AQUASUB

A few days ago I dusted off my Graupner Shark that had not been used for about 2 years,why well the SLBs that i used in the original mod just did not have the run time I liked and it was a pain to open her up so often.
So I thaught since i have the 2 lithium Ion 2300mh bats available from the Javalin 7 sub I went and gutted her to the next mod.The Ions fit right in one ontop of the other ,I wired them together for more capasity not to increase the voltage,that would way to much!.
I removed the drive and shafts and regreased them,no seals just grease,no leaks iether ,then removed the stock Speed 500 motor and added 2 more setscrews to the pinion gearwith thread locker as the single one is just a flat head screw and would not be able to handlethe very high torqueof this mod.The nylon gears seem like they can handle the starin and are greased with white lithium grease on the shafts not the teeth as it would just fling off.

I ballanced her off to perfection with just a bit of tail negative and started alfa tests.

Holy mackrel what a thrust this little sub produced at just 3/4 thraughtle!!!! It was like a blurr in the water a fish being chased by no other a Shark! She would manuver as expcted with great maners like no other,this designe with the tear drop hull long low sail ,dual high speed screws counter rotating and god sized rudder and no aft plains just large forward ones makes her do her stuff at any speed.If she had a single screw the counter torque would easily topel her out of control ,very important to note for future subs ,I noticed that on every single screw sub that I built to go very fast ,not with this one the designe is great!

I then ran her in my pool a small 20 fotter oval and not more than 5 ft deep .I went faster and faster in the oval she ran as predicted level in the turns like a race car and banking like a sub,this thing will turn in a 3ft raduise doing I say some 20 miles per hour! Imagine the Gs! ouch,well thats not all i wanted to jump her I thaught man is there enogh space so i guned it and wow she litraly diasapeared and fortunatly I caught up with her in time to make the jump and with a quick up comand she lept out of the water completly right out of the pool and onto the lawn,thank god I have no concreat around the pool!I thaught man she is dead,I picked her up ratled it aruond and nothing came lose,the wieghts held in place,glued in imagine if they where left to bounce around in those Gs!

Well your probably wondering did Iwater cool her,yes you bet the first runs i noticed warmth coming from the motor area threw the hull and that was only a few minutes not even 5,also when I unscrewed the top screw a noticable hiss of air pressure coming out,hot air,so i thaught thats not good and came up with a means to disapate it,not easy on a sub like this one ,there just is not enughe space beam wise for coils and the 2 shafts are very close to the motor,so I made a plate out of thin brass cut out 2 fin like items and cut a slit in the aft area where the motor is at the mid line just bellow the screw shafts,there inbetween motor and shaft is a small gap perfect place to slide in the brass fin or heat sink with dialectric grease ,it holds it in place then sealed up the slit ,this was done to both sides as if only done on one it would cause a hydrodynamic imballance and would not look very cool.Well after testing the sinks they get nice and warm and while in the water keep the motor cool,no pumps or lines and easy to make happen.I expect that it will also increase the run time and prolong the motors life.
I don't expect the motor to last too long since i like to go full out on this incredible sub but if i do change out the motor it will be brushless.I can't even imagine how fast she would go then, its supper fast now.
If you guys havent baught one of these subs then get one its a hole different game with these speeds and jumping her is fabuluse.

There are some things worth mentioning with this sub the quality of materials is supper good the the factory way to set it up is not in my opinion ,the bellow seals very good,the drive excelent and no need to change the props.
Also i installed way back 4 mm thrust bearrings ,ball type a true bearing used on power boats a must for speed and endurance.
Another important mod ,the top does not mate allthe way as it should causing leaks ,that was a problem with the original kit ,caused by the 2 stops for and aft,so I made the female side in the sail deeper so that the gap is gone the seal seals perfectly now,don't forget that one.
I will repaint her red most likely as silver gets lost in the white sands here .
7.2 v speed can motor on 12 volts and a 12 volt ESC did the trick,definatly water cooled.
By the way at the relativly slow speed I jumped her out of the pool she lept a good 6 ft lenght wise and about 2.5 ft high,I can't wait to jump her at full from at depth will make video, this awt to be good!!!

Dave Amur Sub Yard

AQUASUB

Some close ups not painted yet, higfh torque microw servo bow plains,standard on rudder,will ad lights LEDs for night and cave use.A 10 ch PCM reciever is on top of the Ions the antenna coiled up along side made no glitches but will re arange later.

AQUASUB

Also the off on switch added mod ,installed in the sail behind the test valve a simple rabber covered water tight slide switch used on boats and cars.

