III USOO5697468A

United States Patent 19 11 Patent Number: 5,697,468

Russell, Jr. et al. (45) Date of Patent: Dec. 16, 1997
54 SPOLERSYSTEM FOR GROUND EFFECT 56) References Cited
WEHICLES
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
(75) Inventors: William F. Russell, Jr., Westport, 2,261,363 11/1941 Griswold, 2d .......................... 24423
Conn.; John Roncz, Elkhart, Ind. 3,144220 8/1964 Kittelson ........ ... 244,203
3.261,419 7/1966 Kaario ........ ... 180/120
73) Assignee: Flarecraft Corporation, Westport, 3,627,235 12/1971 Lippisch ..... ... 244/12.
Conn. 3,331,887 8/1974 Fosness ...... ... 244f12.1
3,860,200 1/1975 Petrushka ... ... 244/12.1
21 Appl. No.: 706,747
O Y is 9 5,314,035 5/1994 Schoell. 80/117 X
5,335,742 8/1994 Blum ....................................... 180117
22 Filed: Sep. 9, 1996 5,566,775 10/1996 Schoel ............................... 80/117 X
Related U.S. Application Data Primary Examiner-Victor E. Johnson
e pplication Ua Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Lieberman & Nowak, LLP
63 Continuation of Ser. No. 407,599, Mar. 20, 1995, aban- 57 ABSTRACT
doned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 317,496,
Oct. 4, 1994, abandoned. A ground effect vehicle wherein a flap coupled to a spoiler
(51) Int. Cl. ................. B60V 1/08; B60V 1/11 is provided on the wings in order to break lift when the craft
52 U.S. Cl. ....................... 180/116; 180/118; 244/203; starts to leave ground effect travel in order to avoid flight out
244/213 of ground effect.
58) Field of Search ............ ............... 180/116, 117.
180/118, 120; 244/12.1, 203, 213 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets
U.S. Patent Dec. 16, 1997 Sheet 1 of 3 5,697,468

s
U.S. Patent Dec. 16, 1997 Sheet 2 of 3 5,697,468
U.S. Patent Dec. 16, 1997 Sheet 3 of 3 5,697,468

FIG. 4

74 82 AW. 26

FIG. 4A

N 62
E-3, 73's.
 5,697,468
1. 2
SPOLERSYSTEM FOR GROUND EFFECT altitudes, this pressure appears only in a narrow region of the
WEHICLES under surface of the wing, near the leading edge.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
Vehicles which utilize the ground effect principle have
APPLICATIONS
designs which attempt to spread this high pressure or ram
pressure area throughout the entire underside of the vehicle.
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. One known design of a wing for ground effect vehicles
08/407.599, filed Mar. 20, 1995, now abandoned, which is includes the placing of the trailing edge of the wing as close
itself a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/317,496, filed to the water surface as possible. By this design the entire
Oct. 4, 1994, now abandoned. space under the wing is rammed full of slow moving air,
O whose pressure is now close to the stagnation value. Ground
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION effect vehicles attempt to maximize slow moving or stagnate
1. Field of the Invention air under the wing's surface, thereby increasing the effi
ciency of the vehicle in ground effect flight. The prior art
The invention relates to the transportation industry, and, teaches that the ideal design would seal the trailing edge of
in particular, to craft that are able to travel at low altitudes 15 a ground effect craft's wing perfectly against the land or
over water and land, based on ground effect principles. water in order to achieve full stagnation pressure under the
2. Background Information wing, thereby creating the greatest amount of lift for the
Conventional boats, long the choice for travel across craft and be the most efficient. This has generally found to
expanses of water, have a number of disadvantages when be impractical, however, due to the fact that no surface is
used as modes of transportation. Since conventional boats completely flat and in the case of water there must be wave
are constantly displacing water they are limited in speed due clearance. This clearance is necessary in order to avoid
to hydrodynamic drag. Hydrodynamic drag slows conven damage to the wing or the craft.
tional boats due to both friction and the surface tension One disadvantage that is inherent in most designs for
which makes the water adhere to the boat. Due to this drag, ground effect vehicles which try to achieve the "perfect seal"
conventional boats require powerful motors to achieve high is that the designs call for the trailing edge of the wing to be
speeds and are fuel inefficient. In addition, the ride in a the lowest point on the craft. This means that the trailing
conventional high power boat is rough due to the fact that edge is the last surface of the craft to leave the water and the
the boat will hit every wave crest. surface upon which the craft lands. The trailing edge of the
Another choice for travelis a light plane. However, planes 30
wing therefore bears much, if not most, of the brunt of
are expensive due to high insurance, regulation and licens takeoffs and landings. In order to strengthen the trailing
ing costs. edge, some designers have added weight to that portion of
For more than sixty years, the principles of "ground the wing. This added weight, however, changes the center of
effect' have been known and have been used with mixed gravity of the craft.
