rexresearch.com
Christopher LANGENFELD
PowerSwim
85% Efficient conversion of effort to propulsion ( swimming is 3%, fins 15% max ), up to several mph.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/4223354?click=main_sr
October 1, 2009
Navy SEALs Could Turn Superhuman with Pentagon's PowerSwim
America's underwater special forces ops might not like it at first, but this dolphin-like device will let them reach targets fast — and without having to catch their breath.
by Erik Sofge

Humans are terrible swimmers, converting roughly 3 percent of their kicks, strokes and general underwater exertions into forward motion. We can boost our efficiency to 10 percent by adding fins, but dolphins, by comparison, can turn 80 percent of their energy into thrust. Not to be outdone, the Pentagon's research wing, DARPA, is developing a contraption that lets Navy SEALs and other combat divers swim faster, and with less effort.

Instead of kicking, PowerSwim calls for a kind of undulation as its hinged foils pivot up and down. Similar to the way a dolphin or tortoise pumps its fins, this motion generates both lift and thrust. And while artificial fins operate within the swimmer's own wake (they form a kind of expanding cone, starting at a swimmer's shoulders), the PowerSwim's lead foil -- or propulsor foil -- sweeps through the water just outside that wake.

When used properly, the device allows swimmers to cover a given distance up to 150 percent faster than with fins, while using the same amount of energy. Much of that boost in metabolic efficiency is due to the muscle groups used. As DARPA program manager Barbara McQuiston explained, the swimmer is essentially relaxing into a slightly bent position, instead of forcing or pushing the foils through the water. This takes the emphasis off the small muscle groups used to kick, and allows larger muscle groups, such as the glutes and quads, to take over. During tests, it typically took around 2 hours for Navy SEALs to fight the urge (and years of training) to move forcefully and learn the PowerSwim's unique motion.

If the device is widely used, it could be a huge benefit for combat divers, letting SEALs reach coastal targets without becoming over-exhausted. The goal isn't to increase the total distance that personnel can cover, but to get them there more quickly, and with more energy. Depending on the mission, swimmers might dump the PowerSwim, along with rebreathers and other gear, before setting foot on land.

And unlike many DARPA programs, PowerSwim is coming soon -- McQuiston says that the device is at the packaging stage, as researchers determine how to possibly fold or other­wise reduce its overall footprint, to allow for more efficient transport. Full production units could be deployed within a year.

How It Works

The seesaw movement of the foils creates rolling currents, called shed vortexes, that sweep back and around to push the foil forward. It's a phenomenon exploited by various aquatic species, such as penguins and dolphins. (Illustration by Gil Ahn)




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerSwim
PowerSwim

The PowerSwim is a device somewhat like two pairs of long thin airplane wings, one pair at each end of an axis. The axis is fastened to a scuba diver's shins by straps round his legs. The longer pair of wings (about 6 feet (1.8 m) wide or a bit less) is at his hips and the shorter pair is at his ankles. The wings rotate limitedly on axles near their front edges, and thus on upstroke and downstroke they propel water backwards. It is claimed that the length of the front wing lets it operate outside the cone of wake that starts at the diver's shoulders. It is claimed to let a scuba diver or frogman swim much faster (250%) than with swimfins for the same amount of bodily effort, if used correctly, and being not motorized, it makes no motor noise to be heard by hostile hydrophones, but noise would occur if the front wings are allowed to hit the diver's hips at end of upstroke. It works somewhat like a penguin's or plesiosaur's side-mounted flippers. Its estimated cost is less than $500. The diver uses it by moving his legs up and down together, letting the knees bend and straighten.

It was developed by DARPA in 2007.

