We are particularly pleased to contribute now because it means we can bring real-world challenges and potential applications into the company’s thinking at an early stage… who knows this could be the birth of ferries that fly across the Channel.”įor similar missions, Sea Wolf Express has for several years been planning smaller ekranoplan shuttles for the thirty-minute trip across the Baltic between Tallinn and Helsinki.įranco-Monégasque startup Bubblefly, meanwhile, is moving towards an ‘Uber for private hydrofoil jets’ model, initially with smaller models called the Jet that will cruise at 40 kt (around 75 km/h) carrying 6-8 passengers, but later with the Liner models that will carry around 30 passengers at 25 kt (46 km/h).
“Seaglider is an attractive and exciting concept and we look forward to working with REGENT in the months and years to come. The battery-powered vessels would be a substantial ecological improvement over the ferries that currently ply these routes, even with the liquid natural gas-powered ferries that Brittany Ferries has ordered, which will arrive into service in 20.Īccording to Frédéric Pouget, Brittany Ferries’ ports and operations director, Seagliders are therefore akin to a hovercraft with wings, rather than a skirt.” This is the cushion created by high-pressure air trapped between wings and the ground or water while flying at a low altitude. “They work by harnessing a concept well-known to pilots – ground effect. The battery-powered Seaglider hybrid raises out of the water on its hydrofoils as it accelerates away from the coast, then uses the ground effect for the cruise portion of its trip, explains Brittany Ferries.
Future Projectsįrench Channel specialist Brittany Ferries has signed a letter of intent with Boston-based REGENT for combination hydrofoil-ekranoplans that would seat between 50–150 people and travel at TGV-style speeds of up to 300 km/h, crossing the Channel between Portsmouth and Cherbourg in just 40 minutes.
Innovative sea transportation is back in a big way, whether that’s hydrofoils (essentially underwater wings on stilts that lift a boat out of the water, eliminating the drag of its hull), the “invisible hovercraft” of the ekranoplan, or combinations of both. But with new startups looking at blending these technologies together - building on the tried-and-tested work of public transport providers in key niches worldwide - will a new generation of bullet-train-speed Caspian Sea Monsters arrive to replace ferries, aircraft and even planes? Hydrofoils, ground-effect ekranoplan flying boats, and hybrids of the two… it might sound all a little bit more James Bond than real-world travel.
0 kommentar(er)
