DIY Ekranoplan Takes Flight: Coolest Water Toy Ever?

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Check Out The Coolest Water Toy Series:
NOT a Pool Toy: Manned Boat-Towed Ekranoplan (Build Part 3)
• NOT a Pool Toy: Manne...
Coolest Water Toy Ever? Manned Boat-Towed Ekranoplan (Build Part 2)
• Coolest Water Toy Ever...
Coolest Water Toy Ever? Manned Boat-Towed Ekranoplan (Build Part 1)
• Coolest Water Toy Ever...
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[@TheWhiteDragon3]

Have you heard of the flairboat? It's a ground effect vehicle that was made a while ago that had a layout very similar to yours, except it also had fins(?) or a skirt(?) for lack of better word connecting the ends of the front wings to the back wings. Its only control surface was the rudder, and the roll was aerodynamically stable. Perhaps this addition of a skirt might help funnel air under the wings and increase the air pressure to help stability. Also counterintuitively, your craft might be too light and can generate enough lift to leave the ground effect. Maybe extra weight will help keep it in a safe ground effect as well as lowering its center of gravity to make it easier to control. Otherwise, I'm _really_ impressed with what you've been able to accomplish in a simple home shop. Keep up the good work!

[@snekmeseht]

That extra weight should be movable front-to-back and controlled by a computer and a level sensor.

[@TheWhiteDragon3]

@@snekmeseht Don't know about computer controls since we're trying to keep this backyard shop friendly, but definitely agree on movable mass for trimming thr balance in between runs

[@BartvandenDonk]

@@snekmeseht this weight moving should be all directions I think. Not only front to back. Moreover it should work like feathers on a birds wing. When you look at birds landing they us there feathers to smooth it out. This is also the case with bats. They don't have feathers but a very flexible wing. So maybe some kind of cape like endings on the wings could help? The inflexible wings are working great at the start, but are a pain in flight. It is intuitive that we gave bat- and superman a cape. 😏😁

[@alimertc]

@@snekmeseht or maybe just use flaps?

[@TimeSurfer206]

Also need to make the airfoils tiltable.

[@rctestflight]

So cool! Now it just needs some pitch control so you can fly up out of ground effect 😉

[@thinkflight]

We'll see if weight shift can handle it, if not....

[@2ndch.]

@@thinkflight Weight shift: no moving parts = better Control surfaces: have moving parts =less better

[@LaggerSVK]

@@2ndch. less and sluggish control authority with weight shifting alone.

[@wernerschulte6245]

I agree ! The advantage of having no moving parts is obvious. However, aerodynamic controls act faster and with a bigger range. As an aircrafter I would vote for the pitch control.

[@AZOffRoadster]

@@thinkflight You sound like a true hang glider. KISS.

[@sleeplessstu]

It looks like you’re making good progress on this project… but the BEST part was seeing the pure joy on your face 😁😉 Congrats on a first successful flight ! 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻 BraVO I say !!

[@MrKruz3]

Been waiting for this video! Great Job!

[@jameswhitehurst8640]

I understand your comment about flying something that you have created. You deserve a round of applause and the joy you have already received by completing the project!

[@TNTflames]

This needs way more views! FANTASTIC WORK!

[@AG-Radium]

That looks so freaking cool! Congrats on flying your own creation.

[@SuperRaymondh]

Been waiting, figured it was going to be successful- but so great to see you flying it!!! Amazing idea, engineering, and build. Rock on fellow human. I'll be sharing this with my middle school students.

[@crispinodell519]

Hey I'm just a nobody but I wanted to tell you I absolutely love your videos. Please keep up the creative work. Watching your videos just gets my brains soaring. The possibility of your little flying machine is so cool. Thank you again. I sure hope someone helps you with their boat.

[@marlonvite4152]

Thanks X3 for sharing your video ....watching you fly your creation takes me back to my younger years trying out things I built myself...back then was a bit harder because there were no stores and neither the materials nor tools neither the internet access that we have today .... it was always fun to be the actor, be with the small crow or curious people and friends that had not clue but were the greatest helpers .... it was all fun even after the cuts and bruises..... keeping the creative child in us is really an art with all the adult needs and distractions .... congratulations you have plenty of experience to make it perfect while sharing with others ; )

[@dfunited1]

The Chariot Ekranoplan! I love how you simplified everything so much. No complex circuitry and no control surfaces. I love these small ground effect craft, but instead of spending hours retuning code, you just rode it like a chariot!