Aqueon

Aqueon is or was a similar device to PowerSwim. It was primarily developed in the 1950s by the Innerspace Corporation, an aquatic propulsion company which specialized in submersible thrusters at the time. Its front wings, at least sometimes, are shorter than with PowerSwim. The diver held onto it by trapping it between his shins by putting his shins in the side hollows of two ?-shaped attachments. The first working Aqueon unit was sold in 1979. Its original designer was California Institute of Technology graduate Calvin "Cal" Gongwer. It was claimed to provide three times as much thrust as conventional swimming fins and up to six times as much power, and that from a stationary start, a swimmer covered 25 yards in 8.4 seconds using Aqueon, and that with an Aqueon a swimmer covered 1500 yards with scuba equipment in 24 minutes; the fastest time covered by the same diver with scuba equipment and fins was 44 minutes. The Aqueon was reportedly examined at length and during multiple "pool parties" at the Gongwer residence by DARPA scientists before they created their new concept.


http://www.cnet.com/news/rube-goldberg-meets-aquaman/
October 8, 2007
Rube Goldberg meets Aquaman

PowerSwim would allow swimmers to go faster and farther, says DARPA.

by

Mark Rutherford

DARPA, the Defense Department's R&D wing, is working on a contraption that allows Navy SEALs and others to swim 150 percent faster and with less effort than they would with regular fins. A rubberband airplane-looking thing, the PowerSwim is kind of like Rube Goldberg meets Aquaman.

Appearances aside, it aims to replace the flutter kick with something resembling a dolphinic undulation, causing a hinged foil to oscillate while a "propulsar foil" cuts the water along side. The approach to swimming is similar to that exhibited by many fish and aquatic birds, according to the DARPA Web site, "more than 85 percent efficient in conversion of human motions to forward propulsion."

Still, there's no free ride -- as in a battery pack. The gadget requires muscle work and training. "The swimmer is essentially relaxing into a slightly bent position, instead of forcing or pushing the foils through the water," DARPA's Barbara McQuiston told the magazine. "This takes the emphasis off the small muscle groups used to kick, and allows larger muscle groups, such as the glutes and quads, to take over."




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5SHn0SdXjw
PowerSwim by Jay Lowell, DSO Program Manager

The PowerSwim Program is developing highly efficient, human-­powered swimming devices for use by combat and reconnaissance swimmers. This program explores a new concept in swimming propulsion that uses the same oscillating foil approach to swimming that is exhibited by many fish and aquatic birds. This propulsion approach is more than 80-percent efficient in conversion of human motions to forward propulsion. Typical recreational swim fins are no more than 15-percent efficient in their conversion of human exertion to propulsive power. This dramatic improvement in swimming efficiency will enable subsurface swimmers to move up to two times faster than is currently possible, thus improving swimmer performance, safety, and range.


http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=4372
Amazing Underwater Flight


The Aqueon, want to "fly" underwater up to 6 mph under your own power? If so, read on ...

Calvin A. Gongwer, "Cal" graduated from CalTech in Aeronautical Technology and has approached design problems from that perspective. Fluids include both air and water and are governed by fluid dynamics. So shifting from airborne travel to underwater in practical design is no big change in things, right? Wrong. This 92 year old renowned hydrodynamicist and inventor is still going hard at it through his company, Innerspace Corporation along with his son, Dr. Robert Gongwer.

http://www.innerspacethrusters.com

Over time he has amassed over 71 patents in underwater technology. His fertile imagination has resulted in the creation of numerous innovations, including thrusters used on many important platforms such as the submersibles Alvin, Deep Rover and numerous Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) including the Triton, Oceaneering, Perry and other vehicles.

Cal first had the idea for a oscillating foil propulsion system about 55 years ago. He was inspired by fish and dolphin tail fin propulsion. How to adapt the motion into a man-driven device? So came about the Aqueon. The Aqueon is a man-powered diver propulsion device capable of producing speeds of 5 1/2 kts. A 165 lb. diver was measured to develop static thrust of 87 lbs. exceeding most electric diver propulsion vehicles that come to mind. For two years he traveled the world promoting his device in the 1960's. The world may not quite have been ready.

Cal tells me it took about 50 years for the bicycle to catch on and now look at it today. In U.S. Navy trials two UDT swimmers equipped with twin 90 cft. diving tanks (Northhill aluminum 90's, had a pair myself with UDT Frogs back in the day, sssh) and fins swam for all they were worth a distance of 1500 yds. The divers made it in 44 min. 20 sec. and were exhausted. They did the run again two hours later with Aqueons in 24 minutes and arrived energized and ready for more. These swimmers had minimal experience with the Aqueon. Wonder what their time might have been with some more practice? Let's think about that, you have a commando force that becomes knackered swimming full speed with fins but arrives in almost half the time and in fresh condition with the Aqueon. The teams are still primarily using fins and electric DPV's, 50 years later?

