Sea Flight

Graham Hawkes is and underwater engineer/inventor who has been responsible for a significant amount of deep water vehicles, including more than three hundred remote ones. Hawkes currently holds the deepest solo dive (3000 ft) which he achieved while test driving his deep rover submersible. He has successfully founded and managed six technology companies. Hawkes Ocean Technology (HOT) is responsible for building deep flight winged submersibles and other vehicles for deep exploration. In 1987, Hawkes was named an Associate Laureate for the Rolex Awards for Enterprise and in 1996 and 1997, and he was nominated for Engineer of the Year by Design News. He is also the founder of the Deep Sea Discovery program (DSD), a marine company responsible for discovering over 350 shipwrecks. Deep sea is not the only thing he is responsible for. He also creates remote control vehicles for the army. Hawkes is considered to be the leader in his field. (http://www.deepflight.com/team/gshbio-autodesk.pdf)



On April 5th, 2011, Hawkes Ocean Technologies announced that their prototype DeepFlight Challenger is being prepped for a monumental dive: 36,000 feet down into the Mariana trench. To attempt a dive to such novel depths will further test the effectiveness of HOT’s positive buoyancy/underwater “flight” model. The prototype was made in collaboration with the late explorer Steve Fossett, under his determination to push the absolute limits of deep sea exploration. The DeepFlight Super Falcon, which is the submersible that will be manned in expeditions happening concurrently to the Mariana Trench dive, was a further advance after Fossett’s death. The Super Falcon is positively buoyant, allowing a foolproof return to the surface, and is commended for its green operation—besides its lowest light and fuel emissions, it requires no environmentally costly lead ballast.


Unlike conventional research submersibles, HOT’s submersibles are sold commercially—albeit expensively—to a wider circle that just the scientific community. Notably, venture capitalist Tom Perkins is the first owner of a Super Falcon, and plans to launch a multi-year exploration and sighting of large “ocean animals”.
In Jordan, where HOT plans to launch its own expedition, it already runs a VIP program for deep sea exploration, selling passes to be taken down in a Super Falcon to experience the deep sea for themselves. (http://www.deepflight.com/pressrelease4-5%202011.pdf)


video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fscic6YsQDk