If ground effect are so much more efficient why aren’t we using them for flights, from Europe to the US for example?
In: Engineering
The Soviets did some pretty cool prototyping with ground effect “Erkanoplans”. Do some googling on those and you’ll see the main reasons why the technology was abandoned.
Short answer: they suck as soon as the sea gets a little too choppy. Which most of the Atlantic and Pacific is. They might do ok on smaller bodies of water, but by the time you’re doing that it’s too much hassle compared to regular air travel or boat travel.
Latest Answers