Using our own initial baseline design, C3.1 was configured as a 1:7 scale 4 point hydroplane to collect data about shoe loadings, stability and performance.
Operating at speeds of around 100mph this was a more sophisticated high speed test boat to C2 which immediately highlighted the difficulty of controlling such a craft using traditional remote control handsets. Moving fast away from Len Newton it needed all his skill and the support of “spotters” to keep things under control. Even so, mishaps happened.
Trying to integrate a degree of autonomous operation with data collection has also been a valuable challenge. But it showed that the design had good directional stability and accelerated very quickly as soon as it was up on the planing points.
