The Flying Hovercraft.
Check. This. Out.This is the hovercraft that glides over land and water yet also soars in the air up to 70 mph with the aid of integrated wings. A 130-hp twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled gasoline engine -- turbocharged and fuel-injected -- drives its 60" wood/carbon composite thrust propeller while a 1,100-rpm 34" lift fan inflates its durable vinyl-coated nylon skirt for hovering above the ground.
(image from link)
All I know is that if I hit the lottery I'm buying a couple...
That is all.
7 comments:
A Wing in Ground Effect machine. The Soviets made some damn big ones.
All I know is that if I hit the lottery I'm buying a couple...
Ditto.
Made of Pure Win.
The perfect platform to hunt water skiers and wake board from.
Gerry
Too small and light for a Ma-Duce but looks like it could carry a .30.
There must be something bad wrong with the idea since the Soviets did drop a lot of research on them and then just quit.
Good ideas don't just stop like that.
@Angus: Waves. Flying at a few feet is a bad idea when the occasional rogue wave is 1+ foot higher than your altitude.
If you hit water doing 75MPH or more, it can't get out of the way.
Looks like a lot of fun when everything is working right.
These kinds of hybrid combination vehicles tend to combine all the difficulties and hazards of the various components. This would include the water to air and back transition that is the most dangerous part of conventional floatplane operation. The hovercraft type skirt probably complicates that transition.
Flying in ground effect can be fairly stable, but is still subject to unpredictable gusts and turbulence. Actual airplane piloting skills might come in handy.
If it has the performance to lift off the hover skirt and into ground effect with a full load, it can probably climb out of ground effect when lightly loaded. This would make it a true airplane, which even if it has good handling characteristics, could be a regulatory nightmare.
I look at it as an airplane that spends all its time in the most dangerous phases of flight. On the other hand, if someone gave me a chance to play with one of these, I'd be in it and gone before they could change their mind.
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