Cal related a demo he did for the military in one of the towing tanks at the David Taylor R&D Center in the mid '70's. He was on his game and could really rip with the Aqueon. He was moving in excess of the speed to create skin ripples on his back around 4 kts.. So, he was likely the first diver to break the "wrinkle speed barrier."

Last weekend I took the Aqueon out on the Wreck of the Inchulva off Delray Beach, FL. We were treated to some excellent 70 ft. viz. in bluewater.

Cal has quite a lot of time on the Aqueon naturally enough and some notable crossings. He crossed length of Lake Tahoe, 22 miles in 14 hours when he was 52. The next year he topped that by towing a man on a paddle board across the Catalina Channel in 11 hours.

He told me about sneaking up on basking sharks and giving them a jolt with this strange looking device on the way to Catalina. He described another case of a fit 185 lb. man who towed his similarly sized brother for 100 m (plus turn at 50 m) in an underwater breathhold dive in a pool.

I was lucky enough to find one of these in my early UW exploration days as a teenager in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. My good friend Vic and I used to tool offshore at speed over the reefs. It was an amazing way to check things out, with minimal exertion. Vic still has two of these in Alaska, the Bahamas, the Middle East or wherever he lands next with the requisite dolphins and water.

Recently I contacted Cal and acquired another Aqueon. Some pictures and videos of the device in action appear throughout this article.



Innerspace / Aqueon product brochure






USP 8691607
Swimmers Propulsion Device

[ PDF ]

C.A. Gongwer

[  ]

We’ve Invented Futuristic Flippers — Why Aren’t the SEALs Using Them?

Foils are better than fins, but they’ve been slow to enter the military diving world

by Steve Weintz

Imagine you’ve developed a device that lets swimmers and divers swim dramatically farther and faster?—?and with less fatigue than traditional fins. Imagine your device, which is easy to learn and simple to operate, lets divers achieve speeds and ranges equal to those of powered underwater scooters. Imagine professional divers enthusiastically recommend your device and use it, and you receive positive media coverage. You’d think the SEALs would be pounding on your door with a check ready, right?

Nope.

Hydrofoil boats were once as much a symbol of The Future as monorails, but like monorails, their real-world success has been spotty. High fuel consumption hastened their decline as much as changing tastes in transportation. During the peak of the hydrofoil’s popularity, however, the foil concept was also applied to human-powered aquatic propulsion.

“What distinguishes a foil from traditional fins is the aspect ratio of the fin and flexibility,” says Ron Smith, an aerospace engineer and champion freediver. “Foils are relatively rigid and usually have aspect ratios greater than one. Traditional fins are very flexible and usually have aspect ratios less than one. Foils will often have a wide slender and look like an airplane wing, whereas traditional fins will be long in length.”

Why foils over flexing fins? The main reason is power. “The power that can be transmitted through a flexible fin is limited by the stiffness of the spring and the length of the fin blade,” says Smith. “Foils, on the other hand, have neither of these restrictions. As such, they can pack a lot more capability into a smaller package with less drag.”
Eric Fattah testing a Smith Aerospace Orca hydrofoil monofin

How much power? Swimmers can reach five to six miles per hour using such a device. At slower speeds, endurance can be measured in hours, not minutes. The application of foils to swimming goes back to mid-century Southern California and an American original.

Calvin Gongwer received a BA in mechanical engineering from Columbia and his MA in aeronautical engineering at Caltech, but never worked as an aeronautical engineer. From school and GM’s Lubrication Lab he went New London, Connecticut, to work on anti-submarine warfare efforts during World War II.

After the war, he joined Aerojet General as a hydrodynamicist. Calvin counted his invention of Alco propellant while at Aerojet as one of his best efforts. Alco instantly and completely roars into a ferociously hot fire?—?perfect for igniting solid-fuel rocket motors, which must get lit up evenly and at once. Alco propellant is used to fire off everything from rocket-propelled grenades to space boosters.

