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In the original Delta Flyer, Paris insisted on manufacturing a series of levers, buttons, and switches that are more suited for use in the Captain Proton holodeck program than a state-of-the-art shuttlecraft. Tuvok regarded the analogue controls as completely superfluous, although Paris was adamant that every knob and dial was fully functional. Paris was tired of tapping panels and wanted controls that allowed him to actually feel the ship he was flying. He takes this design philosophy one stage further with the new Delta Flyer. The original Delta Flyer cockpit features a mixture of Paris's analogue controls located to the right of the pilot's chair and standard touch-sensitive interfaces directly in front of the large forward windows, but the new Delta Flyer dispenses completely with these reconfigurable systems and instead employs two separate hand-operated joysticks. (The use of such controls for Starfleet vessels is not new. The Sovereign-class U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E features an emergency helm override joystick, seen in use during Riker's Maneuver in [Star Trek: Insurrection].) But the hand-operated joysticks form a secondary system as opposed to the combined navigational thrusters and drive systems that are operated by the new Delta Flyer's handles. Both the joysticks are identical in size and shape, and are mounted to the left and right of the pilot's forward console, projecting upward and slightly backward from small white colored panels. The joysticks' bare metallic stems curve upward to join sculpted black colored hand rests that the pilot firmly grasps with both hands during flight, resting their thumbs on the flat black oval pads at the back of the handles and manipulating them in unison to change speed and course as desired, and providing an extremely responsive method of control.

[#148 Imperfection]

Located between the two joysticks and separating them is the same series of horizontal indicator bars running from yellow to green in a rectangular display, and providing the pilot with instant feedback on the vessel's drive. The new Delta Flyeralso includes the small instrumentation panel directly above the pilot's head, and the touch-sensitive rectangular sensor panel to the right, above the original analogue controls, with the design of the twin joysticks allowing the pilot to operate these while maintaining the speed and attitude of the ship with their left hand.

 

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