Super Aviator sub in action

THE Super Aviator is the personal sub designed like an aeroplane and as Caroline Graham discovers, with views like this, you wont need an in-flight movie.
She glides silently through the cobalt water, banking gently to the left so smoothly the movement is barely discernible. Seconds later, with pinpoint precision, we swoop down to chase a school of fish confused at the sight of this strange new creature of the deep. My cockpit headset crackles into life: 'Now, brace yourself for the porpoise, says Captain Alfred McLaren, the excitement palpable in his voice.
As the joystick is thrust backwards sharply, the worlds first underwater 'flying machine shoots upwards, breaching the water surface nose-first, before splashing back down and descending once more to the depths.
The Super Aviator, a revolutionary submersible, could be considered the ultimate boys toy. Sleek and oozing more sex appeal than your average fighter jet, the 22ft long futuristic sub has already seduced billionaires such as Roman Abramovich and Richard Branson. Theyve both made enquiries about buying one of the 1.5 million machines.
But this is far more than a rich mans plaything, says senior pilot McLaren, a former U.S. Navy nuclear attack submarine commander. 'This is to underwater exploration what the first Wright Brothers plane was to commercial flight.
McLaren, who along with partners John Jo Lewis, Jay Wade and Canadian Dr Phil Nuytten are directors of Sub Aviator Systems (SAS), the company behind the Super Aviator, says the possibilities for underwater exploration in the sub are endless.
'This submersible represents a revolution in underwater adventure and exploration. Most subs go up and down using a ballast system, similar to a hot-air balloon. They have limited manoeuvrability and range. Then you have unmanned subs, but they are normally tethered to a mother ship.
'This craft offers a freedom of movement never seen before. Its built along the principles of flight, with thrust, lift and drag allowing you to fly beneath the waves. It has wings and a joystick to bank like an aeroplane and it can turn and curve at will. Plus the visibility is much better than with scuba diving. Youre not loaded down with heavy gear and you dont have to exert yourself physically in the way you do on a dive. Our sub has the ability to cover large areas for hours at a time without fatigue or decompression worries.
'We envision that scientists will be able to use it to study parts of the ocean and delicate reef formations that have so far been inaccessible. And because it is so quiet, you can eyeball fish and other underwater creatures without scaring them off. You really do get a truly unique viewpoint. DM
The submersible can dive to a depth of over 1,000ft at a top speed of six knots and is intended to explore the limits of the continental shelves where marine archaeologists would initially look for ancient ship wrecks. Pilots are encased in one of two 'pods, or cockpits, pressurised spaces topped with thick Perspex domes allowing you a 360-degree view underwater.
The Super Aviator is capable of maintaining a state of positive or neutral buoyancy, which makes it easier to control and allows it to 'hover if the pilot wants to stop and savour the view or carry out work tasks. The vehicle itself is battery-powered, making it environmentally friendly and virtually silent.
When I see the machine for the first time by the banks of Lake Tahoe, its clear this revolutionary craft is something special. Within moments of it being wheeled out from its 'hangar (in reality, a large motorised trailer), a curious crowd has gathered.
I am here to take part in the worlds first underwater pilot training school, a 5,000, three-day event that has attracted some legendary names from the field of exploration, including oceanographer Dr Don Walsh (the first man to go down to the deepest part of the ocean, the Mariana Trench, in the bathyscaphe Trieste in 1960) and former Apollo 8 astronaut, retired Air Force Major General William Anders.
Another student, former French Navy captain Paul-Henri Nargeolet, has dived to the wreck of the Titanic more than anyone else - a total of 120 times. If you fancy becoming a fully qualified pilot, that will cost you 10,000.
But for SASs John Jo Lewis, the three-day course is strictly business. A real-estate entrepreneur, he has sunk several hundred thousand dollars of his own money into the sub (he refuses to say precisely how much but admits that my estimate of $1 million 'isnt too far off).
The cockpit is similar to that of a typical aircraft. There is a joystick, rudder pedals, compass and altitude indicator. The 'flight controls match a standard military aircraft layout with a thrust lever, directional thrust and power sequencer. The only differences are the depth gauge, levers that control emergency air bags and a drop weight that would aid the sub to get to the surface safely in the event of a catastrophic underwater failure.
With McLaren in the forward pod, I carefully climb into the rear cockpit. It takes a minimum of an hour of instruction before you can safely leave terra firma. First you are strapped in, using a five-point harness, then the crew chief talks you through the practicalities of the sub, focusing on safety procedures.
There is a lot of information to take in - oxygen regulators, the CO2 scrubber, pressure equalisation valve, throttle control, joystick, rudders, console, underwater communications equipment... You are taught to read the interior percentage of oxygen and the atmospheric pressure in the pod, and much more besides.
'This isnt a joyride, says McClaren.
'The submersible is safe but it is essential that you monitor conditions in your own pod and know exactly how to use the safety equipment just in case something happens to me when we are out there. There are no passengers in this sub. You are my co-pilot and you need to be capable of assuming control of the sub in an emergency. DM