Flightship Ground Effect Pty Ltd

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Flightship craft are specifically designed to satisfy the growing marine transport requirements of commercial operators and governments world-wide such as FedEx and DHL type fast freight operations, hotel resorts, customs, coastal surveillance, fisheries protection, military patrols, coastal traders and everyday inter-island passenger and freight transports.

Flightship marine craft are able to transport up to 10 kgs per kW of engine power. This is vastly superior to the typical performance of helicopters at 1.4 kgs/kW, commercial aircraft at 5 kgs/kW, hovercraft at 5.8 kgs/kW and hydrofoils at 6.9 kgs/kW. The FS8 is an extremely high speed high-efficiency marine vessel registered, operated and maintained at typically low marinecraft overheads. At speeds above 50 knots an FS8 lifts totally clear of the water surface to ride a self-generated air-wave known as ground effect. By virtue of Flightship’s specific aerodynamic design, sustainable free flight is not possible above groundeffect. Under United Nations International Maritime Organisation (IM0) legislation ground effect enhanced craft are designated as marine vessels for construction, insurance, operator licensing and registration requirements, thus costing a great deal less than comparable aircraft while able to travel at a comparable speed to a propeller driven aircraft. Flight attitude is extremely stable; no complex aircraft type flight-control training is required. Sea State and wave action has only a very minor effect when airborne. FS8 vessels operate above the water up to around 50% of their wingspan, thus the larger the vessel the higher the surface clearance and wave height capability. The FS8 vessel is typically fitted out as an 8 seat passenger ferry and has a maximum water-surface clearance capability of up to 2 metres over the crests of 2 metre waves, a range of up to 300 nm and a cruising speed of 160 km/h (85 knots).

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