CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF A SUBMERSIBLE AIRCRAFT

WHY THIS?

It can be used to serve as an aircraft that can fly low over the water until near its target before
disappearing under the sea to avoid detection.
it can be used to carry under water missiles till it reaches the target and launch it
INTRODUCTION
Living on a planet which has a surface largely covered by water, it is natural for humans to have
created aircraft which can call the surface of the water home, or at least a stopping point, but
until now airplanes have been restricted from submerging due to their nature of low weight and
designs set to make leaving the water surface or land easier.

With modern technological developments a submarine airplane seems to be possible .While the
principles of hydrodynamic and aerodynamic flight are similar, the technological challenges are
profound. Aircraft need to be as light as possible, so that they can use a minimum of power to get
airborne, while submarines need to be dense and strong to withstand water pressure. Heavier-than-air
aircraft get their lift from airflow over their wings - submarines simply pump water in and out to change
their buoyancy. Here we are intending to create an aircraft which is heavier than air but later than water


History of flying sub marine
Ushakov flying underwater boat(1936)
In 1934 Boris Petrovich Ushakov, a student engineer at a Soviet military academy, devised a flying
underwater boat a three-engined floatplane designed to scout out enemy ships and then ambush
them. Ushakov envisaged his craft flying ahead of the target, landing on the sea and then flooding its
fuselage so that it could lie in wait beneath the surface and torpedo the ships as they sailed past.
Ushakov submitted his radical design, which included a conning tower and periscope, to senior officers
in 1936. But the concept was never put into practice, being deemed too heavy to be effective.




Reid RFS-1 (N1740)
RFS-1 was constructed by Donald V. Reid, an early R/C submarine enthusiast, and defense contractor, of
Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA, using parts from other (crashed) aircraft. A serious attempt to make an
aircraft that could also serve as a submarine, Reid's design came to him almost by accident when a set of
model airplane wings fell off a shelf and landed on the hull of one of his radio-controlled submarines he
had been building since 1954. An idea was born and he decided to build the world's first flying
submarine.

Reid first tested various model-sized flying submarines before attempting to build a piloted craft. As a
plane, registered as N1740 and powered by a 65 hp four-cylinder Lycoming aircraft engine, the RFS-1
has flown over 75 ft (23 m) on the Shrewsbury River in 1962 by Dons son Bruce. Initially the pilot's
position was in the engine pylon but was moved forward onto the fuselage before the first flight.

To convert it into a submarine, the pilot removed the propeller and covered the engine with a rubber
"diving bell". On auxiliary power, a small 1 hp electric motor situated in the tail, it traveled submerged,
the pilot using an Aqualung, at a depth of 10 to 12 ft (ca. 3.5 m). The RFS-1 also bore the New Jersey
State watercraft license NJ18S on the nose.

Underpowered, the Reid RFS-1, also known as the Flying Submarine, really did fly, briefly, but was
unable to sustain flight; and it was submersible. Don Reid tried to interest the military in the craft,
without success; he died at the age of 79 in 1991."

HOW WE SUBMERGE A SEA PLANE
For this we can look at the Deep Flight Super Falcon, the worlds first production winged submersible.
Unlike conventional submersibles, which sink because their ballast makes them heavier than water, the
Super Falcon is positively buoyant and descends using inverted wings that exert a downwards force
when the craft is propelled forwards by its motor, just like a plane uses its wings and engines to
generate lift.


For creating negative and positive lift out of wing we can use control surfaces. But TO DO IT effectively
we should change the angle of attack Of the wing with respect to fuselage. we can implement just like
in Vought F-8 Crusader .



the most innovative aspect of the design was the variable-incidence wing which pivoted by 7 out of
the fuselage on takeoff and landing . we can modify this technique to create negative and positive lift.



How we propel inside water

For propulsion under water, electric power is the preferred option
The bet choice we found is using propeller driven by battery at tail section. One of the most difficulty
was accomadating such a huge size and weight of battery. But today there are researches going on for
batteries with higher energy densities, lower weight, better safety and high reliability.
One of the best recently developed battery is zhou's lithium -ion battery design that uses porous silicon
nanoparticles in place of the traditional graphite anodes.
. This could have an energy density 10 times than of conventional battery. The problem with previous
silicon anode designs, which were basically tiny plates of the material, broke down from repeated
swelling and shrinking during charging/discharging cycles and quickly became useless. zhou's team
experimented with porous silicon nanowires that are less than 100 nanometers in diameter and just a
few microns long. The tiny pores on the nanowires allowed the silicon to expand and contract without
breaking while simultaneously increasing the surface area -- which in turn allows lithium ions to diffuse
in and out of the battery more quickly, improving performance.