[@thinkflight]

Yup, you get it!

[@mcanderson0]

congrats on first flight man, that run looked killer! I love all the Ekranoplan/Ground Effect content you and Daniel have been producing; very cool stuff!

[@weaponeer]

you should switch to a twin tail and larger tails. your body is blanking out the small current tail. plus if you fall back with a twin tail you fall between the tails. (safety) your upright should be held on with break away pins in case you take a nose dive. there are a few other changes I would make but that should get you going.

[@bwalker4194]

What he said!

[@crashalexander7232]

the upright is foam it will break away ...lol.....

[@ingridschellhaas7041]

Impossible to hold the craft manuell against the upcomming wing-in-ground effect forces. Learning by doing is not the right way and will become dangerous. The secrets of the Flairboat are the result of a longtermed R&D.

[@KenRomero]

Hell Yeah - I’ve been waiting for this!

[@matthewsnyder4211]

You did it!!! So happy to see it all come together!!!

[@andik.4235]

Congrats to your own designed and built machine. Awesome.

[@AerialWaviator]

"It's a very efficient way to fly, and now you know why!" (2:06) .. the Ekranoplan way. ♥ Amazing progress, and achievement. Human flight! The ability to control centre of lift, or amount of lift on front wing would help to better manage pitch control. Thinking a simple hinged spoiler (pair) on front wing controlled via a bicycle brake could help? Even if pretty small, spoilers should add just that bit of extra control in addition to weight-shifting to enable endurance runs.

[@Christian-ld3ke]

Great project! If it’s not too much work, can you overlay/pip the current speed in your next video?

[@andymckee53]

I know you already committed to the tandem wing but that is causing the runaway effect once angle of attack increases beyond what your weight shift can counter. If you were to make a new one or modify this design then a larger rear wing with a smaller wing at the front that has a higher angle of incidence would most likely cure that problem. Same as any Canard aircraft configuration works. The front wing stalls first and drives down the front so the rear never stalls. If done right I imagine it could be towed at varying speeds and be self stabilising. Also I wondered about the choice of that single rear fin behind you, if you were to lose grip on the handle and fall backwards then you'd injure yourself on that fin, maybe think about a twin fin design? Love your ambition and that you go out and build and then fly this thing - keep up the great work you're doing on this channel!

[@zxggwrt]

I agree with all of this especially the part about an awesome channel.

[@alargebeaver]

Awesome! Congratulations. I look forward to seeing what the improvements achieve.

[@GomTarner]

That Is EPIC! I sail a foiling Moth and can still remember how cool my first flight was, I can only imagine how good yours felt!

[@TheGazmondo]

I’ve been waiting to see how long it would take for the modern world to realise the efficiency and benefits of ground effect and Ekranoplans This is such a fascinating project, and can’t wait to see how it develops.

[@iaincrockett744]

Congrats! Looks like you had a lot of fun! :)

[@hadleymanmusic]

Spars proove worthy! Thankyou ! Ive been studyin homebuilts for 30 years ,your proof helped show me

[@mduvigneaud]

Man, this is so amazingly awesome!

[@pv2870]

Amazing Vee-hickle. Well done.

[@onewingspanabove]

Nice! Congrats on your first flights!! A dream come true indeed!

[@ninehundreddollarluxuryyac5958]

Good to see it! That was worth waiting for. Hope you get another video out of it.

[@senorkarl]

Love. Can't wait for the next one!

[@rohansully584]

Totally hilarious and cool. Bravo!

[@gefginn3699]

Great post my friend. Super Fun indeed ! 🌞🌴⛵️

[@nickvledder]

Very nice! Deserves follow up in adding some kind of elevator surface and 6-axis-gyro to improve pitch-stability.

[@NielsNL68]

I was also thinking to add a gyro as well and adding some shifting weight that can move back and forward. That said i have no clue on how heavy that wait needs to be and how much can be add to this concept. From what i have you seeing doing it needs to be a good quantity. That makes it quite possible that this idea of my is not able to be used is it?

[@WillBeebe]

Best Squarespace sponsor ad I've seen in a while. Also, fantastic engineering and effort!

[@sealpiercing8476]

That was great. Congratulations!

[@rolexmd69]

that is awesome dude. Don't quit. Please. You are making a change in the world.

[@olafschermann1592]

Great work. Congrats!

[@oneistar6661]

Thank for sharing the joy

[@stevestogsdill5791]

Well done! Congratulations

[@gafrers]

Great. Looks so much fun

[@azimyth1542]

Must have been super satisfying after all that hard work, awesome job!

