuttle was to use a slightly re-dressed Runabout set which must have been far cheaper than designing and putting together the Delta Flyer interior.

The problem might have been that DS9 and Voyager were still running side by side and the Runabout was still used very often in DS9 so they would have to redress it all the time when one of the shows would have used it.