The Nautilus lives! - It has finally.... come to pass.

[bob the builder]

I've got lots of pics

I've got lots of pics of the model at the lake, but a bad stomach flu has laid me low and I won't be getting those downloaded until tomorrow... stay tuned.

In the meantime I thought I'd share some insights into the Nautilus' performance characteristics (or mine at least).

Firstly, my motor and prop combination works extremely well. Surfaced, I need to stay at about 1/3 throttle or the prop sucks air.

I've heard it before, and my tests proved it, even with the upturned side keels in the front, generous speed drives the nose of the model downwards gently. We shifted some ballast to the rear and tried it again, and surprisingly enough, even with stock rudders and dive planes, the Nautilus handles extremely well.

She's definitely no Formula 1 racer, but she's got a decent turn of speed, especially underwater where I can open up the throttle.

I've got a mystery air bubble that is getting caught in the wheelhouse that I still need to sort out, but it actually looks great as it suddenly finds itself free of the wheelhouse alligator eyes and produces a pair of streaming bubbles as she vents it.

That's about it for now. Look for pics and some .avi's to be posted on my website shortly.

[novagator]

Bob,

have you considered selling a

Bob,

have you considered selling a nautilus kit?

[Guest]

Re the air bubble. How

Re the air bubble. How about making the small hatch at the rear of the wheelhouse work?

I've seen that technique work well for Seehund models.

Andy

[bob the builder]

Okay, here they are... some

Okay, here they are... some of the pics of the Nautilus during her maiden voyage]http://www.rc-sub.com/images/modelpics/maiden2.jpg[/img]

Here is the Nautilus just before heading out of the docks. Note my operational running lights around the salon and on the wheelhouse. They make for far easier tracking of the model while underwater.


Cruising the surface in search of her quarry...





Her first submerged run. After we tweaked her ballast distribution, she was far easier to handle while underwater.




I'll be taking her out again this weekend. I'll try to get some good video of her running and diving then.

[tmsmalley]

Bob -
As they say in

Bob -
As they say in the current vernacular... "Sweet."
Tim

[PaulC]

Bob,

Congratulations! A fine boat and

Bob,

Congratulations! A fine boat and fine reporting!

[thomcmdchief]

Bob

Just beautifull! Just more incentive

Bob

Just beautifull! Just more incentive to get my 66" finished. Once it warms up here in South Bend, it'll be full speed ahead. An thanks for the rudder linkage pic's, perfect solution for me.

Thom