The sub in 1981’s “For Your Eyes Only” was called “Mantis” and came armed with pliers and drill. However, the founder of DeepFlight, ocean engineer Graham Hawks, actually designed a tiny submarine that was used in a Bond film. Remember that 1977 James Bond film “The Spy Who Loved Me,” featuring a white Lotus Esprit S1 sports car which converted into a submarine? Well, that vehicle never actually worked. In the 1960s, TV viewers got all excited about submarines from adventure series like “The Thunderbirds” – starring several puppets and toy models – and “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.”Īnd more recently, sub-mania experienced a brief TV revival in the 1990s with “SeaQuest DSV.” Disney’s 1954 movie based on Verne’s book used eye-popping special effects to bring the Nautilus to life. Jules Verne blew readers’ minds in 1870 with his book “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” about a sub named the Nautilus. Going deeper would require your personal sub to be weighed down by heavy lighting equipment.Įven at relatively shallow depths, there’s something about submarine travel that ignites the human imagination. Once you get below 400 feet, you begin to lose sunlight from above. That’s not very deep, compared to film director James Cameron’s record-setting mission to the bottom of the Pacific.īut depending on where you’re looking, it’s deep enough to see some cool stuff. If the Dragon’s electric power fails, or some other critical system goes sideways, the sub is designed to automatically float to the surface.ĭeepFlight Dragon has a top speed of about 5 mph and is limited to a depth of about 400 feet. It comes in models powered by pedals as well as electric motors. The underwater craft called The Scubster is also constructed of carbon fiber material, although it only dives to about 20 feet. Next year, a company called OceanGate plans to begin offering a submersible featuring a 7-inch-thick carbon fiber hull using Boeing manufacturing technology. The Dragon’s pressure hull is constructed with a proprietary composite material, specially designed to withstand the pressures of ocean diving. Salt water causes metal to to corrode, which obviously is a bad thing for metal submarines.īut what if most of the sub is made from something else? For example, what if it’s built with strong, lightweight composite materials that don’t rust or corrode? That’s a win. Why? One reason is strong, relatively new building materials that replace old-style metal. These amazing watercraft may sound expensive, but never before have personal subs been so low-priced and widely available.Ĭomposite materials open new possibilities Another one, the Seabreacher X, jumps out of the water like a wild marlin on a hook. Some operate partly above and partly below the waterline, like the so-called semisubmarine, EGO-Compact. These underwater ships sport cool names like Scubster, the Triton and SEAmagine. There are more than ever before, say experts, thanks to emerging technology. The Dragon is just one of many personal submersibles now on the market. Operating the sub is relatively simple, designers say, requiring minimal training. Instead, right now, you can operate a DeepFlight submarine at a posh resort and be an explorer for a day. So does Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz.īut DeepFlight doesn’t expect you to buy one. The technology seems all so James Bond – except it’s real. Options might include checking out an ancient shipwreck or snuggling up close to a gigantic whale. On your right, a joystick lets you steer in any direction you choose: forward, back, left or right.Įssentially, you’d be piloting your own underwater exploration mission. With the touch of a small lever near your left hand, you command this sleek, 16-foot sub to go into a deep dive.

Your head might be surrounded by a transparent canopy, giving you a 360-degree view of an ocean wonderland. The article/interview was written sometime in 1999.Imagine yourself strapped snugly inside your own personal submarine. Though the article says he was 'considering' purchasing it. It would be wicked for parties, and stuff like that.' I don't know if you could properly operate it on your own - maybe you could, I don't know.

It'll probably be a lot of hassle to do it, and you'll probably have to hire like a crew to work it for you. Someone said they were like 50 grand, but I don't know how accurate that is. I don't know any models, but I just heard from the place where I can get ammunition for my machine gun - they're selling off Russian submarines, and apparently they're really cheap. What's more is that the submarine was much cheaper. James and many other pseudonyms), purchased a submarine a while ago.

Fast personal submarine