success to provide craft that can fly at very low altitudes over Despite the impracticality of achieving the "perfect seal",
water and land, thus providing a method of avoiding the 35 ground effect travel is highly efficient because hydrody
disadvantages of conventional boats and light planes. Craft namic drag is greatly reduced, if not eliminated, once the
that cruise in the cushion of air provided by the pressure ground effect craft leaves the water and reaches cruising
between the wings and the ground or water take advantage speed and altitude.
of "ground effect." Craft that utilize the principles of Other sources of drag, including skin friction and wake
"ground effect" avoid contact with the water at cruising drag, remain. In addition, the higher-pressure air in the flow
speed, thus avoiding the disadvantages associated with underneath the wing spreads outward, towards the wing tips.
hydrodynamic drag, and operate much more smoothly and The low pressure flow on the top of the wing is pushed
efficiently than conventional boats. Furthermore, if a inward by the atmospheric pressure, towards the fuselage. At
"ground effect” craft is made incapable of achieving normal 45 the tip of each wing, the higher pressure air from underneath
flight, the high costs of planes can be avoided. the wing spills off and curls upward into the low pressure
"Ground effect" can be best defined through an analysis of zone above the wing and wraps around it to form a wing tip
Bernoulli's Principle. Bernoulli's Principle observes that as vortex. Power is necessarily consumed in generating these
air gains speed, it loses pressure; as it loses speed, it gains vortices and the result is called induced drag.
pressure. Kinetic energy and pressure are mutually inter The velocity field of the wing tip vortices creates a
changeable forms of energy in a fluid such as air. downwash, thereby slanting the entire airflow downward
Normally air moves in straight lines. As air moves past an slightly. Lift acts perpendicular to the air flow, so this
object, the normal straight-line flow is deflected into longer downwash tilts the lift vector back slightly. The tilted vector
paths around the object. The long path forces the flow to is composed of a vertical component (true lift) and a smaller
speed up, thereby momentarily losing pressure. If an object 55 horizontal component (induced drag).
is asymmetrical, the flow path along the longer side will During ground effect travel there is no place for the
cause the air to speed up and thus momentarily have a loss downwash to go, so the lift vector returns to near vertical;
of pressure. Wings are an example of asymmetrical objects and, its horizontal component (induced drag) becomes very
and are designed so that the loss of pressure on the top of the small. The reduction in induced drag is one of the most
wing is greater than underneath the wing in order to induce desirable features of travel according to ground effect
lift. Symmetrical wings also work well in ground effect as principles, because it greatly reduces the power that is
long as they are at an angle to the ground. required for moving the craft
The highest positive pressure that can act on a wing is In conventional air flight, peak pressure on the wing's
stagnation or ram pressure. This occurs when flowing air is under surface is located near the leading edge. In ground
brought to rest or stagnated. When this occurs all of the 65 effect, however, the high pressure spreads to cover most of
kinetic energy of the air is transformed into pressure. During the under surface. The center of lift moves rearward, thereby
conventional air flight of air planes at normal cruising causing the wing to pitch down as it settles into ground effect
 5,697,468
3 4
and to pitch upward as it rises out from ground effect. Stable first. This results in the trailing edge being lowered into the
ground effect travel would be difficult if the craft nosed over water, thus inhibiting takeoff. The ability to take off without
as it approached the surface, which is what will happen with rotating the craft is desirable and will result in early achieve
typical wing planforms. ment of ground effect flight.
In the prior art, one way to make the wing pitch stable was
to sweep the tips forward, thereby creating a reverse-delta SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
platform. In free flight, lift decreases towards the wing tips, The present invention relates to the addition of a feature
because the high pressure from beneath the wing spills off to the design of craft used for ground effect travel. A ground
the tips. In ground effect, this spillage is greatly reduced by effect craft is provided with excess power to ensure that it
the closeness to the surface, so the wing gains lift fastest at 10
can lift off from the water and achieve ground effect flight
the tips. As a reverse delta wing settles into ground effect
travel, its tips lift faster than the remaining portion of the in a reasonably short distance. However this excess power is
wing. Because the wings are swept far forward, the lift near enough to enable the craft to achieve conventional air flight
the tips helps to counters the natural pitch down tendency. and be classified as an airplane (with the attendant licensing
There are a number of patents which deal generally with 15
and regulatory costs). In order to achieve the desired effect
the use of ground effect to attempt to provide more efficient of avoiding conventional air flight, a coupled spoiler system
travel over water or land. Such patents include for example, is added to the design of the wing comprising a flap on the
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3.190,582, 3,627,235, 3.661,111, 3,830,179 underside of the wing and a spoiler on the top of the wing.
