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Flip, the secrets of the amazing spinning boat that floats vertically


Flip is a hard-to-classify boat, one of a kind. A feat of engineering and technology that at first glance looks like an ordinary boat, but this one has a peculiarity rotated 90 degrees and diving in the sea. Technically, it’s a platform that can float freely or moor to the ocean floor at depths that can reach 5,000 metres.

Its name responds to the English abbreviation “Floating Instrument Platform” and is used for research. A subversive project created in it, despite its versatility, looks very modern 1962. Those responsible belong to the Scripps Laboratory of Oceanography and Marine Physics U.S. military. Although in reality her current hull responds to the renovation of the boat which was made in 1995.

Flip lacks powerful engines to allow it to better pick up on audio signals, so it needs to be towed out to sea. Once it reaches the point where research is to be developed, its transformation takes place. proces rotates in the vertical position It takes about 28 minutes. With a total length of 108 metres. 91 meters of its platform is submerged under water. This part is described as a hollow tube, only 17 meters left on the surface. Likewise, it can remain at sea for up to 30 days without needing to be replenished.

Robert Monroeassociate director for communications at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, explains to ABC that “more than five decades of operations have included several deployments in the Pacific to Hawaii and one deployment in the Atlantic. Although it was originally intended for acoustic research, it has evolved on Over the years it has become a versatile platform for research in physical oceanography, meteorology, geophysics, and upper ocean biology.”

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Curiosity of the world

It has a water and compressed air ballast system, and provides it with a peculiar verticality Great stability and resistance For swells in an ordinary boat, the instability of waves and vibration usually makes acoustic tests difficult to perform. Actually, to deal with this problem, scientists Fred Space and Fred Fisher came up with the idea to create this boat. Built by Gunderson Brothers Engineering Corporation in Portland, Oregon. Flip is made of about 700 tons of steel.

The $600,000 project for which he was allocated at the time thrived because it was his space military interest Study the propagation of sound across the ocean in the most accurate way. Because this allows us to deduce – as Monroe explains – a situation enemy ships.

This feature also made it possible to collect Better quality data For your measurements in oceanography or geophysics. For this reason, it has a full suite of scientific instruments made up of sensors and sonar.

he looks like Giant float In many ways, tall, thin, and heavy that made Flip a worldwide curiosity. His stamina once allowed him to withstand 24-meter waves in the waters off Hawaii. To return to its horizontal position, air is pumped into chambers that have been flooded with 1,500 tons of water.

It was capable of holding up to sixteen people, eleven scientists and five crew members. so is it inside It is also rare, because it is broken, and its furniture is bolted. Its chambers have a skylight, with two types of stairs and two doors, one in the ceiling when it is placed in an upright position and one in the wall when it is returned to its original position. Beds and toilets are bunk Rotate them manually To adapt to the new position. The same goes for the kitchen.

It is worth noting that if one saw it at sea it would appear sunken shipThis meant that on various occasions other boats approached the Flip believing the crew needed help. Flip has gained a following and led to documentaries, due to the benefits of having a mobile platform that is undoubtedly qualified by many as Strangest ship in the world

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