My defenition of a ground effect vehicle is when it can fly in the ground with a much higher efficiency than flying normally in the air

My best result with free flight ground effect gliders has come from a design with a low wing and high tail, like the Lun/Caspian Sea Monster. I keep the CG pretty far aft, so the tail has to generate lift at all times. The lifting tail is the key.

Perhaps people think being in ground effect is just flying low to the ground, but it's a very different set of flight characteristics when in ground effect. So as you said if it's designed to exploit ground effect as it's primary mode of operation then it's a ground effect vehicle. It would be like saying an off-road vehicle isn't an off-road vehicle because it can still drive on the road. Sure, but that's not what it's design goal was, or what it's best at.

you know you're doing real RC experimentation when a kayak is part of the required kit.

The Caspian sea monster was designed to haul extremely heavy loads. Increase the scale and weight, that should smooth out the rough spots and start getting consistent results.

7:24

I have two proposals/theories/questions:

Great work Daniel!

I think the Ekranoplane was an attempt to reduce shipping costs and times. The idea was air drag is significantly lower than water. If a wing appliance could be developed that would unload the hull enough to eliminate the water contact... you win.

One of the issues I feel is the small size and mass of your models. Wind, turbulence, waves, nature all have a much bigger impact in small craft, than on larger craft. Awrsome video as always.

I'm on the 'make it heavier' side here and think that it would make for a more stable craft since small gusts of wind or waves would have less of an effect on it. Would love to see a full-size ride-able one as well!

I love how you take a theory or idea and just start experimenting whilst recording and narrating the whole process - covering and explaining all the reasons for the failures and successes.

Water can still have an effect on conformal coated electronics through parasitic capacitance, especially at higher frequencies. Conformal coatings are great to protect against moisture and water damage, but they won't necessarily make the electronics 'waterproof' as in 'working when submerged'.

I think the main goal of the GEV was to have a vehicle that could operate at lower throttle and therefor be more efficient, NOT "can only operate in ground effect". That was the original Russian focus, a "fast battleship". An amazing video like always, ignore the haters.

The "doubling down" of what this channel is and resistance to compromise to please everyone make me love this channel even more. I'm not a rc fan, engineer or have any tangible reason I should enjoy this channel. There is some nuances that make this one of my favourite channels. Keep it up. Thanks!

I really enjoy when things come full circle... allows you to really gain some significant understanding/knowledge. Thanks!

I totally agree with you about the power being a defining issue of a “real” ground effect vehicle. In the kite flying community we have a saying that anything can fly if you bridle it right and you have enough wind. 😁

Perfect timing for the upload! I just sat down to eat lunch and I was looking for a video to watch.

Daniel.

As you clearly demonstrated ground effect at this scale is a very delicate balance, I think one thing to consider is that obviously headwinds etc greatly disrupt that balance, and the flight controller currently has no way of compensating for that.