The Dragon
DeepFlight launched its newest lightweight, positively buoyant and simple to use submarine at the Monaco Yacht Show 2015. The aim is to make deep sea exploration more accessible for owners…
MONACO. At the Monaco Yacht Show 2015 DeepFlight, the personal submarine specialist, introduced the superyacht market to its sixth generation submarine — the Dragon. Designed to counteract the barriers to entry that have traditionally plagued intrepid owners who wished to journey beneath the waves, the Dragon makes it easier than ever to tackle the deep.
"Over the past five years, we have transitioned the company to address the growing market for personal submarines. DeepFlight has removed all of the barriers to owning and operating a personal submarine,” explains Adam Wright, president of DeepFlight. “We believe the Dragon, which was designed with feedback from superyacht owners and the superyacht industry in mind, is a game changer in opening the oceans for undersea recreation."
Submarines have been on the superyachting agenda for a number of years; owners who truly wanted to explore the depths have been able to, albeit requiring large, negatively buoyant vessels and the storage room to match, as well as the lengthy requisite training or qualified company.
The Dragon, like all DeepFlight submersibles, is positively buoyant. Submarines have customarily utilised ballast systems to control their depth, that is, they take on water to descend and dispel water to ascend. This system has been popular since the dawn of the submersible and is undoubtedly an efficient system, however, in emergency scenarios it means that the submarines nature is to sink rather than float. The Dragon relies solely on vertical thrust to dive and maintain submersion, in emergency scenarios the Dragon will float safely back to the surface rather than sink to the bottom.
By reimagining the submarine to fall in line with owner requirements, DeepFlight has made ocean exploration more attainable. At five-metres long and 1,800kg the Dragon can be stored and launched with the same ease, and using the same lift system, as a tender.
"The big leap forward with our newest model, the Dragon, is its ease of operation,” explains Graham Hawkes, founder and chief technology officer of DeepFlight. “There is no need for a specially trained pilot. You can take the controls and explore under the waves. After all, you don’t hand the keys to your Ferrari over to your chauffeur!” Users can set depth limits on any dive and keep track of critical functions using the DeepFlight Dive Manager (DDM).
The all-electric Dragon has the ability to fly through the water and a unique development also allows it to hover. With this additional feature you can follow and find marine life or hover above a shipwreck and observe for up to six hours at a time. The Dragon cruises at four knots and has a maximum depth of 120m.
"Over the past five years, we have transitioned the company to address the growing market for personal submarines. DeepFlight has removed all of the barriers to owning and operating a personal submarine,” explains Adam Wright, president of DeepFlight. “We believe the Dragon, which was designed with feedback from superyacht owners and the superyacht industry in mind, is a game changer in opening the oceans for undersea recreation."
Submarines have been on the superyachting agenda for a number of years; owners who truly wanted to explore the depths have been able to, albeit requiring large, negatively buoyant vessels and the storage room to match, as well as the lengthy requisite training or qualified company.
The DeepFlight Dragon at MYS 2015
The Dragon, like all DeepFlight submersibles, is positively buoyant. Submarines have customarily utilised ballast systems to control their depth, that is, they take on water to descend and dispel water to ascend. This system has been popular since the dawn of the submersible and is undoubtedly an efficient system, however, in emergency scenarios it means that the submarines nature is to sink rather than float. The Dragon relies solely on vertical thrust to dive and maintain submersion, in emergency scenarios the Dragon will float safely back to the surface rather than sink to the bottom.
By reimagining the submarine to fall in line with owner requirements, DeepFlight has made ocean exploration more attainable. At five-metres long and 1,800kg the Dragon can be stored and launched with the same ease, and using the same lift system, as a tender.
"The big leap forward with our newest model, the Dragon, is its ease of operation,” explains Graham Hawkes, founder and chief technology officer of DeepFlight. “There is no need for a specially trained pilot. You can take the controls and explore under the waves. After all, you don’t hand the keys to your Ferrari over to your chauffeur!” Users can set depth limits on any dive and keep track of critical functions using the DeepFlight Dive Manager (DDM).
The all-electric Dragon has the ability to fly through the water and a unique development also allows it to hover. With this additional feature you can follow and find marine life or hover above a shipwreck and observe for up to six hours at a time. The Dragon cruises at four knots and has a maximum depth of 120m.
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