Calvin was fascinated by applying muscle power to aquatic motion. Robert Gongwer, Calvin’s son and director of Innerspace Corporation, recalls a pedal-powered “eggbeater” vessel consisting of nothing more than a pole with a bicycle seat, pedals and gears atop a large upside-down propeller arrangement just submerged below the surface. (The gizmo couldn’t overcome the water’s resistance enough to really work.)

Another, the “Aquaped,” was something like an underwater recumbent bicycle — the diver lay on his stomach pedaling a pair of angled, counter-rotating props. For Aerojet, Gongwer created a two-man mini-sub with odd-looking fins which starred (briefly) in a B-movie sea monster’s demise.

The Aqueon

But the Aqueon was the gadget that got most of Calvin Gongwer’s tremendous attention. “Beginning in the mid-1950s,” Bob Gongwer recalls, “my father and I made more than 10 trips to Marineland-of-the-Pacific [a long-gone aquatic theme park in Los Angeles] just to watch dolphins swim. There were lots and lots of models both scale and full-size, and reams of paper drawings. It took him many iterations to find the Aqueon’s design.”

The Aqueon consists of a pair of foils connected by a rod, spring and rope. Its deceptively simple layout and old-fashioned wood-and-metal construction mask its sophistication. The swimmer grasps the device between her thighs (no strapping in) above the rear fixed foil, and with a kick stroke sets the forward oscillating foil moving. The rod positions the forward foil at and beneath the swimmer’s center of gravity, which looks weird but dramatically reduces torque and fatigue. Users then and now noted the ease with which the Aqueon can be donned and doffed, and how well it collapses for transport.

Calvin started Innerspace Corporation in 1960 to market the Aqueon. The device’s manifest superiority in speed and range was put to the test in a number of formal and informal demonstrations. In one test conducted by the U.S. Navy, a pair of Underwater Demolition Team divers swam 1,500 yards with fins; the first trial took 45 minutes and left them exhausted. The second trial took place two hours later; the swim using Aqueons took 24 minutes and left the divers ready for more.

The Navy frogmen were in no doubt of the military utility of such a device. Calvin calculated that an average swimmer could catch an Olympic medalist in 25 yards from a standing start.

No mean athlete himself, Calvin made his own demonstrations. At 53 years of age he swam from Catalina Island to Los Angeles Harbor, some 22 miles through shipping lanes, towing a man on a paddleboard. (When his navigation took him eight miles off course, Calvin merely swam the extra distance to make landfall in San Pedro in front of the press cameras.)

A couple of years later, Calvin swam the length of Lake Tahoe with an Aqueon. “We almost lost him in the chop,” says Bob Gongwer. We even had the Coast Guard out there aboard their lovely Chris-Craft yacht, but Calvin was fine, just chugging along.”

That was almost 50 years ago, when the Navy was revolutionizing underwater work and life. With the establishment of the SEALs and the SEALAB program, you might expect that a revolutionary swimming aid would have swiftly — if quietly — found a market. But despite the demos and rave reviews, no one at the Pentagon ever ran (or swam) with Calvin Gongwer’s idea. Nowadays Innerspace Corporation makes its living manufacturing advanced propulsion systems for underwater drones and subs, and occasionally sells a few Aqueons to curious enthusiasts.



DOL-fins

Ron Smith has developed a line of monofins he’s sure are the next step in underwater propulsion, and fellow freedivers are eagerly acquiring them for training and competition.

The DOL-Fin Orca is a high-performance freediving fin that has set multiple records in competitive freediving. Other forms of the DOL-Fin systems have been tailored for scuba diving. “For a given SCUBA configuration and level of swimming effort, the DOL-Fin will likely propel a diver 60 percent to 90 percent faster than typical dive fins would achieve,” says Smith.

Having solved how to mount an oscillating foil on a diver’s feet, Smith is still puzzled by the slow adoption of foils, given their many advantages over fins. Foils’ stiffness and shape require more skill to maneuver, and the speeds they permit demand greater attention to streamlining. Yet the results are dramatic. But the fins are still rare: few scuba divers have purchased DOL-fins and no one from the Pentagon has called for a test-dive.

Our era often confuses fact with fantasy, and illusory advances with real possibilities. Mythical creatures like mermaids capture the public’s imagination?—?the forgotten past is spun into future promises. You can’t completely ignore a good idea, though.

