WIG Amphibians

Lethe · Apr 1, 2015

I am wondering if there has been any consideration in China of the utility of amphibious wing-in-ground effect vehicles for rapid transport of troops and materiel throughout the asia-pacific region, particularly China's island holdings, as an alternative or complement to traditional transport aircraft and amphibious vessels.

Of course the most famous of these types of vessels are the Soviet ekranoplans, with the A-90 Orlyonok perhaps coming closest to what I am envisioning. More recently we have seen Boeing's Pelican and Beriev's Be-2500 concepts, although these are very large/extreme renditions of the concept. In terms of actual Chinese activity in the realm of WIGs, my Google efforts turned up only the very small Xiang Zhou 1 craft.

One thing I would note before kicking off any discussion is that the linked aircraft are all Type-B WIGs, capable of flying at higher altitudes (at reduced efficiency) to avoid ships, obstacles, waves, etc. -- one of the more common objections to the concept.

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delft · Apr 4, 2015

Let me contribute this reference:

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Model of Haidiao H680 ground effect vehicle

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A second model of China’s ‘Caspian Sea Monster’

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A third model of China’s ‘Caspian Sea Monster’

As described in some of my posts, China has been vigorously building artificial islands in the South China Sea for development of fishery, fish farming and tourism. However, it takes too much time to travel to those islands by ships especially for tourism.

If tourists go there by aircrafts, there are no large enough airports with long runways for comfortable aircrafts. Moreover, it is too expensive for low-budget tourists. In the section “China’s ‘Caspian Sea Monster”, Chapter 13 of my book Space Era Strategy, I described China’s ground effect Xiangzhou-1.

I said in the section, it “is a sea skimmer flying at low attitude above ground and sea with a speed much quicker than a ship but slower than an aircraft. When the first such vehicle developed by the Soviet Union appeared for the first time in the Caspian Sea, it was regarded by people as ‘Caspian Sea Monster’.

“Xiangzhou-1 is 12.7 meters long, 11 meters wide and 3.9 meters high with a maximum takeoff weight of 2.5 tons. Its cruise speed ranges between 140 and 160 km/hr. with a maximum speed of 210 km/hr. The speed may be increased to 500 km/hr for a large ground effect vehicle.

“As it uses ground effect, it saves fuel compared with an aircraft but is much quicker than a ship.”

The description of China’s “Caspian Sea Monster” in my book is based on CCTV’s report in May 2014.

The Xiangzhou-1 described by CCTV “is 12.7 meters long, 11 meters wide and 3.9 meters high with a maximum takeoff weight of 2.5 tons. Its cruise speed ranges between 140 and 160 km/hr. with a maximum speed of 210 km/hr. The speed may be increased to 500 km/hr for a large ground effect vehicle.

“As it uses ground effect, it saves fuel compared with an aircraft but is much quicker than a ship.”

According to mil.huanqiu.com’s recent report, China showcased in Zhuhai airshow 2014 only six months later, quite a few models of such vehicles. The largest one Haidiao (sea eagle) H680 is 200-ton grade powered by four jet engines. It seems that China want it to have a speed near 500 km/hr.

The quick development of ground effect vehicles proves China’s real efforts in exploiting energy, fish and tourism resources in the South China Sea.

Here, I post photos of three Chinese models of such vehicle displayed at Zhuhai airshow.

Source: mil.huanqiu.com “Exposure of Chinese version of ‘Caspian Sea Monster’ ground effect vehicles” (summary by Chan Kai Yee based on the report in Chinese)

Source: Chan Kai Yee Space Era Strategy: The Way China Beats The U.S.

These clearly are subjects of research and not yet development. They are not mentioned on the English website of the company.

Lethe · Apr 4, 2015

Thanks for this contribution. Although these are civilian projects, the lessons learned should be applicable to any future military applications, and I hope China is willing to fund such R&D accordingly.

