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Wing in Ground

Discussion in 'What plans are you looking for?' started by tsknutsen, Nov 30, 2010.

  1. tsknutsen

    tsknutsen Member

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    Im looking for plans for a Wing in Ground effect boat/plane hybrid thingy.
     
  2. rcav8r

    rcav8r Moderator Staff Member

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    That is pretty cool. Would be really neat to make an R/C one. Oh so many things to work on. I already have 3 separate planes started in SU now. I wonder how hard it would be to control the altitude with the R/C one. Maybe under power it as is suggested in the video.

    I love ground effect. Way back when I was learning to fly I heard about it, but never really experienced it. Then we were on vacation and stopped at St. Barts. Not sure if you know about the airport there, but the runway is REALLY short, and ends on the beach. Not near the beach, but ON the beach. The other end is against a small mountain. Anyway while we were there I watched a bunch of guys push back a Cessna 310 off the runway and against the hill on the far end of the runway. When the pilot ran out of runway, he just retracted the landing gear and rode ground effect half way into the bay, and then started a slow climb. Truly amazing to watch. I was too busy watching to take a pic, but attached is one I took of a typical landing to give an idea of how tight these planes have to work with. Runway is just out of frame to the left. This landing is in the opposite direction than the 310 took off. If you are in the way you WILL get hit.

    The other time I really saw the effects of ground effects is when I was at a fly-in about 10 or so years ago. Keith Shaw was flying his huge electric powered flying wing ( before electric power was popular). There was a cross wind, and he was setting up his landing quite a ways from the runway, but parallel to it. As it was about to touch down, the decent slowed way down, and the plane drifted across to right over the center line of the runway, and touched down dang close to the center line. I later asked Shawn about that landing, and asked him about ground effect. He said that the flying wing was really effected by ground effect, and if he had set up a "normal" landing it would have landed in the pits. What a pilot. Attached files [​IMG]
     
  3. baldrick

    baldrick New Member

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  4. tsknutsen

    tsknutsen Member

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    thanks alot for the thorough reply rcav8r, i have a pilot instructor in my club, i have to discuss this with him, really awesome..

    Also, thanks alot for the link baldrick
    , looking at the ekranoplanes there, it really does not look too difficult to draw up something similar in sketchup.

    thx :D
     
  5. TigerPilot

    TigerPilot Well-Known Member

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    Ask him if he can explain the ground effect to you, that is how and why it happens. Still very few people understand it even though it's been explained many years ago. It's not because of the suction on top of the wing.
     
  6. Gefahren

    Gefahren Member

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    Here's some three views from my files on Alexander Lippisch.

    The first one is of the X-114 which could fly out of ground effect, but was inefficient that way.


    The second picture is of a concept Lippisch came up with for a heavy transport, I like the looks of this.


    As far as my reading goes, the Lippisch design is more stable than the Russian Ekranoplan designs which might make for a easier to fly model. A even more stable design is the "Jorg" style (spelling?) but it cannot fly out of ground effect at all.


    While we are mentioning Lippisch, I really want to try to build one of these in the near future.


    I think that would be a kick butt model. Attached files [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  7. kram242

    kram242 Administrator Staff Member

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    This is one I have on the back burner :) started it a while ago and really would like to finish it.
    Mark and Trish Attached files [​IMG]
     
  8. Gefahren

    Gefahren Member

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    Mark, I have some more pictures of the Aerodyne besides the three you have in that sketchup screenshot. I'll post them if you want, but you probably already have them somewhere.


    Also, I remember that little hovercraft thing you made and remember some of the video's of it flying. I was thinking that you could adopt some of the shap of the WIG craft to it so it would be more stable.
     

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