One for the flight fans

[aidanjt]

Err no, actuallt totally the opposit. The idea behind ground effect vehicles is that you get an decrease in drag by being near a surface, so you get the speed of an aircraft, with greater fuel efficiency, or teh ability to carry heavy payloads. The reason the large ones have so many engines is that they are required to get it in to gground effect mode (sitting just above the water), once at cruise most of the engines could be shut down.

Cars are subject to the ground effect as well, that doesn't mean that if you make them look like a brick, with many heavy crappy designed engines, that fuel economy wont suffer.

[aidanjt]

You're right, that was the other idea - get in close to enemy shores, launch missiles, then scoot back. All undetected, and far too fast to be caught up by conventional methods.

Unfortunately any significant steering at normal cruising speed would be suicide, and slowing down to turn in the water would alert navel patrols.

[dbh]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Ekranoplan.jpg

[nibbler]

What. A. Beast.