and 3,830.448, all to Lippisch. This coupled spoiler system acts to break lift whenever the
The ground effect craft disclosed in Lippisch and others in craft starts to leave ground effect travel and prevents the
use have encountered certain problems that have prevented craft from achieving conventional air flight.
widespread use. As discussed above, there are problems BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
inherent in the designs which maintain the trailing edge of
the wing as the lowest point on the craft in order to achieve FIG. 1 represents a perspective view of a ground effect
the perfect seal. 25 vehicle according to the present invention;
If the craft loses the benefits of ground effect travel, the FIG. 2 is a front overview of the vehicle depicted in FIG.
craft becomes airborne, which can be dangerous to a craft 1;
not designed for normal flight. Furthermore, the federal FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of one wing of the vehicle
regulations that apply to airplanes would have to be applied of FIG. 2 taken at line 3-3, illustrating the air flows found
to ground effect craft if they were capable of conventional 30 during ground effect flight;
air flight, thus undermining some of the cost benefits of FIG. 4 is another cross-section view of one wing of the
ground effect travel. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a vehicle of FIG. 2 taken at line 4-4, illustrating the coupled
way of automatically preventing the ground effect craft from spoiler system of the present invention in ground effect
achieving conventional air flight. flight;
Another inefficiency found in prior art ground effect craft 35
is caused by the power necessary to achieve ground effect FIG. 4a is another cross-section view of one wing of the
flight. The conventional ground effect craft starts and ends vehicle of FIG. 2 taken at line 4-4, illustrating the coupled
its trip in water. While it is in the water the craft is subject spoiler of the present invention in the position necessary to
to the same hydrodynamic drag that makes a boat so prevent normal flight from occurring.
inefficient. At low speeds, when the craft is in displacement DETALED DESCRIPTION OF THE
mode, hydrodynamic drag increases. It takes high powered PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
engines to produce the thrust necessary to overcome the
hydrodynamic drag, which increases as as the square of the While the invention will be described in connection with
speed. This primary source of drag does not disappear until a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that it is not
the craft achieves ground effect flight. Since water is 850 45 intended to limit the invention to the described embodiment,
times denser than air, the drag is highest when the craft is On the contrary, it is intended to cover all alternatives,
still in the water. Therefore, it is obviously of value to break modifications and equivalents as may be included within the
the surface in order to achieve ground effect flight as soon spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended
as possible. claims. The features of this invention can be utilized with
One of the most disadvantageous aspects of the prior art 50 any design or construction of a ground effect vehicle that is
craft is that they must be overpowered in order to produce known in the art.
the necessary thrust to overcome the hydrodynamic drag and Turning to FIGS. 1 and 2, the ground effect craft 10 has
achieve ground effect flight. The conventional ground effect a fuselage 12 within which there is a cabin and cockpit for
craft is powered by an engine coupled to a propeller. This passengers and a pilot. Adequate room may be provided in
combination must produce enough thrust to overcome the 55 the fuselage for storage of various types of cargo. At the
drag, but once ground effect flight is achieved, a strong bottom of the fuselage 12 is a hull 14 which in the preferred
engine is not necessary to maintain travel and increase embodiment of the invention is the lowest point on the craft
speed. The number of passengers and payload is limited due and is the surface from which the craft takes off and lands.
to the extra power needed to overcome the initial drag. It is One preferred design of the hull 14 includes a number of
therefore desirable to provide an alternative power source to surfaces 16 and 18 to make the hull 14 travel more efficiently
the craft for times when high power is needed and to enable through the water. Wings 20 and 22 are provided at the side
the alternative power source to be disconnected when of the fuselage 12. In most applications, the standard reverse
ground effect flight is achieved. This would enable the use delta ground effect wing may be used. The wing span of the
of smaller, more efficient engines to be used only during craft can be any length, but in the preferred embodiment, the
ground effect flight. wingspan is approximately twenty-one feet. In the preferred
Another disadvantage in the prior art craft is the fact that, embodiment the wings 20 and 22 are each provided with a
by design, the nose of ground effect craft leave the water leading edge 24 and 24a and trailing edges 26 and 26a.
