It was a fanon thing, unless you consider the Encyclopedia to be canon. And you guys know how beholden I can be to canon.
It's surmised it's a Connie, but not definitive. Part of the problem with identifying her as a Connie has been with the crew complement - stated onscreen as something over 200 (half that of a Connie). Now, over the decades, explanations have been provided to explain the discrepancy between that number and the E-nil's crew complement. And, sure, it's a legitimate way to go to explain it, I've just chosen to go another way.
What I envision for the "extra" coils is some sort of hybrid. You'll notice the shorter nacelles, different tech there driving the vessel into warp than the later 1701-type nacelles. There's a sort of twisted logic behind it.
I imagine that part of the big reason the Constitution class was such a big deal for StarFleet was that it enabled high warp speeds AND higher acceleration rates than previous classes, in a more unified and efficient package. So, the Enterprise in TOS could make quick intra-system dashes at high warp by getting up to that speed faster than previous vessels, and maintain that warp factor for longer periods of time.
What I'm supposing with this propulsion system is that prior vessels did not have that combination of abilities, at least not as efficient as the Constitution class.
What I'm trying to show with the Farragut here is how the prior classes could have been doing it. Kind of a hybrid system that got the job done, but was hardly the preferred solution, and hardly elegant.
Let's look at it from a fleet development point of view. While designing the generation of StarFleet vessels that the Farragut was among, the engineers were able to wring warp 8 out of the drive using less energy than prior technology, but delta-V was horrendous, taking 12-15 seconds to go from standstill to Warp threshold. Acceleration did not improve at Warp Factors either.
So, they researched and ran simulation after simulation, and were never able to improve that number. Months later, they hit upon the idea of using a hybrid system comprised of the new drive, PLUS going back into prior successes and integrating a duo-block coil set from the old Soval-class transport. The advantage of working this hybrid solution is that when the vessel needed an extra push (as in rapid acceleration in combat maneuvers or high Warp Factors), it could bring online the duo-block drive to provide it.
Another few months of sim work provided the warp formulas that could allow what was, essentially, two warp fields working in tandem. The first test platform was then constructed, and initial runs proved the basic concept was sound. Requiring only minor tests to the power system (the old duo-block was designed for a lower-power power source, and the newer power sources were blowing it, so a sort of step-down transformer was required to make it work safely enough for a transport vessel).
To Aridas, yes I envision her a sort of fast frigate, something that could evolve into the later USS Reliant frigate. That's part of the reason I'm thinking of trying to keep vertical nacelle pylons on her. Everytime I play with angling them, it starts to look too much like the NX class, which I'm trying to avoid. I haven't decided on armament yet, so there's room to play and reason it out. What would be overkill for a vessel of its type?
About the twin deflectors, I'm not a fan of that configuration either, but an elegant solution is eluding me. If we could identify the exact features on the TWoK Reliant that are supposed to be its deflectors, maybe I could use that as an inspiration. The reason I ended up going with the twin deflectors here is because I hit upon the basic balance of the side view, which I think has a very tight aggressiveness to it. I want to maintain that without having hulls and structures protruding too far away from the core of the ship. So, that really ruled out dropping the lower hull to which the deflectors are attached, because that made it too bottom-heavy for my taste. I've got some ideas in my head for perhaps tweaking those structures to make it not quite so blocky and LEGO-ish.
Oh, and Aridas again, I would angle the rear booms up into the rear saucer superstructure, except I've got a shuttlebay there and I need it to have good clearance for ingress/egress. So, maintaining the ellipse really has been the best option I've played with so far. I'm walking a fine line between too boxy and too curvy. Now, granted, it's going to make detailing the front and rear views a bitch to get right without the benefit of a 3d model, but, hey, we make our own bed, don't we?
I also have an idea for a short range (sublight only) shuttlecraft for her, I may have posted it before, but I have forgotten.
Oh, and Cary, you don't have to say this is the Farragut. It's just my little fun project. I'm not going to Paramount to try to get it used in movies.
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