In 2007, the Pentagon’s scientists at DARPA announced they were developing the PowerSwim, a revolutionary new swimmer propulsion device. Consisting of fixed and oscillating foils connected by a rod, a spring and a rope, DARPA scientists boasted their device would double military swimmers’ speeds and endurance using muscle power alone. If the PowerSwim is in use by U.S. Special Operations forces, we won’t know. But it probably isn’t.


http://smithaerospace.us/products/products.htm
DOL-Fin



The DOL-Fin Orca Mk-2 is the second generation of our flagship freediving monofin.  The original Orca has set multiple Dynamic records in competitive freediving, and the Mk-2 further improves upon the original to make it ideal for depth diving as well.  The Orca Mk-2 has depth independent positive buoyancy for enhanced diver stability during freefall at depth and an easier breath-up posture at the surface.   Aggressive streamlining provides excellent performance and the modular design can be adapted to an individual freediver's needs.  The Orca Mk-2 monofin unites the performance needs of the competitive freediver with the comfort and utility requirements of recreational freediving in a revolutionary product that can bring new levels of performance and fun to the sport of freediving.

Technology

The DOL-Fin uses high aspect ratio hydrofoil based monofin technology, which results in very efficient swimming propulsion.  (See Theory for more technical details.)  For freedivers, the DOL-Fin promotes improved depth, distance and endurance.  For SCUBA divers, the DOL-Fin provides increased speed and range while reducing physical stress to extend the diver's air supply.  The added speed makes diving in strong currents less hazardous and mild currents more enjoyable.  The DOL-Fin can provide SCUBA divers the advantages of speed and range similar to using a diver propulsion vehicle (DPV).  Unlike a DPV, the DOL-Fin has no depth limit, no batteries to recharge or replace, no electric motor to require maintenance and is extremely lightweight and easy to carry.

The DOL-Fin's patented fin suspension system provides active control of the high aspect ratio fin, which provides a very natural feel over a wide speed range.  Unlike traditional monofins, the DOL-Fin system is capable of providing slow to medium swimming speeds that feel natural and that are highly efficient and not physically stressing.  This is an important capability for maximizing freediving performance.  However, there is almost no limit to the top end power that a diver can transmit through the fin.

The high aspect ratio fin has a custom hydrodynamic cross-section specifically designed by Smith Aerospace to operate in the oscillating lift and low Reynolds number environment of the diving fin.  The hydrofoil fin design is an integral part of DOL-Fin's active control suspension system, which maintains operation on the fin's design point over a wide range of speeds for improved efficiency.  

Unlike other fins, the bindings on the DOL-Fin that hold the swimmer's feet are made of textiles like a sport shoe rather than molded rubber or plastic.  This creates an adjustable, snug and comfortable fit for a wide variety of foot sizes.  Additionally, the bindings on the DOL-Fin are field replaceable so different size bindings can be used when needed.  No tools are required, and the switch takes just minutes.  With interchangeable and adjustable bindings, the DOL-Fin can be adapted to almost any diving environment.  From skin-diving in the Hawaiian tropics to dry-suit SCUBA diving in the beautiful waters off Victoria Island in British Columbia, one DOL-Fin is all you'll need.


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/09/dorkmobile_darpa_flipper_seal_alliance/
9 Aug 2007
Segway builders develop speedy swim fins

by

Lewis Page

The company which gave the world the Segway has developed a revolutionary new set of swim fins, twice as efficient as the ones worn by divers today.

DEKA Research, previously most famous for its electric dorkmobile, has previously bid for Pentagon cash with its remarkable man-launching pneumatic cannon, intended to hurl soldiers onto roofs without the use of vulnerable hovering helicopters. Unsurprisingly, the grunt-gun was developed under the auspices of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, eccentric powerhouse of Pentagon boffinry.

DARPA and DEKA have also collaborated on a more reasonable scheme for underwater rather than airborne use. According to this US government document (vast pdf; page 133), DEKA was awarded $2,809,407 in 2005 to develop "a novel concept for combat swimmers".

