| Entry |
top
hatches |
| Max
Depth |
304 metres / 1000 feet |
| Top
Speed |
6
knots / 7 mph |
| Weight
|
1,818
kgs / 4,000 lbs |
| Max
Personnel Capacity |
2
including pilot |
The Super Falcon is a two person submersible from Deep Flight,
a company specializing in submersible watercraft which rely
on the principle of aquatic flight for directional and depth
control.
Deep Flight have been producing these strange winged watercraft
since the late 1990s. The company, which was founded by a renowned
submersible engineer called Graham Hawkes, is now currently
producing its 5th generation of Deep Flight submersibles.
The Deep Flight Super Falcon was first launched in 2008. It
features two separate cockpits for a pilot and a passenger.
Cruise speed of the Super Falcon is between 2 - 6 knots and
it has a maximum operating depth of 304 meters (1000 feet) below
sea level.
The production version of the Super Falcon has 24 percent less
frontal area than the prototype version and 32 percent less
volume. Weighing a little over half the weight of most conventional
2-seat submersibles, and with its compact dimensions the DeepFlight
Super Falcon is ideally suited for operation from super yachts
or shorebase.
Perhaps most importantly when you're talking about undersea
travel is the inherent danger, and the technology which helps
keep you safe. The Super Falcon is built and tested to equal
or higher safety standards as mandated by ABS, and can be certified
as required. Additionally, unlike all conventional submersibles
which use ballast to get heavy and sink, DeepFlight Super Falcon
is positively buoyant — with auto return to the surface — providing
unparalleled safety for its owner/operator.
The standard configuration is 2-person in-line, but the craft
can be custom-built in 3 or 4-person versions (in-line or side-by
side), and can be reconfigured to fit various deck spaces/garages.
The front cockpit is typically the primary pilot position; but
both cockpits have a full set of controls, so that the craft
can be flown from either position.
The
advanced Super Falcon pressure hull has more room where needed
for elbows and shoulders and uses a relaxed seating position,
with ideal 360 degree viewing.
Super Falcon is equipped with highly advanced piloting, navigational
and life support electronics, including a heads-up combined
graphics navigation, fly-by-wire (fingertip) controls and flight
display -- a first for privately owned submersibles.
Another first is the navigation module which includes an onboard
computerized track plot that enables the pilot to mark way points
and will guide the sub back to its launch point.
Deep Flight Super Falcon is incomparable to other submersibles
in terms of safety, comfort and the experience it can deliver.
The craft can provide its owner with a graceful, balletic flight
beneath the waves, but has the performance to barrel-roll with
dolphins, spy-hop with whales, or search for sunken galleons.
Additionally, with its low signatures of light, sound, electrical
and magnetic fields, Super Falcon enables unprecedented interaction
with big animals, and has zero environmental impact on the ocean
environment.
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