Years before he supplied Richard Branson with his own personal submarine, DeepFlight founder Graham Hawkes was a Bond-approved underwater villain.
One of the mechanical engineers on For Your Eyes Only, Hawkes was so handy behind the wheel of the set’s submersible that producers gave him a stunt-double credit as “Mantis Man,” under which moniker he chased Roger Moore around the Ionian Sea.
Now, he’s behind the launch of the DeepFlight Dragon, a personal submarine propelled by zero-emission, helicopter-like “vertical thrust engines.” Running on a lithium battery pack, the 16.4-foot Dragon can dive to 400 feet and motor along for up to six hours on a single charge. Lose power? You’ll just float to the surface.
Check out this GoPro video of Hawkes diving alongside humpback whales in Hawaii to get a feel for the ride.
Magic never came so cheap.
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