Hi there all.
I am completely new to rc submarining, I do however have quite a lot of experience with radio control aircraft and cars i am a complete 'scale nut' so I endeavor to make my models as accurate as I possibly can. I have purchased a trumpeter kilo in 1/144 scale with view to converting it to RC. I am making my own WTC and ballast tanks etc. as I want it to be a complete home build, (I'm also on a budget!). there are some pictures below, one is of a test float in the bath, ballasted with AA batteries!, another is of the top half of the hull I have some questions that I hope you will be able to answer for me;
For the WTC I am going to put some bulkheads into the hull and have a stainless steel ring (no expense spared here!) with an airtight neoprene-rubber gasket and a 'lid' or acrylic bolted through the gasket at regular intervals (thinking every 25mm - 35mm). I understand that this is deferent from the usual way of doing things but I can see no reason why it should not work, can you?
I have calculated that the WTC will displace about 1l of water (1kg), how much ballast will I need to take on to allow the submarine to submerge? I have acquired two veterinary syringes for horses! both at 6oml so to make a total together of 120ml or 120g. will these be enough? I was going to operate these by 'adapting' a servo to drive some M3 thread bar through a nut attached to the head of the syringes' piston is this an appropriate method of taking on ballast? Given the natre of the WTC as i take on ballast the air pressure will rise slightly (about 10% for a 100ml tank) inside the WTC will this cause the air to escape and the sub to stay submerged?
For propulsion, i have a couple of issues. I have got a brushed 300 motor which is un-geared, would this be too much for the model to perform in a scale manner? Iam also undecided whether I will need a reverse, what is the general concesus with regards to reverse on a model submarine? and would the original have reverse? Also as far as the ESC is concerned, what kind of output will I be need, I assume it will be higher owing to the higher density water has over air? also does anyone know where I could get a seven bladed, brass prop which measures 20mm or 3/4'' in diameter.
I have opted out with the bow planes and adapted them to control the trim manually from the surface (please see the picture). Is this a good idea?
I am also slighty undecided as to how I am going to attach the top of hull in a way that allows access to the WTC/ i have decided though that i will use a hidden bolt which will sit inside an unused recess on the conning tower and tighten into a nut which is part of the lower hull. I need to know what you think is the best way of ensuring that the top of the hull stays dead aligned with the bottom half. Any ideas?
Thanks for your input to my project,
Duncan