Dec 05 2007 - Dec Newsletter

In This Issue:
	Fort Lauderdale Boat Show The SAS Aviator makes a big splash!
	SAS Announces Alliance with Nuytco Research, Ltd. Dr. Phil Nuytten, "using the proven technology of the Nuytco DeepWorker 2000 in the SAS ORCASUB offers significant advantages to submarine owners."
	Let's Go Diving! With the SAS Aviator's upgrades almost complete, the Operations Manager gives some inside info on where the sub might be headed next.
Also: Owning a sub-- What does it take? Getting to know the SAS Team-- featuring Capt. Alfred S. McLaren, USN (Ret.), Ph.D.

IT'S BETTER TO FLY THAN SINK. By John Jo Lewis, SAS Managing Director
Take a look at ORCASUB's design, shown above. The fact that it looks like a high performance jet aircraft is not some kind of marketing gimmick. Our intrepid team of SAS pilots, engineers and flight crew know first hand from our expeditions with Aviator how a lean fuselage, powerful thrusters, wings, ailerons and rudders change the whole dynamic of submersible operations. Since we've had the privilege of experiencing underwater flight, there's just no going back to the old paradigm of filing ballast tanks to sink and blowing them to come back up. We're addicted. It's not just that a sub built to fly underwater allows it to go wickedly fast or have tremendous underwater range; that's easy to demonstrate. It's not just that it wins the cool and sexy award; that's pretty subjective. What's difficult to get across to anyone who hasn't flown in Aviator is what an incredible experience, and how deeply satisfying it is,	just to fly the darn thing. That experience is key to what sets Aviator apart, and even though ORCASUB represents another quantum leap in underwater capability, at its heart, ORCASUB will be all about that underwater flight experience too. **Aviator to become Super Aviator** Right now Aviator is up at our partner, Phil Nuytten's shop in Vancouver, BC, completing an extensive refit, which we began earlier this year. Among other things, a team from SAS has been working with Nuytco's crack engineers to install advanced communications equipment, a sonar suite, HD video capability, HMI lighting, new electronics systems and improved, redundant life support systems, not to mention a neutral buoyancy and weight drop system. By year end, Aviator's transformation into Super Aviator will be complete and ready for testing in early 2008. After that, we'll be embarking on some exciting scientific, archeological and video expeditions, as well as, pilot training adventures that will take advantage of Super Aviator's enhanced capabilities. A lot of this new gear comes straight out of	Nuytco's vaunted skunkworks. As far as I know, there's no other facility on the planet that offers so much cutting edge technology; stuff that actually gets used on small submersibles around the world. Better, Faster, Deeper, Stronger... and More Maneuverable. With so many resources and such an illustrious history in the manufacture of all kinds of subs and sub components, Nuytco was clearly the right partner for a strategic alliance with SAS in order for us to bring a new generation of subs to market, and ensure quality and timely production. If that weren't enough, we downright coveted Dr. Nuytten's pressure hulls, which he had designed for Nuytco's DeepWorker 2000 and Dual DeepWorker because we could imagine how perfectly they could serve as cockpits for our ORCASUB. We already knew that we wanted something roomier for both pilots and more electronics. We also wanted our hulls (like the rest of ORCASUB) to go beyond the limitations of an experimental "one-off," and come with a classification by Lloyd's Registry of Shipping or ABS. With Nuytco's patented	DeepWorker hulls, we got all of that and more in a design that, once again, has a proven track record with more than twenty production craft successfully deployed in all kinds of missions and ocean environments. These meticulously crafted, welded steel hulls come certified with an operational depth of 2000', which will provide ORCASUB pilots with a confidence inspiring safety factor, even when operating at much shallower depths. In coming issues of SUBMARINE MAGAZINE, we'll let you know more about what will make ORCASUB the one you will want to fly in over and over; things like, advanced battery technology, dual mode hover/ flight controls, and other innovations that must remain shrouded in mystery a while longer. For now, we'd like you to know that SAS is prepared to accept up to three orders for two-person ORCASUBS to begin production in 2008. The ORCASUB can be delivered well-equipped for $2,190,000, which includes all necessary equipment for underwater navigation and communications, plus a maintenance and pilot training package. If you're ready to take the plunge, we invite you to contact us at 888-809-7948.

SAS Aviator makes a big splash at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show!

