DIY Ekranoplan Takes Flight: Coolest Water Toy Ever?

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Coolest Water Toy Ever? Manned Boat-Towed Ekranoplan (Build Part 2)
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Coolest Water Toy Ever? Manned Boat-Towed Ekranoplan (Build Part 1)
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[@BrianVattiat]

Thanks

[@thinkflight]

Woooowwwww sir that is over the top generous. Gratitude.

[@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 !!

[@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!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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 ; )

[@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.

[@Christian-ld3ke]

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

[@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!

[@TomGarner4505]

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!

[@matthewsnyder4211]

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

[@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.

[@MrOleganjan]

TAB-VII-5,TAB-VI1-5

[@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!

[@iaincrockett744]

Congrats! Looks like you had a lot of 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.

[@andik.4235]

Congrats to your own designed and built machine. Awesome.

[@rolexmd69]

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

[@hadleymanmusic]

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

[@skenzyme81]

FINALLY! Let's Gooooo!!!!!

[@erictaylor5462]

I volunteered with a ski school that specialized in teaching disabled people how to ski. In 1980 they taught me to ski when I was 10, then again when I was about 22 and went from skiing "2 track" to skiing "3 track" In the winter they teach snow skiing, in the summer they teach water skiing. As water skiing for some disabled people means tying the ski to the boat (if they can't hold the rope). This means a quick release on the boat, and someone ready to release the rope the instant the person fell or signaled they wanted to stop. Dragging disabled people through the water is 100% politicly in correct, also, it is not very fun to experience. I know, all the volunteers had to experience being dragged through the water for a couple of seconds, just so we would be motivated to pay close attention to the skier and be ready to release the rope. In some cases (like me) this involved dragging disabled people through the water, but it was done for a good reason, so it was okay. That was the most satisfying and rewarding jobs I have ever had, paid or volunteer. The system we used was way more simple that your method. There was a link between the rope and the boat. A small tug opened the link and the rope was released.

[@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

[@ninehundreddollarluxuryyac5958]

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

[@gefginn3699]

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

[@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.

[@onewingspanabove]

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

[@_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.

[@pv2870]

Amazing Vee-hickle. Well done.

[@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 🇲🇫

[@metalbotron]

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

[@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

[@azimyth1542]

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

[@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.

[@billS-c3n]

Glad to see you didn't hurt yourself. A better control system might be two poles taller than you, connected at the top and side wired to both leading and trailing edges of the wingtips. Or, if you have sufficient backing for two struts per pole, you wont have to make the control poles that high. But you will need at least two struts per side, forward and trailing to make a captured triangle. On launch you can walk through the control frame and hold on with arms behind you. Remember that boat speed does not necessarily equal airspeed. They sell cheap digital anemometers nowadays that plug into your phone. At least she flew. Too much more time investment into this may prove frustrating as one bad landing will result in serious structural failure. But hey, you did it and that must feel amazing. Grats!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@joshuamathis4179]

Been waiting for this! Great job!

[@mduvigneaud]

Man, this is so amazingly awesome!

[@jakubzabocki6182]

I like your plane builds very much sir!

[@rohansully584]

Totally hilarious and cool. Bravo!

[@rafjan111]

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

[@EJ-74]

Very cool. That was fun to watch 👍🏻

[@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 ?

[@Dangineering]

Absolutely awesome project!

[@gonzalobarrosc]

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

[@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.

[@supergiantbubbles]

That looks really fun.

[@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.

[@senorkarl]

Love. Can't wait for the next one!

[@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

[@robertosfield]

Awesome achievement to get some air on such a novel craft. Held up well to the mishaps too, so design and construction have proven to be in the right ballpark. Looking at the flights it looks like there may be a few tweaks you could make to help with stability and control: The combined centre of mass of the craft and pilot is above the centre of lift, drag and the tow rope connection. Even without the COP changes as you go from float, to ground effect to flight away from ground effect, having a high COM complicates stability and control. If possible I would recommend lowering the combined combined centre of mass, The easiest way to achieve this would be to lower the pilot, this could be done by having having a hollowed out part of the hull where the pilot stands - i.e stand in the hull rather than on top of it, or have hull locally narrowed so your feet are supported astride the hull. The other way of lowering the COM would be sit, even more extreme lie prone. Both these configuration will complicate control, as weight shift wouldn't be so easy, so aerodynamic controls may be required. The other area on could possible tweak increase the span of the rear wing a little, with the tips bent upwards to provide some roll stability as the low outer wing section gets into ground effect and at a more favourable angle to the water than the upper wing. The wider span at the rear would help with pitch stability as it'd move the average area backwards, so the static margin would increase - as the tips are canted upwards they would further away from ground effect than the rest of the wing(s) so shouldn't interfere too much during take off and in ground effect, but during an full lift off event would help avoid the nose from pitch up. A bit of washout in this rear tips would probably be helpful too. Potentially you could replace vertical fin with these tip extension as they wouldn't be effected by pilot wake. Though for experimentation this would be change way too premature. Perhaps if follow up designs come along they look such optimizations. Best of luck. It's been great seeing this project progress.

[@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?!

[@andylitespeed]

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

[@stevestogsdill5791]

Well done! Congratulations

[@toolscientist]

Great stuff! How about gymnast parallel bars to give you more range of movement? If that doesn't work it might need a mk2 version with more natural stability.

