Why don't we fly ground effect vehicles?

[Golden-fan]

Cons: almost everything
Pros: they look really really cool

[SamnissArandeen]

That said, flying a normal airplane in ground effect has saved a crash or two. I remember this footage of an E-2C landing on the carrier, slowing for a bit, then the arresting cable snapped and the plane rolled straight off the deck. Ground effect helped the pilot save that one.

[chemicalphil]

Take too sharp of a turn and it turns into an Ocean Gate sub😢

[BrdTheWrd]

Ground effect is one of the most interesting laws of aerodynamics.

[walterabernathy]

Also have a problem with saltwater corroding the engines.

[Freedomsonwildanimal]

Probably why pelicans fly so close to the water at times

[ChaoticScape]

Because they determined years ago, that one stray wave and the entire vehicle is destroyed. You have to have almost perfectly calm water in order to fly, Imagine starting a flight out, calm seas then midflight you've got 6 foot swells. Good luck landing, It disrupts the ground effect.

[voornaam]

These things have one nerdy disadvantage. You'd not expect it, but taking off from the water takes a long "runway" because at low speed the small wings (compared to an airplane) need flaps and slats and smart tricks and huge engines. Russian Airforce used them, and that is why ekranoplans are well known. Seen a YT video on a company in or near Hamburg, Germany, building small ones. There are more video's explaining them. Engineers did serious work on solving the problems, but "normal" airplanes and fast ships are an alternative.

[nathantrombley]

All fun and games till a 90 foot wave appears from another dimension

[JohanEngelen]

I was once in a certified boat that that could fly 130 meters high if necessary. Really a very strange experience

[mikebikekite]

There's also the flying hovercraft design that is smaller, only carrying 270Kg, but has a range of over 150 miles at 70mph and can obviously land on water or land. It can turn fairly quickly and it's apparently capable of flying smoothly over 6 foot waves. Cost is about $200K though.

[Jeff-ybrz]

Seen one of these, here in nz, a rubber dinghy and two house doors for wings, a small air boat motor, true story lol this guy was crazy tho it worked really well, and you don't need a pilot licence 😜 i think he got some clips on the tube, anyway peace ❤

[jay]

Well done. The most complete yet efficient explanation ever, of why they are not so mainstream.

[Idontrememberasking]

Because altitude is insurance when it comes to flying, and being a few feet off the ground doesn't give you any time to correct yourself in the event of an emergency

[nanopulp]

Ekranoplans apply only to wig craft with straight or minor taper wings. The airfish design by wigetworks shown in the last part of the video uses a reverse-delta design which has different performance

[robertthomas]

WIG, or Wing In Ground -effect. They are more efficient than planing hulls and aircraft. They would be perfect for 1-2hr hops over water that are currently served by ferries and small aircraft.

[trueriver]

In a sense hovercraft are ground effect planes, but with the skirt enhancing the ground effect, and flexible skirts can run over uneven terrain (to some extent)

[gimmethegepgun]

Fun fact about the ground effect: the U-2 spy plane has such a high lift-to-drag ratio that the ground effect it generates prevents it from landing without stalling. They have to use a chase car with another U-2 pilot telling them how far off the ground they are, then initiate a stall at about 2 feet above the ground and just drop.

[nicolaspeigne]

You could make an hydrofoil/ekeanoplane hybrid where the underwater wing could stop lifting and just help for manoeuvrability.

[TaterChip]

I did know things like this even existed. I see there basically impractical, but still a very neat thing to see