    October 25th - 29th, 2007, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The 39th annual Fort Lauderdale Boat Show more than 130,000 people. Everything related to the yachting and boating industries could be found in the five sections of the show that spread out through the city of Fort Lauderdale. $30 million-dollar yachts lined the docks while exotic and luxury vehicles for sale offered the yacht owners some interesting opportunities to consider.

     Standing out amidst the Bentley's, Ferrari's and Rolls Royce's was the SAS expedition craft, Aviator. Also on display were the latest designs for the forthcoming ORCASUB. "This was an outstanding show for us!" says Operations Manager, Dave Harper. "We had a steady stream of foot traffic and the sub was well- received."

   Aviator received media attention from FOX News Network, PLUMTV, and two local newspapers, one of which referred to the sub as, "...the most over-the-top toy at the Boat Show!" (Sun Sentinal Newspaper, October 26, 2007).

     The SAS company display included a 42-inch plasma screen showing interviews of John Jo Lewis (Managing Director, SAS) and Phil Nuytten (President, Nuytco Research), talking about ORCASUB along with video showing Aviator in action.

A special thanks to Jodi Dombrowski with Sandals Resorts for helping us out at this year's show!


Sub Aviators, LLC and Nuytco Research, Ltd. announce strategic alliance
In January 2007, Sub Aviator Systems and Nuytco Research, Ltd. began a list of upgrades on the SAS Aviator. The upgrades included collision avoidance sonar, high-powered underwater communications, upgraded electrical components and upgraded life-support systems. Not long after that, the two companies began to collaborate on SAS's new version of a "flying" submarine. "Since 1995, Nuytco has built over 20 subs with DeepWorker 2000 technology," stated Nuytco's Phil Nuytten. "We've built single-person versions, a dual version where pilots are side by side, and an in-line version as well. Now we are looking at the 'flying' submarine, which is where SAS comes in." John Jo Lewis added, "we are ready to begin producing the next generation of flying subs. We feel that this alliance will give our clients exactly what they want: proven technology in a robust package that exploits the speed range and maneuverability conferred by underwater flight. Nuytco (www.nuytco.com) is the gold standard in sub manufacturing and our partnership will allow our collaborative design, combined with the reliability and certified components that the DeepWorker 2000 subs use, to deliver an extraordinarily capable and sexy submarine."

INTERVIEW WITH OPERATIONS MANAGER, DAVE HARPER
By Elizabeth Morrison, SAS Pilot EHM: So tell us what's going on in operations these days. DH: There are really three major areas right now: finishing upgrades on Aviator, preparing for flight schools and arranging for shipping logistics. EHM: What kinds of upgrades are you doing? DH: There have been a lot of upgrades. We're putting in a variable buoyancy system, also known as "soft ballast", which allows the sub to go from its inherent positively-buoyant state to become neutrally buoyant, which makes it more maneuverable at depth. There will be forward-looking collision avoidance SONAR as well as, a high-powered underwater communications system. We are	increasing the life support systems, adding a weight-drop apparatus and updating the entire electrical system in both pods. EHM: That does sound like a lot of upgrades. When will they be completed? DH: The sub is at Nuytco in Vancouver right now getting the last upgrades done. We hope to have them all completed by the first of the year. EHM: You mentioned other things going on in operations. DH: Yes, we are also getting ready to offer more flight schools. We're looking at mainly Caribbean sites for 2008: St. Maarten, the Bahamas, or possibly Baja, California or Florida. EHM: Supposing I was a would-be pilot and wanted to sign up for a flight school, what could I expect as far as timing and duration for these programs? DH: We're planning for the first flight school to be offered in March, 2008. We used to teach these in a three-	day program, but I would like to see the curriculum expanded to four or five days. ORCASUB is really a completely new sub and there is going to be a whole new learning curve for students, so an expanded training program will give them a better education and more hands-on experience piloting the sub. The other area we're working on is arranging for shipping logistics to get the sub to exotic locations for expeditions. EHM: What kind of expeditions? DH: Flight schools, trips for scientific data collection. filming expeditions-- all kinds of trips, actually. EHM: Can you give us an idea of the issues that are typically involved with the logistics? DH: Well, for instance, we hope to develop mutually beneficial relationships with local organizations in the host countries for our expeditions, such as exchange of permits and usage. For example, a local environmental group	could help us secure permits to dive off their shores, and in return, we could provide them with film footage to help monitor their reef system. This kind of partnership certainly makes my job easier-- less hoops to jump through-- and also helps preserve the marine environments in the local areas where the sub visits. Environmental stewardship is an important priority for us at SAS. EHM: That sounds like a great kind of partnership. So, anything else you wanted to say about sub operations? DH: The exciting part is that we're getting closer to getting the sub back in the water, so potential pilots can get a first-hand experience with it. I expect to have more information for the next newsletter. EHM: We'll stay tuned. Thanks, Dave!

