The DeepFlight Super Falcon is a personal submarine designed by Graham Hawkes, a former civilian ocean engineer. It was hoped that the technology used in this submersible would allow travel to the deepest parts of the ocean.

Development

The Super Falcon was designed by Graham Hawkes. Later, he started designing submersible vehicles for both the

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and those in the scientific research sectors. One of his earlier submersibles was featured in the

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film '' For Your Eyes Only''. Another was used in producer

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post- New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability ...

's ''

Aliens of the Deep ''Aliens of the Deep'' is a 2005 American documentary film directed in part by James Cameron alongside fellow cameraman and friend Steven Quale, and filmed in the IMAX 3D format. It was produced by Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures. Cameron t ...

''. In 2005, Hawkes and adventurer

Steve Fossett James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – September 3, 2007) was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraf ...

teamed up to create a submarine that could be piloted by an individual to the deepest part of the ocean. This spot in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

, called

Challenger Deep The Challenger Deep is the deepest-known point of the seabed of Earth, with a depth of by direct measurement from deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated underwater vehicles and benthic landers, and (sometimes) slightly more by sonar bathym ...

, is approximately under the ocean's surface and is thought to be the deepest point in the ocean. Together they began to develop the ''Challenger'' submersible with this goal in mind. However, in 2007 Fossett lost his life in a fatal accident in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

Mountains of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

before the feat could be attempted. The first

test flight Flight testing is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops specialist equipment required for testing aircraft behaviour and systems. Instrumentation systems are developed using proprietary transducers and data acquisition systems. D ...

of the Super Falcon in 2009 ran into a few problems including getting the submersible stuck in a

kelp bed Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on E ...

, which had to be cut free with the help of a safety diver. Other initial problems included a broken prop and rudder while performing vertical dives and 90 degree rolls.

Design

Mark I

The Super Falcon is classified as a winged submersible with a numerical design designation of DF 302. With its wings deployed, it measures wide x x long. The width is reduced to with the side wings folded. The electricity that drives the propulsion system is from

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, the Super Falcon's cruise speed is between . Its maximum thrust is . The maximum rate at which it can make a descent is 200 ft/min and the maximum rate at which it can ascend is 400 ft/min. It can operate at a depth of 1,000 fsw with a payload of , or 2 people . It has a launch weight of .

Mark II

The redesigned Super Falcon is long, wide (wings folded or extended, respectively), tall, and a launch weight of . It has a cruising speed of , under thrust of , with an operating depth of . It can carry a crew of 2, and a payload of including the crew. The vehicle uses

lithium ion batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also see ...

for energy storage.

Submarines

The Mateschitz Super Falcon is a Mark II custom fitted to

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billionaire

Dietrich Mateschitz Dietrich Mateschitz (; 20 May 1944 – 22 October 2022) was an Austrian billionaire businessman. He was the co-founder and 49% owner of Red Bull GmbH. In April 2022, Mateschitz's net worth was estimated at US$27.4 billion. Mateschitz worked in ...

, for use at the island and resort that he owns,

Laucala Laucala (pronounced ) is one of a triplet of small islands that lie to the east of Thurston Point on the island of Taveuni in Fiji. The privately owned islands are the site of the Laucala Resort. The total land area of the main island is . It is ...

Island in Fiji. It is the first resort-based Super Falcon.

References

External links

* *{{Cite web, url=http://www.outsideonline.com/1892206/just-dont-call-it-submarine, title=Just Don't Call it a Submarine by Thayer Walker - Outside Online May 2010 Submarines Personal submarines