Anyone like a DIY restoration job?
Have a go at this Ekranoplan.
(warning: Lots & lots of high-def pictures, so it might be slow to load).
Anyone like a DIY restoration job?
Have a go at this Ekranoplan.
(warning: Lots & lots of high-def pictures, so it might be slow to load).
I've always fancied one of those, but the problem is where to park it.
Colin Bignell
Anywhere round Chertsey or Somerset..
And then use the missiles to get rid of those couple of handful of householders who each want million or two spent so that they can live in a flood plain.
On 15 Feb 2014, Sam Plusnet grunted:
My God - looks like something out of 'Bladerunner'
In message , Lobster writes
How does the old engineering adage of "if it looks right, it is right" stand with that ?
Adrian
Wonder what it does to the gallon?
Dream technology - is it a boat? is it a plane? and might be a way of crossing the Atlantic if there weren't so many containers bobbing around.
Cheers
Dave R
On 15 Feb 2014, alan grunted:
Wow. I rather like one of the comments below the video: "This is the most Soviet thing I have ever seen in my entire life. If one thing could be used to describe the Soviets, it would be this."!
Works fine for me.
An Ekranoplan is definitely something that'll be living in my mad-evil- genius-volcanic-island headquarters, Mr Bond.
ITYM "if it's right, it looks right". And that thing may be described as looking like many things but right it doesn't.
The very last picture is an interior view of (I think) one of the gun turrets.
Some of those connectors look awfully familiar.
Ground effect vehicle.
It was a waste of space and effort. It had all the usual sea plane seawater corrosion problems and problems with saltwater spray being ingested into the turbines. Also problems in rough seas. A short look at history books would have told them this before they started the project.
Typical failed socialist ego project. Meanwhile the Russian people starved.
Yeah - which means it flies (just) over water or land (as long as the land is flattish).
So over water it is almost a boat, almost a plane, but not quite either.
See what I did there?
Oh, never mind.
Dave R
They were not designed as sea planes, but as high speed attack boats. They also had the advantages that they could ignore ice and had limited ground crossing ability. Their main problems were longitudinal instability and, as they went out of use before GLONASS was properly established, navigation.
Which was not that much of a problem in their designed areas of use; the Black Sea and the Baltic.
The concept was sound and has been developed in much smaller civilian projects. It was more realistic than some US projects:
or British:
Colin Bignell
I thought they were largely used on the Caspian?
That is where development and testing took place and, in the event, where most were seen. The Soviet Navy originally ordered 120 vessels and, had they been built, they would have been deployed in the Black Sea fleet and in the Baltic fleet. There was also talk of possible use in some Arctic regions.
Colin Bignell
And where the remains are now:
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