The Return of the Ekranoplan?

[tracer.smart]

Brittany Ferries looking at an all electric ground effect vehicle for a commercial passenger service between Portsmouth and Cherbourg.

I would love to have a trip on this thing even though it’s not quite the Caspian Sea Monster.

Nice to see Brittany Ferries exploring something truly innovative.

Full story here >

[Tony1963]

Truly innovative? Er…

[Mikebentley]

That’s great

[MarkwG]

Tony1963 said:

Truly innovative? Er…

I can't think of any other passenger carrying electric ekranoplans, can you?

[Simpo Two]

The headlong rush to make everything electric continues, based on 'one day there will be batteries that store a bazillion amps and charge up in 3 mins, no really honest there will, we're making an electric moon rocket too, here's a nice picture we made in Photoshop, send money'.

[Zad]

Wouldn't it be more cost-effective to run a floatplane? Less susceptibility to typical English Channel weather. There are certainly a few wing-in-ground-effect designs around, not sure how many have made it as far as real commercial products.

[john2443]

180mph across a channel full of yachts, container ships, numpties in speedboats, what can possibly go wrong!

[Kawasicki]

john2443 said:

180mph across a channel full of yachts, container ships, numpties in speedboats, what can possibly go wrong!

Sounds dangerous. Speed needs to be capped at 17 knots, but other than that it’s extremely important for the future of our planet that this project gets off the ground.

[mike74]

Would this be able to operate on anything other than flat, calm seas?
Or at least operate without being a very bumpy and uncomfortable ride for the passengers?

[mikebradford]

I like the idea, but have no idea how it deals with rough weather.

[Simes205]

Kawasicki said:

john2443 said:

but other than that it’s extremely important for the future of our planet that this project gets off the ground.

Pun intended??

[Chainsaw Rebuild]

That’s an exciting project! It would potentially make going to quite a lot Europe by not an aircraft a viable option for people who currently fly.

Also I suspect it will look pretty cool.

[Joscal]

mike74 said:

Would this be able to operate on anything other than flat, calm seas?
Or at least operate without being a very bumpy and uncomfortable ride for the passengers?

I can’t get my head round this either..

[Jake899]

mike74 said:

Would this be able to operate on anything other than flat, calm seas?
Or at least operate without being a very bumpy and uncomfortable ride for the passengers?

These vehicles are known as "wing in ground effect" and they ride on a cushion of air above the surface below. Effectively they are a very fast hovercraft. So they are actually, if designed and operated correctly, rock solid and stable in flight, regardless of the state of the surface below.

[Eric Mc]

Too dangerous for use in crowded sea lanes - unless they are given some sort of total exclusion lanes in which to operate.

[Joscal]

Eric Mc said:

Too dangerous for use in crowded sea lanes - unless they are given some sort of total exclusion lanes in which to operate.

Can’t see that working then, especially the closer to shore it gets.

[Tony1963]

Jake899 said:

These vehicles are known as "wing in ground effect" and they ride on a cushion of air above the surface below. Effectively they are a very fast hovercraft. So they are actually, if designed and operated correctly, rock solid and stable in flight, regardless of the state of the surface below.

“Effectively”, they’re not a hovercraft. A hovercraft can be stationary on its cushion of air, this pie in the sky joke can’t. It needs to build up speed before it can use ground effect, and that’ll take a while in gale force conditions.

Edited by Tony1963 on Thursday 17th June 08:38

[Tony1963]

MarkwG said:

I can't think of any other passenger carrying electric ekranoplans, can you?

The only part of it that’s anywhere near innovative is using electric power, but that’s just a bandwagon. The Ekranoplans could definitely carry plenty of ‘passengers’ lol. That was the whole idea of them.

[Teddy Lop]

Simpo Two said:

The headlong rush to make everything electric continues, based on 'one day there will be batteries that store a bazillion amps and charge up in 3 mins, no really honest there will, we're making an electric moon rocket too, here's a nice picture we made in Photoshop, send money'.

Given the myriad problems and limitations of operating an ekranoplan it does kinda smell like a poor attempt to prove something, I guess because of the greater efficiency over conventional (proper) aircraft this just limps into feasibility?

[oakdale]

Imagine what it would be like with a crosswind.