Wow - imagine this sucker ferrying people along the St. Johns out to the parks, beaches, down the IC, and beyond! Fly to St Aug, Savanah and beyond for cheap fares. Fuel is saved because WIG flying is very cost efficient.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYFEFekPzDM&feature=related
Shoot they come a lot bigger then that!
http://www.vincelewis.net/ekranoplan.html
The commies love em.
Boeing is developing/building a monstrous WIG hybrid called the Pelican for the Navy. Perhaps one day
it will be in Jax.
Ekranoplans and hovercrafts are just around the corner. Ekranoplans will eclipse traditional shipping because they are ridiculously effecient on fuel because of ground effect.
Jax could soon (20 years) a WIG port right on the river where you can fly to Miami, NY or elsewhere for cheap!
Little problem with flying them down the Intracoastal Waterway; bridges and sailboats.
I would only envision it going to St. Augustine down the IC. To go to Miami it would have to hug the coast.
Quote from: rjp2008 on August 05, 2010, 01:39:48 PM
I would only envision it going to St. Augustine down the IC. To go to Miami it would have to hug the coast.
Those bridges and pesky boats are going to be a problem. How do you suppose an aircraft with a 17m (thats like 60ft) wingspan is going to fly down a 200 foot wide canal? Have you even looked at the intercoastal between here and St Augustine?
I forgot how narrow it gets at Ponte Vedra. Just as well, just fly it right out to sea from the St. Johns mouth. A bigger plane could carry 50-70 people down to SA, Daytona, Titusville and SoFla for cheap.
I think a land based or amphibious vehicle similar to the Pelican (but much smaller) would be a better option. Utilize airports or seaports where there is ample room. The option to climb to higher altitude in case of weather, fixed obstacles, land masses, etc would open up greater possibilities for better routes. Say Jax to Texas, you could leave out of the airport here then hop over florida and skim across the gulf.