Opmmur
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The Future Of Manned Ocean Exploration!
9 August, 2012
Two-thirds of our planet is underwater. We glide over the surface of the oceans, but we still have very little idea what is going on a few metres down. This underwater vehicle named DeepFlight Super Falcon makes true wonders and really has a future! It can help to explore underwater realms.
A new advanced underwater vehicle will be able to perform acrobatic maneuvers such as many aircraft do.
It was designed and built by Graham Hawkes and his small team at Hawkes Ocean Technologies near San Francisco.
Hawkes has designed and built over 60 manned submersibles over his 40+ year career, including four generations of the DeepFlight winged submersibes and the Deep Rover submersibles used by filmmaker James Cameron in his IMAX film, "Aliens of the Deep".
DeepFlight Super Falcon is built much like an aircraft; it has wings, tail surfaces, and ailerons, but instead of flying in air, it flies underwater.
It is built much like an aircraft, with wings, tail surfaces, and ailerons, Kickstarter reports "but instead of flying in air, it flies underwater.
It is capable of much higher speeds and better maneuverability than traditional manned submersibles - but how much higher and how much better?
DeepFlight Super Falcon, a new advanced manned submersible designed and built by Graham Hawkes. Credits: Hawkes Ocean Technologies
As we know, underwater flight is still in the early stage in the development and many fascinating questions wait for answers.
Is this truly a viable method to explore the unknown depths of the ocean?
DeepFlight Super Falcon, Rolling can be launched without a dedicated support ship; here it's breaching out of Lake Tahoe. Credits: Hawkes Ocean Technologies
What speed can we maintain along the lakebed and still get an accurate visual survey?
How well can a pilot navigate underwater using only a compass?
What is the stall speed?
How slow can you go before you start to float to the surface?
Can we achieve a perfect underwater loop?
This maneuver has never been attempted in a manned submersible device, because - in a traditional submersible, it is not possible.
DeepFlight Super Falcon, however, is not any traditional design but very sophisticated one.
You can learn more here.