 5,697.468
5 6
While prior art designs have required that the trailing one feature of the present invention. Illustrated is a coupled
edges 26 and 26a be the lowest point on the craft and prior spoiler system which, in one embodiment comprises a
designers have believed that the closer the trailing edge is to spoiler 60 and a bottom flap 80. The spoiler 60 and bottom
the surface to be traveled, whether water or land, the better flap 80 can be made of any configuration. The leading edge
lift is achieved, the inventors of the present invention have of the spoiler 60 and flap 80 are connected to the top 72 and
surprisingly discovered that there is constant lift up to bottom 78 of the wing by a hinge 62 and 82 respectively. The
approximately five inches off the surface. This discovery has hinges 62 and 82 are preferably piano hinges.
allowed the design of the craft 10 of the present invention to In one preferred embodiment, a channel 84 is furnished
place the trailing edges 26 and 26a off the water or land and
higher up on the hull 14 than other conventional ground which travels from the top of the wing 72 to the bottom of
effect craft. This is illustrated by the positioning of the 10 the wing 78. Through this channel 84 is placed a pipe or rod
trailing edges 26 and 26a above the hull 14 at a point where 86 which is attached to the spoiler 60 and the bottom flap 80.
the trailing edges 26 and 26a are above the surface to be The channel 84 has a wide enough diameter to accommodate
travelled at a distance of up to five percent of the wing span the rod 86 as it moves up and down within the channel. In
of the craft. In the preferred embodiment which has a the desired ground effect state, the bottom flap 80 hangs
wingspan of approximately twenty one feet, it is preferred s down from the underside 78 of the wing 20, undisturbed by
that the trailing edges 26 and 26a of the wings is approxi the stagnant air 74 and the spoiler 60 is flat on the top side
mately six inches above the water or the land. This place 72 of the wing 20.
ment of the trailing edges 26 and 26a allows the hull 14 to Turning to FIG. 4a the effect of a rise in altitude is
absorb the brunt of the impact of take offs and landings illustrated. As the craft speeds up it will increase in height
while still allowing for the lift due to ground effect, above the water (or land surface). The air will no longer be
At the outer edge 28 of each wing 20 and 22, downwardly trapped under the wing, and instead begins to flow normally.
extending pontoons 30 and 30a may be positioned, along This results in moving air 100 passing under the bottom 78
with upwardly extending winglets 32 and 32a. Along a rear of the wing 20. As this normal airflow under the wing
surface 34 and 34a of the winglets, rudders 36 and 36a may resumes, the additional lift provided by ground effect pres
be provided. sure disappears, and the induced drag increases dramatically
Extending upward from the rear of the hull 14, twin because the tip vortices can now form. The decrease in lift
vertical stabilizers 40 and 42 may be provided. In another and increase in drag as the craft gains height helps to keep
embodiment a single vertical stabilizer is provided. A hori the craft at low altitudes. As discussed above, regular air
Zontal stabilizer 44 preferably connects the upper edges of flight is not desired in a ground effect craft.
the vertical stabilizers 40 and 42. When the trailing edge of the wing 26 is touching the
One preferred embodiment of the craft of the present water, the airspeed under the wing would be zero. As an
invention includes a propeller engine combination for pow illustration, if one tried to fly a flag under the wing under this
ering the craft. On the top of the fuselage 12, a housing 38 condition, it would hang limp, regardless of the speed of the
is provided. Within the housing 38, a motor is positioned to 35 craft. But as the craft gains altitude, the airspeed under the
which a multi-bladed ducted fan 46 is attached. wing increases and the flag would start flying. Moving air
One of the features of the invention is that it provides a has kinetic energy which, when brought to a stop, creates a
means for preventing the craft 10 from achieving conven pressure known as dynamic pressure, which can be com
tional air flight. One way of preventing this air flight is a puted as one half the air density times the airspeed
coupled spoiler system, which is shown in part in FIGS. 1 (measured in feet per second) squared. Thus doubling the
and 2 as spoilers 60 and 60a on the top of the wings 20 and speed increases the dynamic pressure by a factor of four. In
22. These spoilers 60 and 60a are attached to the top of the this invention the increase in dynamic pressure pushes on
wing by means of a hinge 62 and 62a, preferably a piano the bottom flap 80 which in turn activates the spoiler 60 on
hinge. This feature of the present invention is illustrated in top of the wing. This works well because near the water
more detail and explained more fully in FIGS. 3, 4 and 4a. 45 almost all the lift is coming from the bottom of the wing, but
FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the wing 20 of FIG. 2 at once the craft gains altitude, most of the lift comes from the
line 3-3. The wing 20 has a leading edge 24 and a trailing top of the wing.