Get to know the SAS Team
This month's Team member:
Captain Alfred S. McLaren

UNKNOWN WATERS

A Firsthand Account of the Historic Under-Ice Survey of the Siberian Continental Shelf by USS Queenfish (SSN-651)

Alfred S. McLaren, Captain, USN (Ret.), Ph.D.

Foreword by Captain William R. Anderson, USN (Ret.)

This book tells the spell-binding story of the officers and men of the nuclear attack submarine USS Queenfish (SSN-651) who at the height of the Cold War explored the dangerous, uncharted, shallow, ice-covered waters of the vast Siberian continental shelf for the first and only time in history. The expedition?s success earned Queenfish and her crew the Navy Unit Citation and her captain a Legion of Merit.

Excerpt from forthcoming book, Unknown Waters, by Captain Alfred S. McLaren, USN (Ret.), Ph.D.

A Case of Mistaken Identity!

The nuclear attack submarine USS Queenfish (SSN-651), under my command, was surveying the sea floor north of the New Siberian Islands during August of 1970. We had been operating under very thick sea ice for almost four days without having encountered a single area of open water. We needed to find one as soon as possible so that we could come to periscope depth and fix our position by satellite. About mid-morning we finally reached a sufficiently large open lake of water or "polynya" that would permit us to ascend to a hovering position beneath the water surface. A vertical ascent was expeditiously conducted and I carefully raised the periscope and began an overhead search followed by a horizontal or surface search as soon as the "head window" or optics broke the surface. Halfway through a first "surface sweep," I was startled to see a huge polar bear crouched on the icy edge of the polynya just 15 to 20 meters away! The bear saw us at the same time, immediately reared up, plunged into the water, and began swimming rapidly towards us! Did the polar bear think the top of our periscope was the head of a seal that had just come to the surface? We were soon to find out!

As I kept the periscope's optical "cross hairs" centered on the polar bear's nose, its head grew larger and larger as it quickly closed the distance between us. I was so excited, while trying to take a quick photo, that I dropped a brand new Haselblad camera down the 15 meter steel periscope well, shattering it into a thousand pieces! Just as the bear's head filled my entire field of view, the idle thought entered my head, "How on earth am I going to explain teeth marks on the periscope when we return to home port?" Fortunately, by the time the bear arrived within "sniffing" distance, it immediately realized its mistake and turned away in disgust! As I gave a huge sigh of relief, I saw that it was a female with two small and very curious cubs riding on her haunches. A wonderful sight that we managed to photograph. Mother and cubs hastily retreated, climbed back on the ice, and rapidly fled the area. Needless to say, my crew and I could talk of nothing else the rest of the day.

OWNING A PERSONAL SUBMARINE: FAQs
Some of the most common questions from those considering purchasing a submarine are listed and answered here. What kind if maintenance is required? There are two service intervals needed. Every year a "light" service is needed in which O-rings and consumables are replaced. The second service is every five years in which the hulls are pressure-tested and inspected. Do I need a special crew to operate the submarine? Typically, SAS can support submarine operations with a crew of three (not including the pilot and co-pilot). Part of selling a submarine includes training your crew. We can train them or you can call SAS and have a crew provided to you when you wish to use your submarine. Do I need a special license to operate a submarine? No. A the time of this article, there isn't any particular government agency for private class submarines. Included with your purchase, SAS will conduct in-house submersible pilot training and certification for two people. The training typically consists of three to five days of hands-on instruction.

Sub Aviator Systems is a company dedicated to designing, building and operating the world's best winged submersibles. For all inquiries, including press information kits, multimedia requests including video and photography footage, future sponsorships for Sub Aviator Systems projects and/or sales/leasing information, please contact our offices via the information below.

Sub Aviator Systems
409 North Pacific Coast Highway
# 487
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
USA

Tel: 888-809-7948
Email: info@subaviators.com