![]() Submerged battery and engine testing, while manned. February 2012 Alameda Naval Air Station (Oakland, California, USA) Ballast system was tested. November 2007 cancelled tests, in the wake of Steve Fossett's death. Passed test, except for a crack in the viewdome due to a manufacturing defect. Test program May 2007 Penn State Applied Research Laboratory Building Pressure test of the pressure hull to Mariana Trench like pressures. Challenger represents the third generation of DeepFlight technology, one generation behind the DeepFlight Super Falcon. The sub is smaller than James Cameron's Deepsea Challenger. The pressure hull is rated to withstand 20,000PSI (more than the 16,000PSI at the bottom of the Mariana Trench). The design draw from DeepFlight II, another Hawkes Ocean Technologies full depth submarine. The sub can dive to the bottom of the ocean and get back to the surface in 5 hours. It uses LED lighting instead of arc lights, and has a laser navigation system. It has a 15 mi range, 6kt maximum speed, and 3-axis freedom of motion. The sub weighs 8000 lbs, and does not need a dedicated mothership. The submarine does not have a temperature control system for the cabin, so will tend towards ambient temperature. Without ballast attached, the sub is positively buoyant, it uses syntactic foam for buoyancy. The sub has a 24hour endurance, 3kt bottom speed, and 350 ft/min dive rate. The interface between dome and hull is by bonded titanium rings. The viewdome is made from quartz, while the rest of the pressure hull uses carbon/epoxy composites. The submarine uses composite technology to create a lightweight sub with great depth capabilities. Had the sub been finished as scheduled, it would have been the first to return a solo manned mission to the Challenger Deep. At the time of Fossett's death, the sub had been almost finished, only four weeks from dive tests and delivery. Virgin Oceanic came in as sponsors a year later in 2011. Welsh had purchased the sub and the Cheyenne yacht from the Fossett estate for around $1 million. The project was put on hold when Fossett died, and locked up in a warehouse at Hawkes Ocean Technologies, by the then owners, Fossett's estate, but was later revived when Chris Welsh of Deep Sub LLC bought the unfinished sub and restarted the program in 2010. It was to have been a "secret project" of Fossett's to be the first to solo the Challenger Deep, and was secret at the time of his death in 2007. At the time of the order, this would have doubled the depth that a single-place sub would be capable of going. The craft was named "Challenger" after the Challenger Deep by Fossett. ![]() It was put on the ordersheet in 2005, with a depth capability of 37,000 ft. Planning for the submarine started in 2000. It was originally ordered by Steve Fossett for an attempt on the Challenger Deep, to become the first solo dive there. Also, this vehicle will be built only on order so yes, you can expect the price to be high.The submarine was designed by Graham Hawkes and Hawkes Ocean Technologies. There is no information yet about the price of Super Falcon, but we know that the equipment and features include carbon fiber seats along with fly-by-wire controls and even optional integration with your yacht. ![]() ![]() If the vehicle was to become trapped underwater, it will be able to maintain two 12-hr life support systems while also being able to run VHF and underwater radios for communication. This will prove to be helpful if engine failure was to occur since the vehicle will be able to float to the surface on its own. Apart from this, it even comes with a pair of thick ‘wings’ and brush-less DC motor, and is powerful to allow the submarine to move through water with speeds up to 6 knots instead of just sinking down the surface like other vehicles do.ĭeepflight has given priority to the safety of passengers and the Super Falcon has been designed to be positively buoyant. It weighs 4,000lbs and has been created from carbon reinforced composite and is capable of carrying a pair of people down to a depth of 393 feet below the surface. The submarine measures a length of 19.6ft and a width of 9.8ft. If you like diving into the abyss now you can dive in your own submarine, Deepflight Super Falcon Mark II. ![]()
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