Sorry folks, but I like BIG RC Submarines……….(1 of 3)
Frank Salerno is a genius regarding to what he’s doing here, so much so that he has little care for such “mundane” things as learning to use social media or “posting” in forums. As for me, I feel it would be a shame to witness this project and not share it with you. I may have been doing this since the late ‘80’s, but I’m learning from the “new” guy, which is EXACTLY how I want it to be!! So my goal now is to document this build journey for him, and you.
It’s difficult to believe that a relative newcomer to the world of RC Submarines would choose to undertake one of the more difficult subjects in our community, the SEAVIEW, and a fully operational 4 window version to boot! The SSRN SEAVIEW. But then again this particular newcomer is no stranger to model making. In fact Frank is a retired professional with the work title “Model Maker” who had worked in the Grumman model shop back in the day. He was one of the starters of Creative Model’s when they got laid off at one of Grumman’s infamous downsizings during the Lockheed love affair.
For posterity's sake…...
Need give a little background on the the history of this build itself, and the other reason I need to document it…..us!! This story really starts for us (the RC Sub Community) during the time I first met Ray Mason, which was at the very first Groton Sub Base Fun run in ‘92. Ray brought his famous home-brewed Disney NAUTILUS, which as far as anyone can tell, is indeed the first operational RC NAUTILUS, which he had built in the early ‘80’s. He also brought his home-brewed SEAVIEW , which was not operational at the time. Most people will remember this as the “foreshortened” SEAVIEW. About a 20” or so shorter than it should be given the beam. That was intentional so he could fit it in the blue Mitsubishi Minivan he had at the time. I remember this so well because I just purchased the now rare 80” SEAVIEW (DeBoer’s LARGEST version released) at the time and Ray was stoking me with ideas on how to get it operational. Over the next year his ideas were instrumental in me getting mine to run!
FWIW, I miss that van, felt like we were traveling in the “Mystery Machine” everytime we went to the Regatta, too bad Scooby wasn’t there…..
Anyhoo, it’s was at the first OFFICIAL SubRegatta in ‘93 that Ray, and the rest of the RC Sub Community (and real Submariners) saw what an RC SEAVIEW can do! And do it did!! Also a another first from Ray in the community, but now the SEAVIEW! It was big, it was bold, and heads snapped as this large, somewhat unconventional boat swam like a big grey dolphin in North Lake.
I know! See, Ray tasked me to film this very first venture of his SEAVIEW, he had been busy filming EVERYONE else’s boat that day and finally had the time for history! So there she sailed to the delight of the crowd, with me at the camera following it’s every move!! The crowd was silent...Ray was praying. Then it was done and the audience clapped!! Ray had worked his way over to me during the surfacing and asked as he brought her home, You got it?” I happily replied,”Sure!”. He then asked, “You sure the red light was blinking?”. I went numb as I responded, “What red light?”.
And that’s the story behind first RC SEAVIEW putting to “sea”.
Back during all these shenanigans, Ray and Frank both worked at Grumman, and Ray needed a radar for his SEAVIEW made so he approached the Model Shop, and it was Frank who volunteered to have one “punched“ out. Well one thing led to another and Frank eventually acquired Ray’s SEAVIEW mold’s when he was at Creative Model’s. Seeing it was indeed out of proportion, the “out of control maniac” that he is, set out to make things right. He increased the LOA, the length of the nacelles, as well as the Sail among other things to satisfy his OCD. All of this based on what research material he could find, as well as lifting dimensions and details off the Moebius SEAVIEW.
See, this is HIS boat, we all have one. Frank even made one from wood back in his youth. Therefore it’s no surprise Frank will push limits here, and fortunate for us because we get to learn. I’m personally fortunate as only living 15 minutes from his home shop where this magic is brewing.
So this is Frank’s SSRN SEAVIEW story……….
Frank and the 104” modified Mason Hull SSRN SEAVIEW.
THIS folks, is an RC Submarine, one that has “presence” when leaving a wake.
Note the Teskey SEAVIEW and Moebius SEAVIEW down below for scale.
Some more pictures indicating her size, note the old RC Transmitter for scale.