[@Dangineering]

Absolutely awesome project!

[@EJ-74]

Very cool. That was fun to watch 👍🏻

[@jakubzabocki6182]

I like your plane builds very much sir!

[@metalbotron]

I like it. Safety is first. Flying over water at low speed is practically harmless.

[@supergiantbubbles]

That looks really fun.

[@awesomefeldmanfamily]

THIS IS TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!!!!!

[@skenzyme81]

FINALLY! Let's Gooooo!!!!!

[@brentsinger1980]

That's amazing. Such a lot of work and perseverance. Awesome. BTW I think they used a large horizontal stab that is raised above ground effect to counter the shifting Cp, moment of rotation problem. I'm sure I've seen that in another WIG video. I'm also confident you could do it with a control system that spoils the front wing. Perhaps like a surface follower wand like they use in hydrofoil heave control.

[@nicholasjohnson6724]

Good job, very impressive !

[@joseparedesalbuja8293]

Congratulations, it's a great development. May be you can measure the tension force in the rope for power requeriments calculations. Pitch stability could be improved increasing the angle of attack in the front wing like a canard. Greetings from Ecuador

[@WindCatcherRC]

Congratulations on another great design. That looks like a ton of fun in the water. I was worried you might slip and fall back onto the vertical stabilizer. If your footing is ever an issue, you can add some gritty non-slip surface where your feet go.

[@craigcolavito5606]

Very happy for you.

[@VinceSamios]

Sooooo sick!!

[@konstantinoskatomeris3851]

Very good ... very inspiring!!! Keep going!

[@rafjan111]

That is so cool, I would love to try and fly on it. Would love to see it have some kind of steering.

[@scottcates]

Well done!

[@andylitespeed]

Bravo, awsome work. Best wishes for even more succes from New Zealand.

[@ktor538]

Looks like fun!

[@mp6756]

I had my doubts about the durability of the build but I was wrong completely wrong. I stand corrected with a giant smile on my face because that looks like a lot of fun. Your ambition was rewarded with what a would call a complete success. Very cool build just a fantastic result.

[@JoelRehra]

This is awesome!

[@rhiantaylor3446]

Hugely impressive - great results from a sleek and visually simple design. I did wonder if you could create a more progressive transition from boat to plane if you had some small hydrofoils fitted to reduce drag at the point of leaving/returning to the water's surface ?

[@TimsBitsnPieces]

Awesome.. congrats.

[@richardking6066]

An interesting and fun vee-hickle!

[@irkedoff]

Congratulations!!!

[@7dhninja]

That's awesome!!! congrats on the successful testing and flight. Have you considered something like a hangglider harness setup for your weight shifting?

[@davidregan9872]

Keep it up! You are awesome!

[@davidunderwood1907]

Ahhh anticipated video

[@microbuilder]

So glad it worked, great project! Maybe two handles going front to back, one on each side of you like railings, rather than one right in front of you? Would let you move forward/back more.

[@GulliJ]

Well done guy! You've finally do it ! As I've said previously on ideas, you absolutely need a better vertical rudder. Including basic cablecontrol of whole surface or half if more easy to built. At least 3 or 4x actual vertical surface you have And I think I use this mod benefit to add an horizontal control surface with big dièdre for stability and help controlling the attitude Upper than your own size. And for the center of Gravity, push forward your whole position. After that it will fly forever. Well done 👍 Cheers from France 🇲🇫

[@TomTom-cm2oq]

Awesome!

[@53classics]

Thats so cool!!

[@kaltenbach.alexander]

Seeing the photos is one thing, seeing the video is another. I can’t imagine what’s it’s like to ride it

[@marcusschriever4518]

If you deepen the fuselage, it might allow the wings to gain lift much less aggressively. Also, you could make a handle-operated system to stall part of the front wing, enabling you to recover from high nose moments.

[@SeansLittleBayofHorrors]

That was a great video, Fellow Human.

[@thebalsaboy]

Great video! I love how it looks, flies (well.. not really), and just how it turned out! Keep up the good work! Also, here’s another idea. Giroboat. Pretty much a gyrocopter on a canoe yet again towed via boat. No power needed. That would be fun to see!

[@gainerman]

Look at bensens first gyro gliders from the '60's I have only found a few videos but it looks cool. The costs of the rotors is the painful part

[@BrianVattiat]

hand-operated control surface for pitch? Like a bicycle brake lever controlling an elevator? Just great content, I've been looking forward to this video since you started talking about it.

