4 ms·

Anyone know the source of the 35-50% increased fuel efficiency numbers? I'm curious if it's a point-to-point estimate, or what. It'd be pretty amazing if the

• ak217 13y ago
  I don't know the source, but I imagine they're comparing efficiency against a conventional plane flying at sea level. There's no way this can compare to flying at altitude - I mean, the fastest this thing can fly is far below stall speed at altitude - but its key advantages at sea (particularly for littoral defense against strike groups of surface ships) are that it's essentially a ship and a plane in one, doesn't need an airfield, and can hide from radar. (Given this, I'm actually surprised China hasn't been interested in this technology.)
  • nradov 13y ago
    It wouldn't be of much use to China. It can't hide from airborne radar. And it can't operate effectively in rough seas.
• teeja 13y ago
  Challenge accepted: I wasn't able to tease out a number more specific than "up to twice as efficient" here http://jalopnik.com/5490236/the-nuclear-warhead+equipped-ekranoplan-soviet-invasion-machine http://jalopnik.com/5490236/the-nuclear-warhead+equipped-ekr... but it might be decipherable in this PDF: http://ftp.rta.nato.int/public/pubfulltext/rto/mp/rto-mp-015/$MP-015-24.PDF http://ftp.rta.nato.int/public/pubfulltext/rto/mp/rto-mp-015... A couple of sources said such a plane can fly up to a few hundred feet up. And another talked about a yacht using WIG: http://www.yachtboutique.com/Designers/Ekranoplan/Ekranoplanintro.htm http://www.yachtboutique.com/Designers/Ekranoplan/Ekranoplan...