Lack of long runways on many of these islands is certainly part of the attraction of WIG amphibians. One thing I notice about the Beriev/Boeing concepts is their very long range. A design more tightly focused on serving China's island claims would instead trade that fuel for payload.

delft · Apr 4, 2015

A good way to compare vehicles is to look at the lift drag ratio and the operating speed. Ships have generally a low operating speed and a very high lift drag ratio. Transport aircraft have a high speed and much lower lift drag ratio, around 20. WIG craft have lift drag ratios around 50 and a moderate to rather high operating speed, 200 - 500 km/h.
Another point is the need for provisions to land. Ships need harbours, transport aircraft need long runways. A WIG and a flying boat both need enough water with not high waves and a slipway. You see the advantage of the helicopter with its moderate operating speed and pretty bad lift drag ratio but very modest airfield requirements. V-22 and similar V/STOL aircraft have better lift drag ratio than the helicopter but reminds us of the importance of the acquisition and operation costs.
I think there is a place of STOL aircraft that need modest sized runways, that might well be built on the smaller SCS islands, and are cheaper to operate than helicopters and V/STOL aircraft.

PanAsian · Apr 5, 2015

I am wondering how heavy versions of these craft would compare to hovercraft like the Zubr for transport? How do medium weight versions of these craft compare to helicopters or aircraft, or even missile boats, for quick reaction ASW or anti-ship strike missions?

I think the biggest drawbacks to these craft might be much more limited operability in rough weather conditions and more demanding storage versus performance particularly in the SCS area compared to ships, planes, and helicopters. The fuel savings is probably not worth all the other constraints and costs of development given many other readily available options.

delft · Apr 5, 2015

PanAsian said:
I am wondering how heavy versions of these craft would compare to hovercraft like the Zubr for transport? How do medium weight versions of these craft compare to helicopters or aircraft, or even missile boats, for quick reaction ASW or anti-ship strike missions?

I think the biggest drawbacks to these craft might be much more limited operability in rough weather conditions and more demanding storage versus performance particularly in the SCS area compared to ships, planes, and helicopters. The fuel savings is probably not worth all the other constraints and costs of development given many other readily available options.

The larger WIGs would be faster and fly higher so are better fitted to rougher seas. We lack the experience to compare them with ships. We can guestimate what size in which circumstances might be better but we'll have to try it out before we can know. But if it is a matter of escaping bad weather and leave the ASW work to ships I would prefer the WIG over the plane and this one over the helicopter.

TerraN_EmpirE · Apr 5, 2015

massive Wigs have been imagined form time to time particularly by the Russians who flirted with using them for amphibious assault, Even Jeff Head and Boeing did the same but no one has ever actually done it.

delft · Apr 6, 2015

TerraN_EmpirE said:
massive Wigs have been imagined form time to time particularly by the Russians who flirted with using them for amphibious assault, Even Jeff Head and Boeing did the same but no one has ever actually done it.

I imagined that such huge WIGs would be suitable for carrying cargo a little slower and much cheaper than B-747F and similar, a little more expensive and much faster than container ships, between China and the North Atlantic. Too late. By the time they are developed there won't be enough ice in the Arctic Ocean.

TerraN_EmpirE · Apr 6, 2015

So some Claim yet there is still plenty today... Any way, Part of the success of conventional air cargo is it's just that conventional since the infrastructure is already in place and the flights can pull double duty its cost effective also Wigs traditionally operate form port to port across water and that could be a issue as if your cargo is aimed inland it would need to either transition to another means or loose efficacy by gaining altitude. That said I do feel Wigs have a number of potential uses landing craft for troops and Ambulance, ASW, Patrol, the Iranians have a number of small Wigs as patrol craft.
in the civilian sector small high speed ferries for remote islands, Personal Wigs are available Some one or two man units

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larger ones used for Tourism like the DXF100 used for Tours of Lake Tai in the PRC, I image one day A WIG racing circuit where WIGs would race across lakes and courses possibly including small strips of land.

broadsword · Apr 6, 2015

So I would imagine a WIG plane is to be used if there is no sufficient runway and the only surface to land on is water. I think the SCS islands still come to mind. Nevertheless, I wonder how hard it is to add wheels.

WIG Amphibians

Lethe

Captain

delft

Brigadier

Lethe

Captain

delft

Brigadier

PanAsian

Major

delft

Brigadier

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King

delft

Brigadier

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King

broadsword

Brigadier