Scary 60's

Those that went throught the late 50's and into the 60's remember the beating of the war machines that were being produced - this is not leaving out all the earlier times - but was looking around and found this interesting tidbit and thought someone else just might want to see some pics - if not delete it.

Russian Secret Project Exposed.

Dark Roasted Blend: Ekranoplans Showcase

I could only imagine some of the gadgets that were devised during the Cold War.

that thing is frickin awesome

Wow that is a really cool looking craft!!!

I would think you would have to have optimum weather conditions since high waves would screw up the lift.

We had "Star Wars".....the Ruskies had stuff like this.

We bankrupted them by keeping them caught up in an arms race they could not win.

The military always has the coolest stuff. And then, sometimes, 40 years later we get to have it for ourselves.

Looks like a MV to me. Pretty cool.

There was a lot of interest in those when all the info came to light about 19 years ago (Aviation Week and Space Technology, June 1992). It was also picked up by other consumer science magazines.

The principle was sound but the limitations were numerous. You didn't have to deal with induced drag (drag associated with making lift), there wasn't any. You still had parasitic drag but that is MUCH lower than induced. High speed possible with MUCH less thrust required (no induced drag) BUT you were limited to a maximum altitude of 1/2 the wingspan. Go higher and induced drag is suddenly back with a vengeance. You could carry a REALLY heavy payload with small engines and small fuel flow. In most cases, all the engines were used for takeoff and getting out of the water, them MOST were shut down. Unless you were willing to make a truly HUGE one, you were still at risk of large ocean waves. Unless you were willing to make the worlds largest "highways" for them, you can't really go inland. The highway wouldn't need a surface per se, but would have to have a gentle slope and clear of trees, buildings and hills. Can you imagine trying to flatten a pass through the Rockies down to near sea level and a mile or two wide?

wreckerman893 said:

We bankrupted them by keeping them caught up in an arms race they could not win.

Click to expand...

Who's bankrupt now?

Ekranoplan was a cool machine I came across a number of years ago. They could still have a place in military equipment. They are so close to the water it's difficult to pick them up on radar. I don't imagine they are cheap to run though.

Bighurt said:

They could still have a place in military equipment. They are so close to the water it's difficult to pick them up on radar. I don't imagine they are cheap to run though.

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Well, they could be used, but only for crossing water and landing equipment to shore. Need to go over a mountain range or even big hills? They are done. They are not suitable replacement for an aircraft. As far as operating cost, their fuel consumption once airborne is a pittance compared to an aircraft. If I remember correctly, done right, they could have a fuel burn, per ton of cargo, nearly equal to the ships of their time. To make them truely safe, they'd need to be massive, perhaps 2-4 times the wingspan of a 747. BUT, they could carry an amount of weight that would probably surpass 20 or more 747's, actually WAY more than that!

They don't have to operate from water, in fact, it's better if they operate from land. The surface tension of the water is part of the reason the big Soviet jobs has so many engines. Some were there to blow air under the wings and hull to combat drag due to the water surface tension.

More close up, current photos of this cutting edge soviet technology here: Ekranoplan | English Russia and here: http://englishrussia.com/2010/09/05/ekranoplan-the-inside-view/ Ran when parked?

Lots of good photos of soviet era military equipment in various states of decay if you jump up to the homepage and search for it.

That is an incredible machine.