sorry, not sure of the terminology, or where to put it.

found here: http://igor113.livejournal.com/51213.html



It's a ground-effect plane, sort of like a skirtless hovercraft.

Carried six ( i think) big cruise missiles. Think of it like an insanely fast destroyer that can move over anything flat - water, swamp, snow ect.

Worth de-biggening?

I remember an article in air and space smithsonian years ago on this. I think the code name was the Caspian Sea Monster. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_Sea_Monster

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-Vaaish

It's an Ekranoplan, but yes, one common name was the Caspian Sea Monster. It uses WIG (wing in ground effect), a phenomenon where, while an aircraft is within one wingspan of the ground/sea surface, there is a huge savings in efficiency. It needs all those jets to get off the surface, then all but two are turned of. There was a transport and a missile carrying version.

About 5 years ago the US military investigated the phenomenon for use in the Pelican super heavy transport, a WIG concept capable of carrying an entire Army division in one load. It was powered by 4 pairs of contrarotating props, each powered by a destroyer turbine. The concept was abandoned when it became clear that the damage to airbases would be unacceptable. The mass (something like 10 million pound gross takoff weight, IIRC) would essentially create a low level seismic wave on the takeoff run, with predictable results.

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SG

Ghost's Paint Blog, where everything goes that isn't something else.

i was under the impression that they where hellishly difficult to steer

also, that thing is much too ugly to debiggen. the only thing it has going for it is how absurdly huge it is!

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~Every Tool Is A Weapon, If You Hold It Right~

This one's slightly prettier, IMO. Also has similarities to GW flyers currently in production: squared off fuselage, downturned wingtips, etc. Give it jets and make the wing profile more aquiline and you've got a dropship.

http://www.boeing.com/news/frontiers/ar ... /i_pw.html

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SG

Ghost's Paint Blog, where everything goes that isn't something else.

So out of work Russkie aircarft designers work at G/W ?

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Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Well of course - they have to feed their families, y'know ..

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Let there be code.