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[Plomien]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2874528/Ultimate-boy-toy-bids-are-soaring.html
This looks quite cool 8-)

[Mr Skrunts]

Then as soon as some banks too low to either side and dips a wing in the water it will be carnage and then banned unless you have a pilots licence.  :-/

[Kevin Wood]

Nothing new under the sun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIr8bjg_o2U

Kevin

[Ken T]

Yes, an amazing idea that  works very well. i understand the russian one was stuffed because they used a normal pilot for a flight, and he pulled the nose too far up, trying to gain height, and they only work in ground effect. Oops.

Now if GB was going to have a battle with Argentina, the ability to move troops, stores etc long distances at high speed would be very useful.

Ken

[Entwood]

Ground effect aircraft have been around for a while .. well the designs have .. but they do suffer from some serious problems .. not all yet solved ...

a) If the surface is rough, ie stormy seas, the ground effect can suddenly be lost which leads to a rapid drop !!! If the hull is not strong enough this may cause severe damage. Strong hulls = increased weight.

b) Turning/manouvering : if the "wings" are too long then the bank angle for turns is severly limited leading to very large turn radii. If the "wings" are short the "lift" ability and hence cargo .. is limited.

c) Overland use : extremely limited due to electricity cables, hedges, houses etc etc.

In straight lines on smooth water they are extremely efficient, but those conditions are not that common !!!

[mantahatch]

Reminds of the Caspian Sea Monster circa 1967 warning video very long.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgtaeRZjWNc[/media]

[Kevin Wood]

I remember a really good TV programme about the Caspian Sea Monster about 10 or 15 years ago.

Apparently another issue with them is that they are very difficult to stabilise at the correct attitude and height above the surface because they are operating at the boundary of two aerodynamic modes modes so in some conditions the control inputs required to correct a departure are reversed from the normal!

I remember an interview with the pilot of the big one pictured talking about the test flight. Said he opened the throttles, got it established in stable "flight", shut down the 8 engines on the front for the cruise (they were only required to lift it out of the water IIRC), scanned the instruments and checked all was well, looked up and saw land in the distance. Turned out it was Iran and he'd already covered the length of the caspian sea.

Really fascinating things.

Kevin

[feeutfo]

Acranoplan?