ALTERNATE OPTION


In order to reduce weight and the need for large stores of batteries, it was decided that a single
propulsion system would power the craft. The concept of a turbofan engine was adapted to the needs of
the design in the form of a turboshaft engine connected to a set of integrally bladed rotors, or blisks, as
part of a ducted fan. For underwater performance, the engine was to have access to an oxidizer via a
snorkel rising above the surface of the water, while the ducted fan would propel the craft by driving water
in the place of air. In order to accomplish the transition from air to water operation for the fan, while
keeping acceptable performance, it was proposed that a mechanical transmission be installed between the
turboshaft engine and the fan, in order to step down the rotation
rate of the fan blades and prevent cavitation of the fluid.
Most crucial part how we can make it airborne
Obviously we cannot use the conventional piston engine because a small leakage into the cylinder will
lead to their failure .
The best choice is the jet engine . when the jet engine is placed higher on the aircraft so that spray
doesn't enter the intake during take-off and landing, it will work fine. This result is obtained from BE 200
BE 200
It is a amphibious aircraft designed by the Beriev Aircraft Company and manufactured by Irkut

Specifications
Crew: 2
Length: 32.0 m (105 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 32.8 m (107 ft 7 in)
Height: 8.9 m (29 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 117.4 m (1,264 ft)
Empty weight: 27,600 kg (60,850 lb)
Max Take Off Weight (Land): 41,000 kg (90,390 lb)
Max Take Off Weight (Water): 37,900 kg (83,550 lb)
Max Capacity (Water or Retardant): 12,000 kg (26,450 lb)
Max Capacity (Cargo): 7,500 kg (16,530 lb)
Max Capacity (Passengers): 44 (Be-200ES) 72 (Be-210)
Powerplant: 2 Progress D-436TP turbofans, 7,500 kgf (16,534 lbf) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 700 km/h (435 mph)
Cruise speed: 560 km/h (348 mph)
Economy speed: 550 km/h (342 mph)
Landing speed: 200 km/h (124 mph)
Takeoff speed: 220 km/h (137 mph)
Minimum speed (Flaps 38): 157 km/h (98 mph)
Range: 2,100 km (1,305 mi)
Ferry range (One Hour Reserve): 3,300 km (2,051 mi)
Service ceiling: 8,000 m (26,246 ft)
Rate of climb: 13 m/s (2,600 ft/min) (At Sea Level and MTOW Flaps 20)
Rate of climb: 17 m/s (3,350 ft/min) (At Sea Level and MTOW Flaps 0)

Also we should seal it from salt water when under water to prevent it from corrosion and for better
performance .in the partially successful design Reid RFS-1 the pilot removed the propeller and
covered the engine with a rubber "diving bell" before entering water. Instead of it with modern
hydraulic systems we can seal the engine by automatic systems .

Performance under water
























STRUCTURE



Designing a submersible aircraft requires a supporting structure lightweight
enough to fly, but which is still able to resist the pressure gradient experienced
beneath the surface of the water. Thus, the skin must be a compromise
between that of a submarine and aircraft. The skin of many aircraft is made from
aluminum or composite materials while the hulls of submarines are typically built
from high strength steel. A skin made from steel would prove far too costly in
weight and the propulsion system required to lift such a heavy body into the air.
Thus, an aluminum skin thicker than that normally used on similarly sized aircraft
was deemed acceptable. Corrosion issues were also considered, but they are not
believed to be a major issue with the aluminum alloys and coatings used today, and
therefore the concerns were considered for this conceptual design phase to be
negligible.

CONCLUSION

The concept of a submersible airplane requires a broadening of the capabilities of flight. An aircraft capable offlying
thousands of feet in the air and hundreds of feet under water must be able to operate efficiently in a variety of
conditions. This required a new design for the propulsion system, a way to safely land and then submerge in
seawater, and a design that would work well aerodynamically, in a variety of fluids. As described above, the
SAILPLANE blends all of these together and meets all of the requirements