Manufacturer: Corellian Engineering Corporation
Designation: YT-450a
Role: Light freighter
Hull Size: Starfighter
Length: 16 meters
Crew: 1 Pilot, 1 Co-Pilot (optional)
Cargo: 75 metric tons
Life Support: 2 months
Hyperdrive: Class 5
Atmospheric Speed: 530 kph
Sublight Acceleration: 55 MGLT
Armor: Moderate
Shields: None
Equipment: 2 Modular Ports

55,060 credits

The YT series is a commercially acclaimed success story for the Corellian Engineering Corporation, having had many successful incarnations. However, these famous and popular models had to come from somewhere and many years ago there was the YT-450a, one of the earliest YT freighters ever created. It is old, outdated and no longer in standard production, but all of its parts are pretty much stock order from the YT series, meaning that of the many millions of them that were sold when they were in production over seven hundred years ago, a huge number are still intact today. That’s endurance for you.

The YT-450a is a small saucer-shaped ship, the saucer being about sixteen meters in diameter, so the ship fits into the classification of a starfighter, by size. On either side of the disc is a large modular port that many upgraded units can be fitted to, and just behind each of these modular ports is an ancient hyperdrive unit, that are capable of propelling the YT-450a through hyperspace at the pokey but fairly standard civilian speed of Class 5. The YT-450a uses the same sort of ion strip propulsion as the more recent YT-1300, so its sublight engines don’t stick out at all.

Mounted on top of the saucer is the cockpit, the progenitor to the cockpit designs seen on the YT-1300 series and later. This capsule is designed to open up like a canopy to allow the pilot and co-pilot to enter, and at the back of the capsule is a small hatch that the pilots can climb through to gain access to a pair of cramped bunks, a tiny galley and a small refresher station. Set into the middle of this living space floor is another hatch that gives access to crawlspace within the YT-450a, for repairs and the like, and which can be used to get to the cargo hold, assuming you’re not claustrophobic. In fact, that should be said of the entire YT-450a, as it is incredibly cramped and compact.

A majority of the saucer is devoted to the cargo hold, and the YT-450a can carry a very respectable amount of cargo, given its size, being three-quarters what a YT-1300 can carry. The cargo hold is pretty standard, but many of the cargo pilots who own YT-450’s have been known to install climate control devices and stasis generators within the walls of the cargo hold for better cargo-carrying ability. The other main parts of the saucer are the internal parts of the ion strip drive and a large but outdated power generator that is able to provide a lot more power than the standard 450a needs, although at a hefty fuel cost. Most 450a ships have a fuel control system installed on them, for more economic usage of the power generator, and the YT450a that you can request to purchase from CEC comes standard with such a feature.

The modular ports are what makes the YT-450a even worth considering for purchase in this age, as they are incredibly customisable, up there with the YT-1300, if not even a little more so. Almost every YT-450a on the market uses at least one of these for after-market modifications, whether they be laser cannons or a safety escape pod. Of course, the escape pods are a dubious choice, as to get to them you’d have to crawl through the crawlspace from the cockpit to them, but some pilots like the extra security in case of a crash or being stranded in space. Other CEC modifications that can be mounted are varied and wonderful, and you can even purchase external shield generator hubs to provide some better defence.