Static Vs. Dynamic

I am pretty new to this hobby, and i planned on making a submarine...i dont really think i plan on making it a diving one at the moment, but it was something i was considering and i was wondering what the difference was between a static diving sub and a dynamic sub and which was better and which was elss expensive.

 

Dynamic-diving subs submerge by using their diving planes to force themselves underwater. They are naturally buoyant, and can only dive when moving forward (or backward). If they stop, they will surface. Static diving subs dive by adjusting their buoyancy, and do not need to move at all in order to dive or surface.

The other significant classification, as far as submarines are concerned, is the dry-hull submarine vs the wet-hull submarine. The dry-hull submarine is just like it sounds: the entire inside is dry, with tight seals to keep water out. The wet-hull submarine is built like a real submarine: it has an inner pressure hull, that keeps out water, protects the guts, and provides bouyancy, and an outer hull that provides hydrodynamic shape but floods freely.

As far as combat submarines are concerned, the only currently-legal hull type is the dry-hull submarine. Since all ships (including submarines) are required to be both penetrable and sinkable, wet-hull submarines are not currently allowed. Keep in mind that most non-combat RC submarines are the wet-hull type, so a fair amount of the gear and technical stuff designed for them cannot be used in combat subs.

And now for the part you actually asked about: static diving, or dynamic diving? To me, there is a simple answer. Which one works better? I know a number of fast-gunners have experimented with static-diving subs, but the only successful combat subs I have seen were Big Gun dynamic-diving subs. These three particular submarines had a heavy "torpedo" armament forward, were reloaded on shore like torpedo-cruisers, and were kept as mechanically simple as possible. IIRC each of them had only a single propshaft, since that was all they needed to reach legal speed, and they may have only had one pair of RC-controlled diving planes. However they did it, the I-400, Surcouf, and I-401 were deadly combatants with a string of kills to their names.

I myself have an I-400 hull that I hope to build someday. I will warn you now, however, that it is NOT a challenge lightly taken. A submarine is one of the most difficult ships to build, one that even the experts struggle with. They are very small, very light, and far more finnicky than the littlest of destroyers. Before the I-400, Surcouf, and I-401 could amass their impressive list of kills, there was a very long and painful experimentation and learning process during which the builders learned about all the possible ways for a submarine to fail. Pursuit of their goal required more money than building a battleship, and a lot more time than building a battleship. And, in several cases, they had to bring SCUBA gear a week or two after battles (or sea trials) to search for the missing wreck. If you are a rookie, I would STRONGLY advise against building a sub as your first ship.

 

wel then what would u advise?...i have no experiencewith naval models, but i have put togethr a car and a small plane from revell. neither of them are rc conversions though. i dont want something too hard and i would definitely go with the least expensive one

 

Submarines are too hard for beginners. Guys have problems building relatively large ships (when compared to subs) such as Destroyers. Most subs are unthinkable for anything less then expert builders, and even then they are brutally difficult.

The best thing to do is build a medium sized surface ship first such as a small battlecruiser or a large heavy cruiser. Get experience with how the systems work, how to maintain them and most importantly learn to make them reliable. Then, research the technology needed for small ships, such as lightweight regulators, lightweight hi-cap batteries. Now build a destroyer. If you can get the destroyer to work reliably, you can start thinking about a sub. You need to have the knowledge and experience in ship systems before trying to build the most complicated ship out there. The micro technology will probably be very, very expensive too.

You also have to remember that compared to surface ships, submarines are very limited in their potential. it's not like a real sub that's going to one shot any ship on the water...RC combat subs simply don't have the firepower. Guys that build them do it for the challenge, not because they will be any good. I'd hate to see you spend the YEARS of effort and enormous amount of money to build one, then find out that the ship sucks anyways.

 

thanks for the advise..i suppose i will start with a small cruiser. tomorrow i will be going to a hobby shop and i wil see if they have any 1/144 scale models that i can use for an easy start.