EAGES 06 - Tandem Airfoil Flareboats as Efficient WIG Craft - Gunther Jörg

INTRODUCTION

Gunther Jörg is the inventor of the tandem airfoil flareboat, a flying ship which was very simple in appearance and very practical, yet required more than a decade of fine optimization to reach its final form, and even involved 2D airfoil optimization using CFD. The simplicity of the design and the true naval approach of the ship (only a throttle and a wheel – no flaps) helped it win numerous prizes, and numerous ships were designed, from 4 seats up to 12 seats. He is here accompanied by his daughter Ingrid Schellhaas, as a translator but also a commercial representant of the tandem airfoil concept, who pursues the impressive works of her father. Again it was a true chance to share some time with the inventor of one of the type of ground effect ships, and also to see some quite rare videos of their flights. Tandem Airfoil Flareboats are based on the wing-in-ground-effect principle. The special construction of the TAF is a twin-wing-system without elevator and aileron. The construction is self-stabilizing by its shape, using the buoyancy between water surface and wings. With a prototype we investigated experimentally the following performance characteristics like displacement, manoeuvring state, transient from skimming and back, flight in ground-effect. Manned crafts of different sizes and materials confirmed the excellent TAF features. The paper will also address important features of safety and economy as well as international acceptance by the International Maritime Organization. NOTE Video quality is below average due to the state of the VHS. We are deeply sorry for this as it does not reflect the quality of the material presented here.

ABSTRACT

Tandem Airfoil Flareboats are based on the wing-in-ground-effect principle. The special construction of the TAF is a twin-wing-system without elevator and aileron. The construction is self-stabilizing by its shape, using the buoyancy between water surface and wings. With a prototype we investigated experimentally the following performance characteristics like displacement, manoeuvring state, transient from skimming and back, flight in ground-effect. Manned crafts of different sizes and materials confirmed the excellent TAF features. The paper will also address important features of safety and economy as well as international acceptance by the International Maritime Organization. NOTE Video quality is below average due to the state of the VHS. We are deeply sorry for this as it does not reflect the quality of the material presented here.

VIDEO

PAPER

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