![]() ‘For the layman it’s very easy, because the minute you take your hands off the control it slowly drifts back up to the surface and it’s very safe.’ĭeepFlight’s Dragon has ‘already taken six or seven orders’ since its launch, says Y.Co’s Charlie Birkett. ‘DeepFlight is going to change that, I think,’ he says, commending the simplicity of its design. But he has new hopes for more innovative designs. Y.Co’s Wright says the industry has seen many submersible makers struggle to stay in business due to scarce demand. British yacht designer Andrew Winch says it used to be tricky due to the depths a submersible reaches: ‘If there is a fault, how do you recover it? You wouldn’t want to put your very wealthy client deeper than where you can recover them from if there’s a problem.’ Key players in the yacht industry are noticing more interest in private submarines too, despite having seen clients in the past hesitate to request one on board as easily as they would a jetski or helicopter. Besides their use as military craft, industrial excavators of oil and gas, and scientific tools, submersibles now have a more recreational role. Hawkes, too, who has designed over 50 submarines (both military and civilian), has noticed a more ‘private market’ emerging, alongside large luxury yachts. ‘It’s still a very small market, but it’s a hell of a lot bigger than just military, oil and gas - more interesting too.’ DeepFlight’s prototypes are part of the non-military submersible phenomenon that has become popular in the past seven years, according to Gary Wright, a co-founder of Y.Co yacht specialists. Hawkes sells his products to private individuals and beach resorts. ‘They gave me a licence to kill Bond,’ he jokes. ‘Somebody pushes a button and a door swings open at the back, it’s all very James Bondy,’ he laughs, reminiscing about his own experience as a baddie who smashes into the secret agent’s submersible in For Your Eyes Only. Both could fit into a hidden garage in the back of a modern private yacht, says Hawkes. The $1.7 million submersible that ‘flies’ has a smaller ‘sister’ called the Dragon ($1.5 million), which ‘hovers’ like a helicopter, making both types the smallest (and lightest) of their kind. Easy to use, the craft could be independently manned after a twenty-minute training session. A 40V system voltage and low electric signature make the Super Falcon safe to operate around swimmers, as well as any large marine animals you might encounter.The Super Falcon Mark II is a DeepFlight model that could perform deep-sea acrobatics 120m below sea level, applying the same principle of lift and thrust as a plane. With its high-efficiency brushless DC drivetrain and underwater lithium-iron-phosphate battery pack, the Super Falcon is fast, clean and quiet. If Apple designed a submarine cockpit, this would be the one. Unlike traditional submarines with cockpits as complicated as a 747, the Super Falcon employs intuitive controls, fly-by-wire technology, and a simple layout, enabling you to dive your Super Falcon with minimal training. ![]() ![]() We provide integration services onto yachts as well as into shore-based operations, inclusive with a purchase. ![]() Unlike conventional submarines which use variable ballast systems, the Super Falcon Mark II incorporates fixed positive buoyancy - with auto return to the surface - providing unparalleled safety.Īt 1800 kg and only 5.9 m in length, the Super Falcon is able to fit on more yachts than any other submarine on the market (with the exception of her sister sub the Dragon), with little or no retrofit required. Diving the Super Falcon Mark II is a radically different experience from a conventional submarine, connecting you to the blue space around you like never before.ĭesigned with safety as the number one criteria, all Super Falcon craft are subject to DeepFlight’s stringent testing standards, and are proof-pressure tested for safety. It is the underwater equivalent of an airplane. Forget everything you know about submarines: the Super Falcon leverages the principles and dynamics of flight by incorporating a patented inverted winged design. ![]()
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