With a renewed interest in
high-speed travel over water, the designers at Surface-Effect
Travel have developed a series of 80 knot surface-effect
vehicles. Designed
to carry from 6 to 10 passengers, these "green tech" (hybrid: electric +
LNG) craft fly just above the water in "surface effect".
In so doing, they provide immediate facility for carrying people and gear
safely to and from marinas, hotels, airports, beachfront resorts,
or virtually any beach, lake, river or ocean.
Wing in Surface-Effect Vehicle -
Front View
8 passenger wing-in-ground-effect ship in flight -
FlightShip in Australia
Our models include the best elements of surface-effect
travel developed over the past half-century in Europe, Asia, and
the former Soviet Union - especially the Beriev Design
Bureau. Reviewing all these, we have added a few changes
of our own to create the next generation of safe, economical, GREEN
transport. This system provides end-to-end environmentally
clean travel with proven components (over 85 percent of
parts intended for the SEV are currently in production by
existing marine, auto, GPS, and
electronics manufacturers).
History of Ground Effect Aviation - seagull in flight
The company intends to partner with key manufacturers for production
in North America and Asian, Caribbean and European
markets.
Drive trains initially will be selected from manufacturers
with proven hybrid production, such as Toyota, Lexus, Honda,
etc. Combined with LNG or CNG fuel, these craft provide quiet,
efficient travel at speeds up to three times ANY
commercial marine vessel in use today - at fuel costs of less than 30 cents
per passenger seat mile.
Sample Routes on the West
Coast
The
SF Bay Area includes San Jose, East Palo Alto, SFO, Oakland,
Berkeley as well as Larkspur, San Rafael and Vallejo. This
is a
world-class seaport with 2.3 million
containers shipped through Oakland per year. Our craft can
link most of the Bay Area with priority dock-to-dock service
in less than 30 minutes - with some routes in less than 15
minutes.
From
To
Miles
Hr Min
Emeryville
San Francisco
8
10
San Rafael
San Francisco
20
15
San Jose
San Francisco
30
25
San Francisco
Sacramento
90
1:15
San Francisco
Carmel
95
1:20
San Francisco
Eureka
280
3:30
San Francisco
Marina del
Rey
400
4:45
Marina del Rey
M
arina del Rey offers ideal proximity to Newport Beach, Dana
Point, Malibu, and Santa Barbara.
This is one of the most spectacular harbors in southern
California - located just below Santa Monica and due north
of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Cruising at 75
to 80 mph above the waves, a number of marinas and seaports
will be within 2 hours flight time from Marina del Rey, with
shorter routes under 20 minutes.
From
To
Miles
Hr Min
Malibu
Marina del
Rey
15
12
Marina del Rey
Catalina
Island
40
35
Catalina Island
Long Beach
26
22
Newport Beach
Marina del
Rey
90
1:15
Santa Barbara
Marina del
Rey
95
1:20
San Diego
Marina del
Rey
140
1:50
San Francisco
Marina del
Rey
400
4:45
These
are several routes in consideration for California. The most
efficient range in terms of distance lies between 25 and 150
miles. Airlines seldom serve routes under 150 miles - it is
not cost effective or practical. Water taxis or ferries
primarily operate distances of 60 miles or less. Otherwise,
at sea, it just takes too long to get anywhere at cruising
speeds of 15 to 25 knots.
Our
design is based upon proven technology flight-tested in
Germany, Japan and the former Soviet Union. Five key
benefits of our vehicle: (1) aircraft speed & convenience,
(2) competitive fare structure, (3) hybrid (gas + electric)
efficiency, (4) LPG or propane powered, and (5) assembly
using automobile & marine-grade components. Surface-effect
vehicles operate under U.S. Coast Guard guidelines.
San Francisco: currently there are
few options in getting across the SF Bay: driving over the
San Rafael or Golden Gate
Bridge, riding on BART, or taking a ferry from Larkspur
or Oakland into San Francisco. The fastest
ferry travels at 35 knots and will bring you to San Francisco in about 25 minutes. BART
takes roughly 20 min from downtown Oakland. There are no predictable
times for driving. During peak times it can take hours -
affecting not only commuters, but
UPS, FEDEX, and all other commercial or transit service.
In other words, any company that operates a truck, van or car.
Our surface-effect vehicle is designed to cross the
San Francisco Bay in under 15 minutes, with service to
Palo Alto or Sacramento in about an hour. These
craft have also been developed to provide
same-day dock-to-dock courier service for electronic
media, time-sensitive documents, original artwork, and
other high priority materials - at very competitive
rates. Most priority documents are sent overnight
(one-day delivery). SAME DAY delivery within the general
Bay Area is only available at significantly higher cost
via specialized couriers. The opportunity is to
provide quiet cost-effective same-day dock-to-dock delivery
on
routes in any bay, river or coastal area.
* Note: the video clip
below captures a vehicle in flight similar to our design. Our
craft will fly like this - but much more quietly - with
better insulation, sound system, hybrid drive, GPS
display, etc.
- 6 pass twin-rudder Wing In Surface Effect vehicle -