Starting at the bow, here are the operational Crash Doors…..
….and the operating mechanism detail!
You can see a quick, yet detailed video of the operation here, (newer, HD version) : Behind the Crash Doors
Behind the crash doors of course you have the detailed Observation Lounge and Control Room of course.
Note the Moebius SEAVIEW Lounge/Control Room to the left for scale.
Here we see the underside of the bow with FS1 nestled in it’s bay. The doors, which are removed, will be operational as well. He’s working on that now.
Same view, with FS1 removed. Why? I’m told THAT will be an independent, fully functional RC Submarine as well! He’ll guarantee launching, but retrieval (even for him) will be problematic. He’s outta’ control I says!
The Sail, which will not only have functional Fairwater planes, but working ‘scopes, radar AND a practical snorkel for air induction!
Here you see the detail of the scopes and mast’s. The “Photonics” Mast is to the right, and the Snorkel to the left. Note the 3rd tube below the snorkel assy, that’s for the air induction itself. Everything will be pneumatic, drawing on his RC Flying experience. The air will not only be used to surface (Low Pressure Blower operation) but to refill the pneumatic air reservoir.
Now purist’s out there will scream “There were no Photonic’s mast’s in the 60’s, much less on the SEAVIEW!!” Well Frank get’s artistic license as many of us do! He reason’s the location of the Control Room with respect to the Sail warrants it, and I agree because she represented a sub of the future…and it looks cool!!
Try this one, Congressman. Two "S"s in "progress."
So if I see any of you little hack purist’s walking around a show like you do with your little ruler, I’ll introduce you to my baseball bat “Lucille”.
Closer view of the mechanism.
I had to get some video of those operating as well, see it here: Periscope and Snorkel operation
What you see here is the working mechanism for the Radar. Which of course will Raise, Lower and rotate….but not “Radiate”, so we can have men working in the sail (Bubbleheads will “get” me). Just crushed, but not fried.
He was tweaking it so that’s why it’s not together at the time of the photo. Next time I visit the “SALERNO INSTITUTE for MARINE RESEARCH” (S·I·M·R) I’ll get some video.
Frank Salerno is a genius regarding to what he’s doing here, so much so that he has little care for such “mundane” things as learning to use social media or “posting” in forums. As for me, I feel it would be a shame to witness this project and not share it with you. I may have been doing this since the late ‘80’s, but I’m learning from the “new” guy, which is EXACTLY how I want it to be!! So my goal now is to document this build journey for him, and you.
It’s difficult to believe that a relative newcomer to the world of RC Submarines would choose to undertake one of the more difficult subjects in our community, the SEAVIEW, and a fully operational 4 window version to boot! The SSRN SEAVIEW. But then again this particular newcomer is no stranger to model making. In fact Frank is a retired professional with the work title “Model Maker” who had worked in the Grumman model shop back in the day. He was one of the starters of Creative Model’s when they got laid off at one of Grumman’s infamous downsizings during the Lockheed love affair.
For posterity's sake…...
Need give a little background on the the history of this build itself, and the other reason I need to document it…..us!! This story really starts for us (the RC Sub Community) during the time I first met Ray Mason, which was at the very first Groton Sub Base Fun run in ‘92. Ray brought his famous home-brewed Disney NAUTILUS, which as far as anyone can tell, is indeed the first operational RC NAUTILUS, which he had built in the early ‘80’s. He also brought his home-brewed SEAVIEW , which was not operational at the time. Most people will remember this as the “foreshortened” SEAVIEW. About a 20” or so shorter than it should be given the beam. That was intentional so he could fit it in the blue Mitsubishi Minivan he had at the time. I remember this so well because I just purchased the now rare 80” SEAVIEW (DeBoer’s LARGEST version released) at the time and Ray was stoking me with ideas on how to get it operational. Over the next year his ideas were instrumental in me getting mine to run!
FWIW, I miss that van, felt like we were traveling in the “Mystery Machine” everytime we went to the Regatta, too bad Scooby wasn’t there…..
