The Oberth class continued in service for over a hundred years, and was still in service with Starfleet in the time of Star Trek, The Next Generation, when it was established that it had a crew of 80 persons. Official references stated that it was a mere 120 metres long, but that seemed too small. Scaling the aft structure to include a standard height (2.5 metres, or 8 feet) deck confirmed that it was more likely in the 150 metre range (FASA had estimated 148m long with a crew of 78). This size also permitted the obvious hangar doors on the saucer to actually recieve a full-sized Type 5 Shuttlecraft, which had been in service in the late 23^rd century and was still being used in the late 24^th. True, it was like putting a minivan in a small garage, but it would still fit. Figuring out how the crew could get down to the sensor pod was more problematic - the Turbolift car wouldn't qui-i-ite go around the angles to get down the pylons, but even if it was just sensor equipment it would have to be serviced. Jefferies Tubes were possible, but at a length of 30 metres (100-ish feet), a ladder-like access tube wasn't really workable. However, since the Turbolift cars obviously had their own artificial gravity and inertial dampers, it would be no problem for the car to tip over on its side and negotiate the corners sideways, returning to its upright position at the bottom... For this set of deckplans, though, I had to use the small turbolift cars developed by Allen Rolfes for his Bluescale plans at Masao Okazak's Starfleet Museum. The pod was also the most likely spot for a launcher to deploy probes as well as the odd torpedo. 80 crew, though - that was almost a deal-breaker. It could only be accommodated if the crew were housed in 4-man cabins with bunk beds, dormitory style. We would later be shown bunks being used on the Excelsior (Star Trek VI, The Undiscovered Country) and the Defiant (Star Trek: DeepSpace Nine), so not every ship had the luxurious cabins used by Kirk and Spock. I would have been more comfortable with a crew of only two dozen, but canon is canon. Still, compromises had to be made, so I ignored the apparent four decks shown in the saucer of the Vico, as well as the 11-deck MSD. They said it couldn't be done, but I made it all work - I even managed to include the two-level Engineering spaces shown on the USS Pegasus!

The Oberth's Warp nacelles are unique to the class. Most Starfleet vessels utilise a hollow tube style nacelle filled with a series of split-toroid Warp coils composed of verterium cortenide. The Oberth nacelles have a series of flat plates exposed for much of the length of the nacelle. There would seem to be no room for the toriod Warp Coils. In fact, these plates are closer in concept to the Warp Wings of the Klingon Bird of Prey. The wing of the BoP is actually a flat chamber into which the Warp Plasma is injected, energising the Warp Plates, which are the feather-like panels on the surfaces of the wings. Likewise, the flat panels stacked in the Oberth's nacelles are similar hollow chambers composed of verterium cortenide, into which the Warp Plasma is introduced. These nacelles lack the variable-geometry features of the Klingon system, and combine principles of both the Klingon system and the traditional Federation nacelle.

And so, without further to-do, I present you with the Oberth class Planetary Scout/Surveyor, circa 2284!