Dive system for Moebius Skipjack

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Thank you David. Yes - I have experience with rc primarily with surface ships, sailplanes (to a lesser extent), scratch building, working with resins etc etc. Not a machinist. Primary weak point is electronics. The challenge for me is the working innards of these subs.

****! Now I must, at a minimum, show you some respect -- you obviously have a good set of hands and more than a few brain cells to set them in useful motion.

OK.

Fine.

Don't sweat the electronics thing. In our game guys like Kevin McLeod, Ron Perrott, Mtronks, Groupner, and the like have provided us with the plug and play devices to control, power, and r/c our model submarines. I assume you can solder -- and you'll only need that skill set to make the yokes, work out some of the pushrods, and solder connectors to interface with the battery, motors, and ESC. Here's a look at how all these gee-whiz, wonder-devices relate to one another:

[Subculture]

the only thing that differs with a sub over any other model is you have a ballast system. They tend to be pretty simple, the most complex are usually those incorporating piston tanks, as they often (but not always) have feedback-based control boards for proportional control.

[Timothy L]

Soldering railings, fittings etc, old school circuit boards - no problem. Surface-mount boards - that’s another issue LOL. Circuitry is where I get slowed down - and programing Open TX and Ethos. Current project is a live steam launch.
Anyway, decision made - I’ve ordered a Skipjack and feel that I should be able to modify an R&R cylinder to add sail plane function. I shall resurface to expose more ignorance as the project progresses. Thank you one and all.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Soldering railings, fittings etc, old school circuit boards - no problem. Surface-mount boards - that’s another issue LOL. Circuitry is where I get slowed down - and programing Open TX and Ethos. Current project is a live steam launch.
Anyway, decision made - I’ve ordered a Skipjack and feel that I should be able to modify an R&R cylinder to add sail plane function. I shall resurface to expose more ignorance as the project progresses. Thank you one and all.

You obviously have the chops to tackle the slightly more 'ambitious' process of converting the static display, polystyrene plastic 1/72 SKIPJACK into a practical, well running r/c model submarine.

Go get 'em, Tiger!

David

[redboat219]

Nate He's Skipjack sailplane mechanism

[Timothy L]

Redboat219 -
Thank you for the linkage photos

[Subculture]

Skipjacks work really well on rear planes only. Certainly it doesn't hurt to have sailplanes functional.

[redboat219]

IIRC some of David's 1/96 Skipjack had fixed sail planes.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

IIRC some of David's 1/96 Skipjack had fixed sail planes.

Yeah!... back when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. That was then. This is now.

Then, in the late 80's, I found that boats work much better with practical bow or sail planes for precise depth control.

Duh!

Boats are much more manageable at periscope depth with them -- which, by the way -- is where a model submarine spends most of its submerged time. There is nothing more ugly (other than a punk with metallic hardware embedded in his/her/its pimple covered face) than a model submarine jumping up and down about periscope depth!

Use 'em!

[Timothy L]

Specific to Skipjack:
1) If one uses a pitch controller, should it be mixed (via TX) with stern and bow planes? Of separate stick?
2) Could/should a depth cruiser DC3, such as sold by Bob Martin, also be added? Or a bit redundant?
3) Is a pressure gauge to limit dive depth advisable?
4) Or are all of the above really a cover up to disguise the fact that an operator doesn’t have the chops or patience to learn how to manually operate a sub? Thank you.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Specific to Skipjack:
1) If one uses a pitch controller, should it be mixed (via TX) with stern and bow planes? Of separate stick?
2) Could/should a depth cruiser DC3, such as sold by Bob Martin, also be added? Or a bit redundant?
3) Is a pressure gauge to limit dive depth advisable?
4) Or are all of the above really a cover up to disguise the fact that an operator doesn’t have the chops or patience to learn how to manually operate a sub? Thank you.

1) ALWAYS use an angle-keeper. Never mix bow and stern planes -- two different control surfaces for two different functions: angle, and depth control.
2) Works so damned well it takes some of the fun out of driving the boat.
3) Nope.
4) I'm one of the best Drivers around and I can't deal with a boat without artificial stability about the pitch axis.

Join the DiveTribe and make tomorrows Zoom call. I dare ya!

David
The Horrible

[Subculture]

As you’re a flyer a good analogy is to try and keep an aeroplane a few inches above the ground consistently where you can only see the undercarriage.

Submarines can keep fairly stable at very low speeds, but anything beyond a dribble and you’ll struggle to maintain a stable pitch without a leveller.

[Timothy L]

Thank you David.
What is an angle-keeper? Another term for a sail or bow plane?

Dare accepted: I recently did join the Dive Tribe

Whimpy excuse proffered: Will be flying home to Western Mass from Arizona at that time tomorrow.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Thank you David.
What is an angle-keeper? Another term for a sail or bow plane?

Dare accepted: I recently did join the Dive Tribe

Whimpy excuse proffered: Will be flying home to Western Mass from Arizona at that time tomorrow.

'Angle-Keeper' is a term used to describe any mechanical or electronic device that references the gravity-line and sends a corrective signal to the stern plane servo or linkage to keep the boat on a near zero bubble, i.e. the hulls longitudinal centerline perfectly perpendicular to the gravity line.









Whimpy excuse accepted: Safe travels my friend.

David

[redboat219]

Each model submarine that runs faster than a snail needs a pitch controller -Norbert Bruggen