Posted on 08/28/2015 6:23:09 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
+1000 cool points if a person could fly in this thing!
Dwarfing all previous flying giants, the Pelican, a high-capacity cargo plane concept currently being studied by Boeing Phantom Works, would stretch more than the length of a U.S. football field and have a wingspan of 500 feet and a wing area of more than an acre. It would have almost twice the external dimensions of the world’s current largest aircraft, the Russian An225, and could transport five times its payload, up to 1,400 tons of cargo.
Designed primarily for long-range, transoceanic transport, the Pelican would fly as low as 20 feet above the sea, taking advantage of an aerodynamic phenomenon that reduces drag and fuel burn.
http://www.boeing.com/news/frontiers/archive/2002/september/i_pw.html
It was designed to fly in surface effect. 150 meters is far too high to be in surface effect. I will need to operate and about 10 meters off the water at most.
As a high speed coastal defense missile boat, it was an interesting concept. However, as a passenger carrier, it has some issues. First, 8 jet turbines for 50 passengers is a bit inefficient. Second, corrosion is going to be a beast. Third, ground effect is operations are going to be a rough ride during daylight hours.
It was designed to fly in surface effect. 150 meters is far too high to be in surface effect. I will need to operate and about 10 meters off the water at most.
As a high speed coastal defense missile boat, it was an interesting concept. However, as a passenger carrier, it has some issues. First, 8 jet turbines for 50 passengers is a bit inefficient. Second, corrosion is going to be a beast. Third, ground effect is operations are going to be a rough ride during daylight hours.
This thing surely sucks up a lot of low flying sea birds that glide around using the same lift principles.
That’s a mighty thin 150 meter altitude. There’s no ground effect at 150 m. Probably a typo missing a decimal point.
Requires flat seas.
The noise will be deafening...no high bypass turbofan engines?
Excellent replacement for the idiotic California HS choo-choo.
Annoying Language Nit: Author meant to write “moniker,” not “nomenclature.”
Rogue waves would really suck.
Given the advances in technology since the 60s, I would suspect the high fuel consumption could be overcome through computer modeling and more efficient turbines. Something like this would be a great ferry craft for longer distances, enabling high-speed commuting all along a coastal region. I'm thinking places like Chesapeake bay, along the Florida coast, across the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and so on.
And just a correction, these aircraft "fly" less than 150 *feet* above the water (more like 40-50 at most), not the 150 *meters* the article mentions.
Yeah, I can just imagine that thing running down somebody's sailboat..."
And that's the problem with communism: Things just didn't “work” - People were slaves to the handouts. And the handouts were controlled by the bureaucrats - who didn't care about the actual results - only the “rules”. And maintaining their power and their salaries from the ever-higher bureaucrats.
And today's democrats and their slavish professors see no problems with that.
But, for ground effects, the power/fuel/weight does work out much better than helicopters, better than hydrofoils for ocean surfaces under modest waves, and adequate - though not stellar - when compared to regular airplanes carrying far less cargo.
Also, notice the placement of the jet engines. The wing is a 'blown' surface (I see you smirking, Bevis) and as such increases the wing lift which will also increase the ground effect working height.
However, like someone already said, a rogue wave would not make for a good day.
"Heh heh, he said 'blown!'"
That explains mounting the engines so far in front of the wings.
Ping to the resurrection of the Caspian Sea Monster.
Iirc there was a company in the Norfolk VA area years back that was playing around with 1-4 person recreational versions of these things.
Apparently there were issues involving classifying it as a boat (USCG jurisdiction) or airplane (FAA jurisdiction) :-D
Good heavens, I haven’t heard about that in years!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.