The idea was to "increase the overall swimming efficiency such that a given combat swimmer can demonstrate a sustainable speed of 50 per cent higher than the typical sustainable speed achieved using standard-issue swim fins, and to reduce by a factor of two the metabolic energy required to maintain a sustained speed of one knot."

According to news from the DARPAtech conference underway this week in California, DEKA has actually done better than this. Bill Sweetman, editor in chief of Defense Technology International, reports that the DARPA/DEKA Powerswim effort has borne fruit impressively.

Apparently, US Navy SEALs with the Powerswim equipment attached to their legs in lieu of regular swim fins can sustain speeds of better than two knots, which should have the world's underwater warriors beating a path to DEKA's door. Back when your correspondent was serving with the Royal Navy's diving branch, a single knot was seen as the most that could be expected over any long period.

Sweetman says some SEALs apparently don't like the new gear, feeling that it makes life too easy. "SEALs are like Catholic school - if it doesn't hurt it's not good for you," he was told. That certainly rings true; your correspondent once complained about an easily-fixed kit problem as a trainee, and was told: "If we made it easy, everybody would be doing it."

Elite-forces masochism, though, should collapse fast at the prospect of sustainable two knot swimming without vehicles. Furthermore, if the claims are accurate, and the gear is as simple to make as it looks, this will be another piece of DARPA kit which gets wide adoption in the civilian world as well as among the military - like the internet or night-vision goggles. Sports divers and swimmers are sure to be clamouring for Powerswim rigs soon along with the world's military divers and special forces.

Interestingly, it seems the DEKA/DARPA team developed Powerswim by studying the swim techniques of dolphins, among other creatures. It used to be a 30 pressups offence to refer to the use of "flippers" rather than fins in the RN diving branch, but it seems that the derivation of the new kit might make that rule obsolete. ®


US8690617
Swimming Propulsion Device

[ PDF , 5 MB ]



Inventor: LANGENFELD CHRISTOPHER / WERNER CHRISTOPHER

A swimming propulsion device. The swimming propulsion device includes a fuselage at least one propulsor pivotally connected to the fuselage, and in some embodiments, at least one stabilizer affixed to the fuselage. The device also includes a swimmer connection mechanism removably attached to the fuselage by a locking mechanism whereby the swimmer connection mechanism connects a swimmer to the device, and a control mechanism installed within the propulsor. A method for efficient swimming is also disclosed...

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Swimming propulsion devices have a long history and have included swimming fins, hand fins, and personal water propellers. These devices had been designed to enhance the speed, efficiency and mobility of bodily moment during surface and underwater swimming.

The typical approach to designing swimming fins and hand fins has been to enlarge the effective area of a swimmer's hands or feet. Although swimming fins and hand fins may have increased a swimmer's propulsion through the water, because the fins are worn on each hand or each foot minimizes the fins' effectiveness. For the same amount of energy expended without the fins, swimmer's increased their propulsion minimally.

One improved swimming fin has been a monofin, where the swimmer wears one fin that fits over both his feet. However, there is some instability in the swimmer's swimming form when using monofins, which results in limited propulsion. As the swimmer uses the monofin, the swimmer's legs do not maintain a stable non-flailing motion that helps in propelling through water.

Accordingly, there is a need for a more effective swimming propulsion device that includes amongst other characteristics, more comfort, easier wearability, and provides greater stability and efficiency for the swimmer.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a swimming propulsion device is disclosed. The swimming propulsion device includes a fuselage having a forward section and an aft section, at least one propulsor pivotally connected to the forward section of the fuselage, at least one stabilizer affixed to the aft section of the fuselage, a swimmer connection mechanism removably attached to the fuselage by a locking mechanism whereby the swimmer connection mechanism connects a swimmer to the device, and a control mechanism attached to the fuselage and the propulsor.

