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How would this thing behave in bad weather? Also read recently that european armies were relying on ukrainian cargo plans for transporting large items that A40
by cm2187 4y ago
How would this thing behave in bad weather?
Also read recently that european armies were relying on ukrainian cargo plans for transporting large items that A400M can't handle. And are now considering developping their own large cargo plane. These things are rare and apart!
- fintechjock 4y agoBad weather is the most significant hurdle here. The article references a few of the Soviet GEVs that were successfully developed, but it looks like they only operated regularly in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea (relatively calm water). Overall, major challenges to development are summarized pretty well here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground-effect_vehicle#Advantages_and_disadvantages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground-effect_vehicle#Advantag... Sounds like one big step already taken is in low altitude altimeter development. These folks did a good study on radio altimeter integration in GEVs: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S147466701533319X?via%3Dihub https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S147466701...
- KennyBlanken 4y agoVery poorly. If a wing hits the water, it's game over - the plane immediately cartwheels and aerodynamic forces rip everything to shreds. This is DARPA and some defense contractor wanting to cash in on Biden's big increase in military spending.
- happyopossum 4y agoHow low do you think this thing will be flying?
- _Microft 4y agoIn the embedded video it is said that they want the plane to be able to operate in high sea states and even to sustain flight at up to 10000 feet. https://youtu.be/IOnLpXVkkTU?t=50 https://youtu.be/IOnLpXVkkTU?t=50
- Wohlf 4y agoTo be fair bad weather is a hard problem for existing sea and air lift.
- thunderbird120 4y agoThis is not a pure Ekranoplan and can fly high enough to avoid most mountains, let alone large waves. It's most efficient flying lower but it can act more like a normal plane if necessary.