AQUASUB

Some fotage in the pool ,this was taken with the sub at only 3/8th thraughtle and before it was watercooled ,at full she is to fast to handle in that pool! I mean SUPERFAST!

The last vid shows the air bubles escaping from a leak at the front DP only one side thank fully, it is there as the motor heats up it expands the air inside and the seal is broken ,it seals back up once the pressure is gone,at the stern when out of the water one can feel the warmth of the motor since I can't put my telemitry sytem in this little juel I have to go with the hillbilly discription to prove that it does get quite warm, even did this with a 6 volt system,heat causes more than one bad condition and must be reduced especialy with a hot rod mod like this sub.
This sub has no operating aft plains and does not need them she is plenty reponsive with the front ones ,large as they are ,even greatly reduced she would manuever just fine,I also plan on trimming down the aft horizontal stabalizer too bomb like and add some lights.

Dave


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7Q4DxGlhac

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeGXFbxVuEw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3E4oeAqXog

AQUASUB

I have been having  a great time with this sub ,to me its a hole new sub ever since I made the above mods,the cooling actualy works very well,when I run the motor out of the water for a while the cooling fins get warm ,in the wter they efectively transfer the heat out of the sub.

The running time has gone from 15 minutes to almost 45 ! Wow what a difference Lipos make and take about the same to charge,I do not need to remove the bats from the sub ,there is a charging lug installed.

This sub is so easy to use a cave man could have loads of fun,at full I have no idea how far up into the air she will jump as this thing put out pounds of thrust at full and its waight to trhrust ratio is way up there,so I need a good deep run to start of at and give her all shes got to make the highest jump ossible ,I will make a vid of her at the up coming Blue Spring run where the water meets this criteria for this subs aqubatics ,there is no way it can be done in my small pool,cant wait for that day on the 12 th of October,I wiull also bring the SB-2 and Octura ZX,it should be a blast with lots of under water Video!

She has been newly repainted to a bright red with auto mototive enamel and several  clear coats,came out nice and slick.

Dave

AQUASUB

I have been having  a great time with this sub ,to me its a hole new sub ever since I made the above mods,the cooling actualy works very well,when I run the motor out of the water for a while the cooling fins get warm ,in the wter they efectively transfer the heat out of the sub.

The running time has gone from 15 minutes to almost 45 ! Wow what a difference Lipos make and take about the same to charge,I do not need to remove the bats from the sub ,there is a charging lug installed.

This sub is so easy to use a cave man could have loads of fun,at full I have no idea how far up into the air she will jump as this thing put out pounds of thrust at full and its waight to trhrust ratio is way up there,so I need a good deep run to start of at and give her all shes got to make the highest jump ossible ,I will make a vid of her at the up coming Blue Spring run where the water meets this criteria for this subs aqubatics ,there is no way it can be done in my small pool,cant wait for that day on the 12 th of October,I wiull also bring the SB-2 and Octura ZX,it should be a blast with lots of under water Video!

She has been newly repainted to a bright red with auto mototive enamel and several  clear coats,came out nice and slick.

Dave

AQUASUB

Here is a diagram of the watercooling fins installed

AQUASUB

A top view diagram

coast219

Wouldn't a cooling coil like those on FE boats been better? Just 2 small holes for the water intake and exit.
You may not get sufficient cooling as the heat has to travel a long way by conduction from the motor casing to the outside as compared to the coil where the water and motor are just separated by a fractions of millimeters.

AQUASUB

That was my first choice but there is not enough clearance inbetween the motor and drive shafts and the motor to hull in the aft half area ,only a very tiny 1/8 aluminum tube coil would fit and it would take to mush water pressure to operate,also the instalation would be very dificult as there is no top acsses in the aft motor bay for lines to the exterior.
A ram water system would have been nice but it could not be done.[]

The large area of the coolling fins disapate the heat very well as I tested it in and out of the water,a noticable amount of warmth is present after about 5 minutes of running at medium speed outside of the water.The distance the heat has to travel is only about  2cm to 3.5 cm,also the cold water temperature migrates into the sink as well.

I have been running it every day now for fast long runs and have noticed less internal pressure when I unscrew the top acsses screw,before alot more pressure with even a his could be heard,so i think its working pritty well.

Dave

AQUASUB

Here she is almost finished,later she will have a white LED on the forward top sail and 2 searchlights side by side on the bow for cave running.

The lights will get there power from the RX and can be made to be switched along with a lipo warning light.

AQUASUB

Notice the top switch for the radio it turns on the main power also as is usual and is protected by a silicone boot that seals very well with 2 screws threw to the switch body.It is placed so that if hit by an object it will not turn the sub off.[:@]

Dave

AQUASUB

Yesterday the 12th we had a blast especialy my little Shark,it performed perfectly and I finaly was able to take her to full though not for a long period because she simply is so fast its like flying a fast aircraft underwater she is so fast that if you take your eyes off for more than a blink she is way ahead and perhaps not going where you would like!

