Unique Ships of the U.S. Navy

Re:Unique Ships of the U.S. Navy by wilhil on Friday January 30, 2015 @07:41PM (#8975407)

Flip looks amazing, but, I can't understand what the benefits are / why it needs to do that!

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Unique Ships of the U.S. Navy by spaky on Friday January 30, 2015 @11:12PM (#8975860)

Here's a more detailed article on in with some more images.

http://www.ship-technology.com/projects/flip-ship/

Specifically: "keeping the 700 long-ton mass steady and making it perfect for researching wave height, acoustic signals, water temperature and density, and for the collection of meteorological data."

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Unique Ships of the U.S. Navy by ubernostrum on Friday January 30, 2015 @07:48PM (#8975428)

It's a research ship.

The problem with research ships is that they float on the surface, and the surface moves. Flipping the ship up like that turns it into a much more stable platform.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Unique Ships of the U.S. Navy by jholman on Saturday January 31, 2015 @05:45AM (#8976406)

Here's a talk by one of the inventors of FLIP:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM6jFokRoZk

He talks about the ship design a little bit, and about his research.

There's an impressive clip in there, starting around 16:16, about one time off Hawai'i, when 80' blue-water swells started coming in from some far-off storm. The ship nearly stays in place as the waves engulf it, leaving only 15' above the water.

[ Parent | on HN ]