Some embodiments of this aspect of the present invention may include one or more of the following: wherein the locking mechanism further includes a first member and a second member, wherein the first member and second member removably mate by a ball and pin mechanism; wherein the swimmer connection mechanism further includes a first member, a second member, and a fastening mechanism including a buckle and strap, wherein the first member and second member are attached to one another by the latching mechanism and wherein the first member and second member are ergonomic to a swimmer's bottom leg; wherein the swimmer connection mechanism further includes wherein the first member and the second member include a hard layer and a foam layer; wherein, in the swimmer connection mechanism, the second member further includes a cleat for attachment to a locking mechanism member; wherein the fuselage further includes a wedge shaped forward section and a front edge, a top edge and bottom edge wherein the front edge, the top edge, and the bottom edge are tapered and wherein the forward section is positioned on a lower plane than the aft section; wherein the fuselage further including a first fuselage member and a second fuselage member wherein each of said fuselage member connected to a propulsor member; wherein the fuselage further includes a forward member and an aft member, wherein the forward member and aft member are slidably connected whereby the fuselage is adjustable in length; wherein each propulsor includes a first propulsor member and a second propulsor member, wherein the first propulsor wing member is releasably and foldably attached to the second propulsor member whereby the first propulsor wing members folds back when released from the second propulsor member; wherein the second propulsor member is attached to the fuselage; wherein the swimmer connection mechanism further comprising at least one housing for receiving a swimmer's feet; and/or wherein the device further including a fin attachment mechanism.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a swimming propulsion device is disclosed. The swimming propulsion device includes a fuselage having a forward section and an aft section, at least one propulsor pivotally connected to the forward section of the fuselage, a swimmer connection mechanism removably attached to the fuselage by a locking mechanism whereby the swimmer connection mechanism connects a swimmer to the device, the swimmer connection mechanism further including a first member, a second member, and a fastening mechanism including a buckle and strap, wherein the first member and second member are attached to one another by the latching mechanism and wherein the first member and second member are ergonomic to a swimmer's bottom leg.

Some embodiments of this aspect of the present invention may include one or more of the following: at least one stabilizer affixed to the aft section of the fuselage; a control mechanism attached to the fuselage and the propulsor; a fin attachment mechanism; and/or wherein the second member further including a cleat for attachment to a locking mechanism member.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method for efficient swimming disclosed. The method includes attaching at least one cuff to the bottom part of a swimmer's leg, adjusting the at least one cuff using a buckle and strap mechanism, and attaching the at least one cuff to a swimming propulsion device.

The present invention is concerned with combustion and heat transfer processes and apparatus. The invention has general applicability in the fields of combustion and heat transfer and is applicable to industrial and non-industrial processes as well as residential use. Practical industrial application of the invention may be found in the field of steam generation for heating and for electrical power generation. In addition, non-industrial applications of the invention include cooking appliances, stoves, water heaters, furnaces and the like.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a swimming propulsion device is disclosed. The swimming propulsion device includes a fuselage having a forward section and an aft section, at least one propulsor pivotably connected to the forward section of the fuselage, at least one stabilizer pivotably connected to the aft section of the fuselage, a swimmer connection mechanism removably attached to the fuselage by a locking mechanism whereby the swimmer connection mechanism connects a swimmer to the device, and a control mechanism installed within the propulsor and attached to the fuselage.

Some embodiments of this aspect of the present invention may include one or more of the following: wherein the locking mechanism further includes a first member and a second member, wherein the first member and second member removably mate by a ball and latching mechanism; wherein the swimmer connection mechanism further includes a first member, a second member, and a fastening mechanism including a buckle and strap, wherein the first member and second member are attached to one another by the fastening mechanism and wherein the first member and second member are ergonomic to a swimmer's bottom leg; wherein the swimmer connection mechanism further includes wherein the first member and the second member include a hard layer and a foam layer; wherein, in the swimmer connection mechanism, the second member further includes a cleat for attachment to a locking mechanism member; wherein the fuselage further includes a rounded arrow shape and may be smooth and also narrow as the sides meet; wherein each propulsor includes a first propulsor member and a second propulsor member, wherein the first propulsor wing member is pivotably and foldably attached to the second propulsor member whereby the first propulsor wing members folds back when released from the second propulsor member; and wherein the second propulsor member is attached to the fuselage.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a swimming propulsion device is disclosed. The device includes a fuselage having a forward section and an aft section, at least one propulsor pivotally connected to the forward section of the fuselage, at least one stabilizer affixed to the aft section of the fuselage, a swimmer connection mechanism removably attached to the fuselage by a locking mechanism whereby the swimmer connection mechanism connects a swimmer to the device, and a control mechanism attached to the fuselage and the propulsor. The at least one propulsor including at least two portions connected one to another at a propulsor connection point adjacent to the fuselage and wherein the two portions of the at least one propulsor fold towards one another about the connection point and at least one stabilizer including two portions connected one to another at a stabilizer connection point adjacent to the fuselage and wherein the two portions of the at least one stabilizer fold towards one another about the stabilizer connection point.

