The 
Mar 23, 2009 08:40 PM
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The Deep Flight Super Falcon is a flying submarine that can't really fly. Not that it matters for anyone without $1.3 million to spare, but the "fly" part refers to the way it dives.
The key here is that the Deep Flight Super Falcon doesn't have ballast tanks—tanks which can be filled with water or pressurized air to increase or decrease the submarine's weight—making it to submerge or emerge. The two-seat Super Falcon dives down to 1,500 feet using speed and it's aerodynamic design, according to designer Graham Hawkes:
We just had to tear up everything we knew about submersibles and start again on winged subs — underwater flying machines
The project started as custom submarine for venture capitalist Tom Perkins, who wanted a sub for his Maltese Falcon—better known as Darth Vader's mega-yacht. After that, Hawkes decided to make the design available to other dirty-rich people for $1.3 million each or, in it's open cockpit version, $350,000. [Deep Flight via Yatch Pals via CNN]
Send an email to Jesus Diaz, the author of this post, at jesus@gizmodo.com.
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