A number of WIG (Wing in Ground Effect) air vehicles are in development across the world. Is this the next big leap in Aviation?
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| 100-passenger Regent Monarch |
WIG, or wing-in-ground effect air-vehicles use a phenomena called "Ground Effect". An Aircraft's wings face reduced drag when they are close to a fixed surface like Water Bodies or Land. All aircraft make use of this phenomena during Takeoff or Landing. During takeoff, ground effect can cause the aircraft to "float" while below the recommended climb speed. The pilot can then fly just above the runway while the aircraft accelerates in "ground effect" until a safe climb speed is reached.
WIG vehicles make use of this Ground Effect, flying just a few feet above the ground to take advantage of the cushion of air
between the wing and the surface. The "air-cushion" effect helps
keep the craft airborne using far less power than would be required to fly
at higher altitudes like a conventional airplane. As a result, WiG vehicles can carry much more weight with the same power when
compared with a traditional airplane.
Ground-effect has been known since the 1920s. But it was only in the 1960s that the Soviet Union produced the first large vehicles making use of "Ground Effect" which the Soviets called "Ekranoplan". The first of these, powered by 10 Jet engines and weighing over 544 tonnes, was dubbed the "Caspian Sea Monster" by Western Media. It was believed to be a prototype of an even larger vehicle designed to transport 1000s of troops for amphibious landings.
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| Caspian Sea Monster |
The dissolution of the Soviet Union meant an end to the project and the idea remained unexplored for decades. Until now. Many companies have recently looked at new WiG designs as a way to transport large payloads efficiently across large bodies of water at aircraft like speeds but for a much, much lower cost.
Boston based Regent Craft is one such company. Regent has designed and built a scale model of a 12-passenger design called "Viceroy". Regent Viceroy, powered by 8 electric engines is designed to carry upto 12 passengers or a mix of passengers or 1800kg of cargo on routes upto 180 miles(290 km).
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| Regent Viceroy |
Regent is already planning an even larger design called "Regent Monarch" capable of carrying upto 100 passengers and/or cargo.
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| 100 passenger Regent Monarch |
Regent is calling its WiG vehicles "Sea Gliders" and is in touch with airlines like Hawaiian Airlines. HA operates an extensive network out of Honolulu connecting the various islands with 120 seat Boeing 717 aircraft. The Monarch, will be able to do the same routes with even more cargo capacity but at 1/100th the cost!
I see these 2nd Generation electric powered WiG vehicles as being particularly useful on island hopping routes like Hawaii and Maldives. The 12-seat Regent Viceroy for eg would work very well in Maldives replacing the 15 seat DHC6 based amphibious "Island Taxis" in use currently. Indonesia, Philippines and Caribbean countries are also potential markets for these vehicles. They could also find a potential market on Coastal routes like on India's Coastline - I can definitely see potential for a Monarch linking Goa, Sindhudurg, Alibaug to Mumbai. In the US, we could also see potential routes developing in the Gulf of Mexico.
Parallel to this, there have also been developments on the Military side with Jet powered WiG vehicles. Russian companies are in the lead with various jet powered designs carrying between 100 and 500 tons. Greece, Germany and Turkey are other countries with projects running currently to develop medium/large transport vehicles using this concept.
The Boeing Pelican was a concept design by Boeing Phantom Works designed for military use but capable of being used commercially as well. In its military variant, the Pelican could carry 1500 tons or 2000 fully equipped troops to distances upto 6000 nautical miles (9600 kms) but while burning fuel equivalent to a 250 seat 767.
Sample cargo:
- 10x CH-47D Chinook helicopters (using only the main deck)
- 70x heavy expanded mobility tactical trucks (HEMTTs)
- 52x M270 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRSs)
- 17x M-1 Abrams tanks
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| Boeing Pelican |
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| Rendering of Boeing Pelican next to a 747 showing scale |
What do you think of WiG effect vehicles? Game Changing idea or fantasy? Let me know in the comments what you think.
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