Some embodiments of this aspect of the present invention may include one or more of the following: wherein the locking mechanism further includes a first member and a second member, wherein the first member and second member removably mate by a ball and pin mechanism; wherein the swimmer connection mechanism further includes a first member, a second member, and a fastening mechanism including a buckle and strap, wherein the first member and second member are attached to one another by the latching mechanism and wherein the first member and second member are ergonomic to a swimmer's bottom leg; wherein the swimmer connection mechanism further includes wherein the first member and the second member include a hard layer and a foam layer; wherein, in the swimmer connection mechanism, the second member further includes a cleat for attachment to a locking mechanism member; wherein the fuselage further includes a wedge shaped forward section and a front edge, a top edge and bottom edge wherein the front edge, the top edge, and the bottom edge are tapered and wherein the forward section is positioned on a lower plane than the aft section; wherein the fuselage further including a first fuselage member and a second fuselage member wherein each of said fuselage member connected to a propulsor member; wherein the fuselage further includes a forward member and an aft member, wherein the forward member and aft member are slidably connected whereby the fuselage is adjustable in length; wherein each propulsor includes a first propulsor member and a second propulsor, member, wherein the first propulsor wing member is releasably and foldably attached to the second propulsor member whereby the first propulsor wing members folds back when released from the second propulsor member; wherein the second propulsor member is attached to the fuselage; wherein the swimmer connection mechanism further comprising at least one housing for receiving a swimmer's feet; and/or wherein the device further including a fin attachment mechanism.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a swimming propulsion device is disclosed. The swimming propulsion device includes a fuselage having a forward section and an aft section, at least one propulsor pivotally connected to the forward section of the fuselage, a swimmer connection mechanism removably attached to the fuselage by a locking mechanism whereby the swimmer connection mechanism connects a swimmer to the device, the swimmer connection mechanism further including a first member, a second member, and a fastening mechanism including a buckle and strap, wherein the first member and second member are attached to one another by the latching mechanism and wherein the first member and second member are ergonomic to a swimmer's bottom leg and wherein the at least one propulsor comprising at least two portions connected one to another at a connection point adjacent to the fuselage and wherein the two portions of the at least one propulsor fold towards one another about the connection point.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a swimming propulsion device is disclosed. The swimming propulsion device includes a fuselage having a forward section and an aft section, at least one propulsor pivotably connected to the forward section of the fuselage, a swimmer connection mechanism removably attached to the fuselage by a locking mechanism whereby the swimmer connection mechanism connects a swimmer to the device, the swimmer connection mechanism further including a first member, a second member, and a fastening mechanism including a buckle and strap, wherein the first member and second member are attached to one another by the latching mechanism and wherein the first member and second member are ergonomic to a swimmer's bottom leg.

Some embodiments of this aspect of the present invention may include one or more of the following: at least one stabilizer affixed to the aft section of the fuselage; a control mechanism installed within the propulsor and attached to the fuselage; and/or wherein the second member further including a cleat for attachment to a locking mechanism member.

Some embodiments of this aspect of the present invention may include a control mechanism wherein the control mechanism comprising a torsion bar having a distal end and a proximal end; a torsion bar anchor fixed to the proximal end of the torsion bar; and an internal structure within the propulsor member containing the distal end of the torsion bar. The internal structure allows for rotation of the distal end of the torsion bar and the torsion bar anchor fixes the proximal end of the torsion bar in place.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method for efficient swimming disclosed. The method includes unfolding a propulsor; unfolding a stabilizer, attaching at least one cuff to the bottom part of a swimmer's leg, adjusting the at least one cuff using a buckle and strap mechanism, and removably attaching the at least one cuff to a swimming propulsion device by an attachment mechanism.

These aspects of the invention are not meant to be exclusive and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary. skill in the art when read in conjunction with the appended claims and accompanying drawings...