I toke her down to as deep as possible then ahead full and full up and she took off so fast and reached the surface in a secound or less and leaped into the air at the same time twisting like a fish,very impresive performance and beutyfull to watch,the sound like a torpedos scream as it leaves the water.
Then i wanted to find out just how long the sub would cruise and sprint for, well unfortunatly I went too deep about 16ft and I lost control and she went staight into the springs opening or cave before the failsafes kicked in  and I thaught she is a gonner ,but to my surprise the subs props spread around alot of sand and I knew where to find her.So I got a mask on and dove for it, man that was a ways down and there she was wedged inbetween 2 rocks with the props running,if she had gone threw she would have been lost,I had to grab her from the stern and since I was out of air it went fast and in so doing she lost a prop bummer.

I took her to the surface and she emediatly stopped as the radio kiched in as normal,I also noticed some water inside but she could still stay afloat and so i tested to see if I could still use her on one prop,to my surprise she was just as manuverable  and almost as fast as before,she still had plenty of power!
I am very happy that I used a  waterproof ESC and wterprofed the 2 servos with goop ,the bats seem to not mind the water no mod there,the motor well it got wet no damage so far,the RX no damage as its on top of the Ion pack all else faired well and was still runing strong. 

So I ran her for more  fun and still after 40 some minutes she was still going and going and going unbeilevable runtime with this sub and at say 2 clicks of the stick she runs at nice clip not too fast or slow and still broaches with ease.I knew i had a leak and had to bring her out and drain her for the next run so on she went hitting 2 hours!

I still do not know just how long she runs for at the cruise speed but it must be in miles ,but all I can say is this sub stole the show with its speed and endurance and manuevers,one thing i liked was the stream bubble she actualy traps a bubble of about 2 inches behind the top sail there is a valve there and cap that somehow causes tubulance and the shear speed of the thing cavitates the water there very cool to watch and even funner to drive,this is not a sub for someone that just likes to go scale slow hell no this  thing is incredible  a totaly different kind of RC sub class I call "hyper aquatics" and its like no other in the thrill to drive her and a crowd pleaser.

I will post the video as soon as I get it from Al he was kind to take it for me as I did for him later with his Nughtilus and my SB-2 should be awsome!!

Dave 

AQUASUB

Finaly I got the video from Al ,its a bit short but it gives one the idea of just how fast and fun the Shark is well worth the money if its done right and it seems that I finaly did after 5 years and this one is my secound one ,I sold the first back in 97' and missed her eversince.

Here she is going at the fastest around 2/3rds ahead and I am not practiced at driving her yet so I had to keep her restrained,I know she will jump higher at full and with not so much up angle,what afun sub ,even with one prop she flew and ran for over 90min !
I also lost radio contact down close to the bottom of the spring and she impailed her self into the sand so I went for her the water sweet and pure a wonder of the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRjkituWtPE
Once I get more practice I will show you what she can realy do!

Dave Amur Sub Yard

AQUASUB

Yup I put wings on it!

I have allways wanted to see how stabalizer wings would do on a sub like this one and to my expected results it turned out so far great.She no longer has a moderate dive in hard left or right hand turns but very level at high speeds that was very important to atain with this sub,normaly she would be a bit overstered or overly sensative to turns at high speeds so I had to figure out a wing type that might help and stabalize the sub ,this wing has a slight negative dehidral with positve tips that allow a slight verticle stabalizing effect and helps in protecting the tip from grounding.Its also very strong made from high impact plastic and almost solid threwout.It comes from a German model aircraft ,no cutting at all was necesary,
I like the detailing.

So far tests in the pool show that it is performing as I thaught,it will add some drag but this sub could use it its just sssoo fast!I figure that at full speed the verticle up down control inputs will be greatly atenueated or surpressed along with the roll.
I will post a vid of her performance at the Springs later.

Dave Amur Sub Yard

AQUASUB

If you ever need to replace the clockwise turning prop on these babbies you will have to order the hydroprop no. 2318.31L by Graupner its a bit larger by 1 mm and the pitch is a bit steaper I think the original props have no specks that I could find except for the size.

They look fantastic and are sharper in apearance and blades are very sharp! Man get your finger in those blades at full and by by finger tips!!

I have to fit them now and test away since the other prop is on back order the starboard prop is a different pitch yeips!
But I think it will workout just fine for now this subs desine is so forgiving that it should run fine.

Dave