edge 26. The airflow is shown by horizontal lines 70 which The coupled spoiler system acts to prevent the craft from
travel over the top side 72 of the wing 20. The close to achieving conventional air air flight. When the craft gains
vertical lines 74 illustrate the stagnant air which forms the altitude and the air 100 under the wing 20 begins to flow, the
ram pressure and allows the high pressure lift of ground dynamic pressure of the air increases as the craft speeds up
effect. This stagnant air 74 is trapped between the water until there is sufficient air power to push the bottom flap 80
surface 76 and the under side of the wing 78. In close towards its retracted position illustrated in FIG. 4a. Since the
proximity to the ground, the stagnant air 74 remains nearly spoiler 60 and flap 80 are coupled by the rod 86, the
motionless and thus ground effectlift is maintained. Spoilers 55 movement of flap 80 causes the spoiler 60 to rise above the
are well known in the art of airplanes. However,the appli top of the wing 20. The effect of the deployment of spoiler
cation of a spoiler system to a ground effect vehicle to ensure 60 is to disturb the flowing air 70, disrupting the wing's
that the ground effect vehicle does not leave ground effect is ability to produce lift and increasing its drag. When spoiler
new. Therefore, any spoiler system which acts to cause a 60 is fully opened, it completely disrupts the flow of air
breakdown of lift above the wings upon the disappearance of above the wing, creating whorls 102. The resulting loss of
stagnant air under the wings will work to maintain a ground lift will prevent the ground effect craft from increasing its
effect vehicle in ground effect flight. Therefore, the design of height above the surface. Eventually, the craft will stabilize
a spoiler for the inventive function is dependent on the at a height at which the spoiler is only partially deployed.
design of the specific ground effect craft to which it is to be By varying the size or mechanical advantage of the flap 80
applied. on the bottom of the wing, or the size or configuration of the
Turning to FIG.4, a cross-section view of wing 20 of FIG. spoiler 60 above the wing or the relative gearing ratio
2 at line 4-4, there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of between the two, the effect of the inventive spoiler system
 5,697.468
7 8
can be tailored to keep the craft at a desired height for a large 5. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the vehicle propulsion
variety of ground effect vehicles. means comprises: a multi-bladed, ducted fan attached to a
We claim: motor, the fan/motor combination disposed inside a housing,
1. A vehicle capable of ground effect mode travel over or the housing mounted on top of the fuselage.
on water or land, said vehicle comprising: 5 6. A vehicle capable of ground effect mode travel over or
a fuselage; on water or land said vehicle comprising:
a hull disposed below the fuselage, the hull having a left a fuselage;
side and right side; a hull disposed below the fuselage, the hull having a left
a pair of opposite side wings attached to the fuselage, each 10 side and a right side;
wing having a top surface, a bottom surface and an a pair of opposite side wings attached to the fuselage, each
outer edge; wing having a top surface. a bottom surface and an
vehicle propulsion means attached to the fuselage for outer edge;
propelling the vehicle at ground effect flight; and vehicle propulsion means attached to the fuselage for
means for automatically adjusting the vehicle altitude to 15
propelling the vehicle at ground effect flight; and
prevent conventional air flight wherein said means for means for automatically adjusting vehicle altitude to
automatically adjusting said vehicle altitude to prevent
conventional air flight comprises a spoiler system on prevent conventional air flight wherein said means for
each wing, said spoiler system comprising: automatically adjusting said vehicle altitude to prevent
a downwardly depending flap attached to a hinge on the conventional air flight comprises a spoiler system on
bottom surface of the wing, the flap being capable of each wing said spoiler system comprising:
shifting position in reaction to air flow along the a downwardly depending flap attached to a hinge on the
bottom surface of the wing; and bottom surface of the wing the flap being capable of
a spoiler connected to a hinge on the top surface of the shifting from a deployed position to a retracted
wing, said flap and said spoiler being operably 25 position and from said retracted position to said
connected together whereby when said flap shifts deployed position in reaction to air flow along the
position in an upward direction in reaction to airflow bottom surface of the wing; and
along the bottom surface of the wing, said spoiler a spoiler coupled to the flap such that said spoiler is
shifts position to prevent conventional air flight. deployed into the airflow along the top surface of the
2. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein a pontoon is attached to wing of the vehicle as said flap is shifted into said
and downwardly extended from the outer edge of each of the retracted position to thereby disrupt the air flow
wings. along the top surface of the wing, and said spoiler is
3. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein a vertical stabilizer is retracted out of the air flow along the top surface of
attached to and upwardly extended from each side of the the wing of the vehicle as said flap is shifted into said
hull, each vertical stabilizer having an upper edge. 35 deployed position.
4. The vehicle of claim 3 wherein a horizontal stabilizer
is attached to the upper edges of each vertical stabilizer. ck sk. : k sk