[@toolscientist]

Some ideas: * Add some dihedral for roll stability. * Small front cannards like another commenter said. Set them at a higher angle of incidence than the main wings to help get the nose up, but if it pitches up too much they stall and drop the nose back down. Ideally they should end up hovering just before stall. * I'm guessing you're trying to do this without control surfaces, but at least being able to trim the tail (maybe with a bicycle friction shifter) will make things a lot easier. Some of this could be very wrong. My aero is fairly rusty.

[@sascotttx5145]

I haven't finished watching the video but wanted to offer a thought before I forgot it. It seems to me like the rope release should be under the control of the towed vehicle. That's the person that would know if he can recover or not. It could be a deadman switch which would automatically release if he falls off. Also seems like there would be less down time between aborts, with quicker reconnects. Looks fun.

[@sanfranciscobay]

Better would be to allow both to disconnect.

[@hissingman]

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

[@awesomefeldmanfamily]

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

[@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.

[@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 😜😅

[@olafschermann1592]

Great work. Congrats!

[@oneistar6661]

Thank for sharing the joy

[@ootoriazumi1349]

maybe a slight wingspan stagger so the rear wings are slightly wider than the front, but not by too much, letting them catch more air so the craft pitches up slower

[@VinceSamios]

Sooooo sick!!

[@FusionAero]

If you haven't done so already, changing the control pulpit out for some Nausicaa-style bannisters should get that range of motion.

[@gafrers]

Great. Looks so much fun

[@konstantinoskatomeris3851]

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

[@nicholasjohnson6724]

Good job, very impressive !

[@richardking6066]

An interesting and fun vee-hickle!

[@bainsworth8853]

If you want to keep the same style, adjust the ability to change wings up and down, using your hand holds for aileron advantage

[@pete9364]

Try to put a chair on small rails. When you lift, you pull yourself forward to move the CG...Also put an engine in the back with a push propeller. That's my plan for mine (different design)

[@sebastienjurkowski]

The thumbnail is epic really.

[@7dhninja]

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

[@michaelplunkett1938]

Very cool 😎 can you add a simple elevator and yolk to nail the sweat spot height wise and rely on shifting body weight for roll?? I live in socal, would love to help out for fun if you need

[@GrantOakes]

GREAT JOB! Do you have some specs to publish, like weight, cost, etc? Neat way to experience flying!

[@ingridschellhaas7041]

Yes, it is amazing how far you came just with learning by doing. But be careful, ground effect forces are nothing to play with as you seem to do. A good advice of the owner of Flairboat technology.

[@abhiwithwings]

Very nice! consider adding elevators or canards.

[@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.

[@kevinsalaoutis3313]

That was a good run. Did those results turn out better than you expected?

[@lililililililili8667]

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

[@jet_flyer]

IF you go for a V2 you might want to try something almost like what the Wright Bros did and hook control surfaces up to a harness so they move with you shifting your weight

[@glennboyd939]

Create a reverse pendulum weight pivoting at your haldlebars. As the nose rises, the pendulum swings forwards, equalising the pitch. Analogue altitude keeper.

[@SeansLittleBayofHorrors]

That was a great video, Fellow Human.

[@severpop8699]

Double the wingspan, this will double the ground effect height, hence keep you clear of bumpy waters by a foot, I guess it helps with stability. Give up weight shifting, you are never going to be that swift, put on some flight control surfaces, like ailerons, tail profoundor or nose canard config, maybe the front wings can tilt at will to act as canard control surfaces, stearing is easy, dive a plank in the water with a rudder of sorts at the rear end. that will help keep it going straight and take turns as water is 800 times more dense than air.

[@matthewmullin8168]

Very cool, would using a "traditional" ekranoplane design reduce the necessity for weight shift?

[@RegisMichelLeclerc]

As shown in some video excerpts, for that scale, the Lippisch design is more common. The real Ekranoplan is much, much longer, and I don't think it's any random. Now, this one is towed, I wonder if it was propelled by pusher propellers: I have the feeling there is something more than just the centre of pressure and the centre of gravity, I suspect there is a difference if you pull at a spot or push at another, intuitively you'd visualise vectors. Now, the big question is: did you put some kind of plans online or should I redo everything starting with the CAD model and the wooden model (I loathe epoxy but I have plenty of HDPE foam and light-ish wood)? A couple of years ago, I built a Lippisch-style model with fabric forward-swept wings (around a cylinder, makes it easy to wrap the skirt), but it turns out that 3D printing made things too fragile for my motors -- the propellers probably were oversized too and my terrace was too short, and everything broke at first start. The 5-second video shows it rather stable until it crashes into the railings, but on such distance (5 yards), not much to see or say. Now, I have a chisel...

[@AerialWaviator]

@@RegisMichelLeclerc Ekranoplans (GEVs) with a pusher propeller have a thrust vector that is above the centre of gravity, this would create a pitch down component. Example: a burst of power could help counter a pitch up tendency. However the opposite is true too .. a sudden power reduction at speed could enhance a pitch up tendency. This assuming not other control inputs used.

[@cschmidtwetekam]

Gorilla Glue should totally sponsor this project! The Square Reset 😂

[@thinkflight]

They should!!

[@BartvandenDonk]

Birds use this effect when landing. Another thought: Towing does create a wave street that is not there when you have some kind of propulsion on the vehicle itself...

[@scottcates]

Well done!

[@russsavage1611]

So I apologize because I haven't watched the whole series and you may have answered this: Why no elevator or some aerodynamic pitch control in addition to weight transfer? Also, wouldn't it be safest for you to also have control of the tow rope release? Love the project!

[@davidregan9872]

Keep it up! You are awesome!