S.A.E. International Congress.: Summaries of a Selection of the Papers Presented at the Meeting Held in Detroit, January 9–13, 1961

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to provide a general survey of the ground effect machine (GEM) or air cushion vehicle including concepts, accomplishments and some of the problems which remain to be solved. These are considered under the headings of effect of size, planform loading and operating height, effects of jet geometry, propulsion and control, and stability. Two typical missions were: (a) a utility vehicle capable of providing air‐cushion capability at every echelon on the battlefields, from which was selected for the first preliminary design study a vehicle having a payload of 2½ tons, a speed of 40 m.p.h., ground clearance of 5 ft., range of 100 miles and a grade capability of 17 deg.; (b) a logistics‐over‐the‐shore (LOTS) vehicle capable of permitting economical off‐loading of cargo vessels dispersed at large depths from the shoreline, from which the second design was selected having a payload of 22,000 lb., a speed of 80 m.p.h., ground clearance of 5 ft., range of 300 miles and a grade capability of 17 deg. Operating cost comparisons are carried out for a variety of operating conditions. It is concluded that the air cushion vehicle offers itself as a new and complementary mode of surface transportation for military applications if considerable work is done in the fields of stability, control, internal flow efficiency, structural and propulsion design, and operating techniques when operating over unprepared terrain.

Citation

(1961), "S.A.E. International Congress.: Summaries of a Selection of the Papers Presented at the Meeting Held in Detroit, January 9–13, 1961", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 33 No. 3, pp. 84-84. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb033387