EAGES 07 - A Practical Guide to Building Ekranoplan (WIG) Models - Graham Taylor MBA

INTRODUCTION

Graham Taylor is a true ground effect enthusiast. By then he was running a website called the “Ekranoplan Man” where he shared pictures and videos of his scaled models inspired by the Russian and German flying ships and hydrofoils. Youtube would have been his second home, had it existed. He was also very interested in the economical efficiency of the flying ships, and had published some papers adding economical hindsight in what was at the time a very technically oriented environment. This meeting helped create bonds between him and Hanno Fischer, which would lead to the creation of the Hypercraft company. Here Graham kindly agreed to make a paper to help students gain time in designing a radio controlled ground effect model, the first step to really experience the difficulty of this type of technology. Later that day Graham made a demonstration of this model on the Canal du Midi, adding demonstration to theory.

ABSTRACT

During the last 50 years scientists professors and students have written many learned papers which explore the complexities of ground effect aerodynamic theory. Although these theories may be visualised in the minds eye, the underlying objective of such work is to realise the WIG concept in physical reality. Research facilities around the world have produced some very significant models and dramatic prototypes, but the cost of such work can appear off-putting to those without strong financial backing. This paper demonstrates how accessible the subject of WIG really is and how, with very few facilities and at very little cost, it is possible to build a working model to explore the WIG phenomenon. The first part of this paper discusses the authors’ experiments, while the second explores approaches to making a successful model. As this paper is about the authors’ experiences it is written in the first person. NOTE The discussion was recorded but Graham had had his microphone taken from him, making his answers so low they are not understandable and hence were edited and cut.

VIDEO

PAPER

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