Wow, looks like an absolute bear to get in and out of. Was it combat-effective? Does it use a depth or pitch controller, or is it all manual? Does he use the ballast tank only for emergency blow, or does he use it to dive and surface as well as the planes?
Well, I think its kind of a novelty. I know Frank was able to surprise somebody atleast once (Tugboat?) because they were staring at the sub (ooh pretty!) and got shot by the spurt gun. It doesn't have an electronic depth/pitch controller (what I'm assuming you mean), so it did seem to have a tendancy to porpoise. The ballast tank is for dive and surface with the assistance of the planes (I didn't ask him if it could dive with just the planes).
I don't know why I didn't get a picture of it, but it actually has two forward facing scoops on the bottom of the hull. you can see on the inside of the sub it is connected by two clear hoses to the front of the ballast tank. The ballast tank is vented through a brass fitting on the top of the deck (which you can see just forward of the aft aa gun mount). Frank did mention that it was important to have the ballast tank on top otherwise the sub would be top heavy & tippy when on the surface.
Sorry I realize this is a fairly old post...but any ideas on how he sealed the deck and hull together so it didn't leak?
gotcha thanks! And what holds the little co2 in place? I know the end isn't threaded...what keeps it from flying off under pressure? Sorry...just fairly new to some of this stuff
The end is threaded, that is a threaded capsule. Not sure if that is a 12 or 16g, but it is a threaded cartridge. The Reg is a Palmers Pursuit Rock-The-Boat reg.