[@rocketman99]

Dope video man

[@lililililililili8667]

Where can I find plans or information on that wood frame hotwire you used for the wings on the smaller prototype

[@fonwoolridge]

Fantastic job! Alexeyev, Fischer and Jorg would all be proud of you! Bravo dude! I wonder could you sell them as leisure craft, to finance future stuff?!

[@joshuamathis4179]

Been waiting for this! Great job!

[@_SimpleSam]

Do dual throttle handles, attaching them to split elevators (right/left) on the horizontal stabilizer. Set them up so that the natural rotation on the throttles from forward/backward body movement cause the split elevators to counter react. Ergo, knuckle down rotation from leaning forward would send the elevators down, forcing the nose down. Ergo, knuckle up rotation from leaning back would send the elevators up, forcing the nose up. The same would apply to sideways leaning, as well, which would correct for roll. That's the solution.

[@jeffallen3382]

Congratulations!

[@BrianVattiat]

Thanks

[@thinkflight]

Woooowwwww sir that is over the top generous. Gratitude.

[@hissingman]

Красавчик!!! У тебя получилось!!! Я верил в тебя!!!🤙🏻✊🏻👍🏻

[@gonzalobarrosc]

I love this project!! Maybe just changing your handle with side hand rails can fix your pitch control. Regards 😁

[@edwardfletcher7790]

There's a reason why no ground effect prototypes use your 4 wing design. You also need to rethink the amount of vertical stabilisation.

[@aleksjenner677]

Wow that's so well done! Maybe rails on either side of the body would let you move your weight around easier, looks like you're still being restricted by the current handle.

[@nustar1]

I love the skirt idea. Similarly, What about a tube that connects the front and rear wings. After becoming airborne it would open on both ends simultaneously and the excess pressure front would be placed in the rear, and help level the structure.

[@lorriecarrel9962]

Good job

[@sebastienjurkowski]

The thumbnail is epic really.

[@abhiwithwings]

Very nice! consider adding elevators or canards.

[@georgewashington1621]

Whats the takeoff speed? How much power you reckon you'd need to make it self propelled (while still being manned)? And how much weight would a power unit add?

[@houdinisroad7473]

I used to live there and you make it sound like a totally different place to me

[@jimross898]

Cooool!!

[@keithjurena9319]

Instead of weight shift, you could try tow point shifting. Low tow point will help getting in the air, higher tow point will prevent kiting. Sailplanes use a high tow point for aerotow and a belly hook just forward of cg for ground winch/automobile/bungee launch. Winch tows utilize kiting for a parabolic launch curve.

[@iforce2d]

Nice work! I think it will be extremely challenging to fly a canard-style plane with weight-shift alone though. Weight-shift is more suited to a layout that requires less pitch moment, ie. single wing. From the point you're currently at, I wonder if some way of killing lift from the front wing (spoiler maybe?) would be enough to keep it under control - the drag it would cause is not a problem since you're being towed and presumably power is not scarce. Your body might be blanking the vertical stabilizer too.

[@iforce2d]

I just went and watched your build videos. The vertical stab seems big enough that blanking is probably not an issue. Regarding control, how about elevators on just the front wing, controlled by pushing the handlebars (forward to nose down). As well as being able to dump lift quickly to avoid the pitch up problem you had, elevators would let you avoid flying until ready, then use a small quick 'pop' upward instead of a slower movement that goes too far. Having to push forward to nose down would also naturally cause the rider to shift their weight forward a little too. Roll seems like it's ok with weight shift.

[@cloudpandarism2627]

OMG here we go! 🤩cheers from china mate. watching the vid now

[@cloudpandarism2627]

dude... wow that was insane. 😱there was actually some serious airtime in these clips. i still wish there would be some automatic controlled tail surfaces on to increase flight time by gyro. if nose gets too high the tail could push it down again. same for the left and right drifting. seems body weight shift might not be enough? also very nice to hear your happy voice while flying. aw never mind i just remember your voice in the videos already sounds super happy all the time 😜😅

[@ghostindamachine]

Congratulations!! Superrr epic! :-D Moar pls!

[@markmacleod6971]

Awesome...| I think you should incorporate some control surfaces into the craft as well as add another rope release that is controlled by you the piolet. could be an Awesome new water toy that tons of people would buy.

[@arshadmohammed1072]

Is it possible to use a RC flight controller to stabalize the full sized manned version?