Anyhoo, it’s was at the first OFFICIAL SubRegatta in ‘93 that Ray, and the rest of the RC Sub Community (and real Submariners) saw what an RC SEAVIEW can do! And do it did!! Also a another first from Ray in the community, but now the SEAVIEW! It was big, it was bold, and heads snapped as this large, somewhat unconventional boat swam like a big grey dolphin in North Lake.
I know! See, Ray tasked me to film this very first venture of his SEAVIEW, he had been busy filming EVERYONE else’s boat that day and finally had the time for history! So there she sailed to the delight of the crowd, with me at the camera following it’s every move!! The crowd was silent...Ray was praying. Then it was done and the audience clapped!! Ray had worked his way over to me during the surfacing and asked as he brought her home, You got it?” I happily replied,”Sure!”. He then asked, “You sure the red light was blinking?”. I went numb as I responded, “What red light?”.
And that’s the story behind first RC SEAVIEW putting to “sea”.
Back during all these shenanigans, Ray and Frank both worked at Grumman, and Ray needed a radar for his SEAVIEW made so he approached the Model Shop, and it was Frank who volunteered to have one “punched“ out. Well one thing led to another and Frank eventually acquired Ray’s SEAVIEW mold’s when he was at Creative Model’s. Seeing it was indeed out of proportion, the “out of control maniac” that he is, set out to make things right. He increased the LOA, the length of the nacelles, as well as the Sail among other things to satisfy his OCD. All of this based on what research material he could find, as well as lifting dimensions and details off the Moebius SEAVIEW.
See, this is HIS boat, we all have one. Frank even made one from wood back in his youth. Therefore it’s no surprise Frank will push limits here, and fortunate for us because we get to learn. I’m personally fortunate as only living 15 minutes from his home shop where this magic is brewing.
So this is Frank’s SSRN SEAVIEW story……….
Frank and the 104” modified Mason Hull SSRN SEAVIEW.
THIS folks, is an RC Submarine, one that has “presence” when leaving a wake.
Note the Teskey SEAVIEW and Moebius SEAVIEW down below for scale.
Some more pictures indicating her size, note the old RC Transmitter for scale.
Starting at the bow, here are the operational Crash Doors…..
….and the operating mechanism detail!
You can see a quick, yet detailed video of the operation here, (newer, HD version) : Behind the Crash Doors
Behind the crash doors of course you have the detailed Observation Lounge and Control Room of course.
Note the Moebius SEAVIEW Lounge/Control Room to the left for scale.
Here we see the underside of the bow with FS1 nestled in it’s bay. The doors, which are removed, will be operational as well. He’s working on that now.
Same view, with FS1 removed. Why? I’m told THAT will be an independent, fully functional RC Submarine as well! He’ll guarantee launching, but retrieval (even for him) will be problematic. He’s outta’ control I says!
The Sail, which will not only have functional Fairwater planes, but working ‘scopes, radar AND a practical snorkel for air induction!
Here you see the detail of the scopes and mast’s. The “Photonics” Mast is to the right, and the Snorkel to the left. Note the 3rd tube below the snorkel assy, that’s for the air induction itself. Everything will be pneumatic, drawing on his RC Flying experience. The air will not only be used to surface (Low Pressure Blower operation) but to refill the pneumatic air reservoir.
Now purist’s out there will scream “There were no Photonic’s mast’s in the 60’s, much less on the SEAVIEW!!” Well Frank get’s artistic license as many of us do! He reason’s the location of the Control Room with respect to the Sail warrants it, and I agree because she represented a sub of the future…and it looks cool!!
Try this one, Congressman. Two "S"s in "progress."
So if I see any of you little hack purist’s walking around a show like you do with your little ruler, I’ll introduce you to my baseball bat “Lucille”.
Closer view of the mechanism.
I had to get some video of those operating as well, see it here: Periscope and Snorkel operation
What you see here is the working mechanism for the Radar. Which of course will Raise, Lower and rotate….but not “Radiate”, so we can have men working in the sail (Bubbleheads will “get” me). Just crushed, but not fried.
He was tweaking it so that’s why it’s not together at the time of the photo. Next time I visit the “SALERNO INSTITUTE for MARINE RESEARCH” (S·I·M·R) I’ll get some video.
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