Converting the Bronco type XXIII to RC

[greenman407]

Its interesting. I have five(5) working subs, Oscar, Seaview, Albacore, Skipjack, and type 23. The type 23 is the only one of the group that needs high sensitivity for the APC or ADF. The others are quite happy at lower settings. That might be because the balance point(above water) of the Type 23, right now is a little farther forward than the others. It works as is, so far, even at higher speeds.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

For those who wondered if i'm still alive, yep, i've been filling up the test facility today to make my last run for trimming the beast, i made some testruns, as suspected the new tubes are much lighter in weight.
Played around with the foam and lead, took her apart to glue in the foam, tomorrow the next run to get the lead right, also did a test with the torpedos inside, on the surface no big difference, under water major difference, have to think about a simple counter balance system if i want to fire them underwater.
A few years ago Romel had the idea of lead counterweights, which will be disposed when firing a torpedo, have to see if this can be placed inside the boat, first complete the trimming and the maiden trip, after seeing the pics and vids of Tom and Mark i know we have a winner.
Tomorrow i'll take some pics to show the progress, and if everything goes well i want to test my torpedo system, charging up the cameras.


Manfred.

Instead of dropping weights to make up the lost buoyancy when a torpedo is launched, how about this:

Two inverted thimbles, open at their bottoms, near the center of the tubes -- the capacity of each equal to the amount of water needed to be expelled to regain the buoyancy lost to the weapon when it leaves the boat. A squirt of gas into the respective thimble dumps its water at the moment of launch. Gang actuation of the little 'blow valve' to the firing linkage.

A variation of the old WRT (water round torpedo) compensation tanks in the old boats.

M

[MFR1964]

Mark,

Like you i've got my share in being unemployed, it did speeded up the process, but getting a new job sucked up most spare time, as for the CG of my boat, it's straight under the tower, like my other boats.
I will have to tinker with the sensibility, starting point will be, as low as possible, my experience also is, the better your boat is trimmed neutral, the easier she will run at peroscope depth.

David,

I like the idea, but wonder if i've got me space enough inside the wet part of my boat, it has become a bit crammed, i only need to compensate the bouyency of the torpedos, those electric runners need each about 3 gram to become neutral, so it will take about 6 gram to counter the balance.
Worst scenario would be, fire the torpedos before diving.

Manfred.

[greenman407]

Agreed. Its trimmed nuetral, it sits even in the water submerged and surfaced. But when you hold it up it balances at the front of the sail.

[MFR1964]

I'm nearly there, played a few hours with foam and lead, i wanted to get her as high as possible on the surface, ended up with stuffing the foam under the exhaust cover, and removing some located under the battery hatch.
Balance was OK, but too light to get her submerged, so i added some 54 gram of lead, this will be placed as low as possible to get more stability when surfaced.



This was my aim, it seems she stands high on the waves, but from experience i know she will stand some lower after a few passes underwater, when all parts are wet you can add some extra grams of weight.



Submerged, and some extra bouency, i like to have them slightly positive.



Pictures from the second session, removed the foam under the battery hatch, which was located above the waterline, and added the foam under the exhaust, which is also located above the waterline.
By adding the foam i had to compensate with lead, which i clamped into the floodholes of the tower, at the end it will be located at the keel.





Tried to keep the weight even on both sides.



There is still some room to add the needed lead, the lower the lead the better it is, this way i can compensate the height of the tower when surfaced, she also will be less affected by wind.



The end of a succesfull day, the subdriver preformed excellent, no leaks or moisture, SAS worked like a dream, it's funny to hear each time that slurping sound when surfacing, this week i can fix the lead and make some more sessions to see if she will be ready for the maidenrun.
As for the torpedo system, i give it a go next week, first get this baby ready.


Manfred.

[MFR1964]

The needed lead is glued inside, she is ready for her maiden voyage, hopefully coming weekend, i also played around with my torpedo system, works like a charm, made some loose vids, i'll compose a new complete vid, which also will include the earlier explanation which i've posted before, be patient, it will take a hour or so to post it on YouTube


Manfred.

[MFR1964]

As promised the video, the first part you guys allready know, i've posted that short clip before, enjoy the rest.

Manfred.

[greenman407]

Manfred, a lot of know how went into all that. Im Impressed!

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

That is so SLICK!!!!

M

[MFR1964]

Thanks Guys,

As for the know how, allready learned a lot to implement in my type XVIIb, the XXIII turned out to be my testbank for the launchtubes which where intended for my type XVIIb, now i really know it will work.

Shooting torps is still always slick to me, i still get a smile on my face running those grey gremlings around the tub, i know you won't use them every time when you drive your boat, but when needed you can entertain/surprice the crowd.

Counting my days to the weekend, weatherforecast is good, very curious how she will run above and underwater, she will undergo my usual testdrill, and if i'm lucky, She Who Must Be Obeyed will make the vid for me.

[trout]

Manfred,
i really enjoy what you did with the torpedoes, but also I am inspired to do more on mine. I blame you, but thank you at the same time.
peace,
tom

[MFR1964]

Thanks Tom,

Yeah, it's fun torpedoes, to my opinion worth the effort, it was also a good lesson for my type XVIIb, which is next on the list to be completed, she's gathering dust on the wall.
You allready did a good job with your boat, speaking of your boat, how does it drive?, some more knowlegde before my maiden trip is always welcome


Manfred.

[trout]

Great question Manfred. I have mine tail heavy on the surface. So, when I initially want to dive I need to give it just a slight boost in acceleration to allow the leveler to raise the rear up. This allows the trapped air in the very front to find its escape path further aft. After that, I found it to be very easy to maneuver and drive. That being said. Currently, I am still detailing the snorkel and then on to weathering the hull and final assemble (wood gangway attached). Maybe tonight I will get a chance to run it, at least go to Grandma's pool. We put a bid on a house and it just got approved, so if I do not do something this weekend, I will not be able to get anything done for several more weeks.

[MFR1964]

Concrats with your new house, demand at least a bigger workingspace, as for the boat, mine is also trimmed slightly down at the rear when on the surface, more or less accourding to the pictures i have, it seems logical to keep the propellor under water instead of making whipped cream.
I've logged down the remark of gaining more speed when diving, usefull info, the rest will show itself, luckely some hours of drivingtime under the belt from my other boats, let's see if that experience will help, countdown for next sunday.

Manfred.

[MFR1964]

Phew, the maiden trip has been completed, done some rigurous testing about the range and turningradius, dived several times but i'm not satisfied how things are going, the setting of the ADF has to be changed to more sensitive, i'm going to do this step after step untill i find the right setting.
Turning radius is good enough, about 4 mtr, speed is nice, a little bit overpowered, but that's OK, rudder servo was inverted, easy fix by servo setting change on the transmittor.
I did manage to fire one torp, the other stayed stuck inside the tube, further investication revealed the servo could not open the door enough, i must admit all this was done after a 1,5 hour drive, so right now i'm charging up the batteries, just to see if this influenced the power of my servo's.
If that's the chase i have to fire my torps at the beginning of my drive and not at the end when things are getting on low power, just another lesson learnt.
She Who Must Be Obeyed was so kind to shoot some short vids, enjoy

The last part is about the failed torpedo launch, not yet a vid from driving underwater, but when i've straighten out those things that will be next, first learn more about driving this boat.

Manfred.