A CONCEPTUAL STUDY FOR A NEW WINGED SURFACE EFFECT VEHICLE SYSTEM

This article describes the results of a feasibility study on a class of winged surface effect vehicles (WSEV's) intended for naval use. The objective of the study was to define a system which would: 1) possess speed and operational capabilities substantially greater than existing surface effect vessels, 2) circumvent size limitations inherent in conventional aircraft designs, and 3) offer an economically and operationally viable alternative to existing water based and/or airborne naval systems for a variety of missions. The proposed WSEV's are a family of low aspect ratio channel shaped vessels operating on the principle of an aerodynamic lifting wing in ground effect during cruise and initially intended for cargo transportation over short-to-intermediate ranges (up to 3000 nautical miles). The proposed configuration is quite flexible, however, and could be suitable for a variety of missions. It is concluded that the proposed WSEV configuration shows substantial promise for satisfying the design objectives specified. However, several aspects of the system require additional research.