Challenges Involving the Future of Commercial Ground Effect Transport
Ground effect transportation technology offers potential in terms of economics, crew training and relief at overcrowded coastal airports. Its future depends on the ability to travel above ocean swells and ocean waves, addressing concerns about the dynamics of transiting and making turns over rough surface conditions.
Introduction
Despite traveling above water on a cushion of air, ground effect vehicles are classified as vessels for regulatory purposes. People capable of operating maritime vessels can easily adapt to operating ground effect vehicles. Tests and demonstrations involving European and Russian built ground effect vehicles occurred on inland bodies of water, at elevations above water of 5% to 10% of the wingspan measurement while consuming 25% to 33% of the energy of an airplane of equivalent payload. Wave conditions were minimal during tests, which demonstrated travel above a water surface.
Based on actual experience, a pilot of large commercial jet planes raised concern about ground effect vehicles traveling above uneven surfaces such as ocean swells and waves. Ground effect vehicles need to maintain stability and smooth ride when traveling above waves and swells. Hydrofoils that raise the vessel hull high above water are well proven, providing smooth and stable ride as vessels sail through choppy water, waves and swells. Ground effect wings need to achieve the same result. Overcrowding of airplanes at coastal airports opens a market for ground effect vehicles in short-haul transportation.
An artist's rendering of a tandem-wing 'AirFoil FlairBoat' ground effect concept.
Business Case
When traveling at speed at an elevation less than its wingspan, ground effect vehicles consume less fuel than commercial airplanes. Fuel consumption accounts for a major proportion of the operating cost of commercial airplane operation. Providing fast transportation at lower cost while traveling across water forms the business case for ground effect vehicles. Training pilots to operate ground effect vehicles involves far less cost and far less complexity than training pilots to fly commercial aircraft. In long-haul freight transportation, mega-scale ground effect vehicles could occupy a market niche between conventional ships and freight aircraft.
While the largest fully-laden commercial airplanes weigh up to 800,000 pounds, a Russian research engineer suggested that ground effect vehicles traveling at speed above a water surface, could incur up to 10 times the fully laden weight of large commercial aircraft. Engineers at Boeing subsequently undertook research into a mega-size plane capable of both ground level and high-altitude flight. The Boeing "Pelican" concept plane with a 500-foot wingspan was aimed at a potential freight market between ships and air freight, offering massive payload carrying capacity along with massive interior volume, at competitive transportation cost.
Boeing
The Boeing "Pelican" was intended to travel in ground effect mode across oceans, climbing to the flight elevation of commercial aircraft to access inland airports. A flight elevation of 25 to 50-feet above smooth ocean reduced fuel consumption while a flight elevation of 250 to 500 feet while operating in ground effect mode, allowed for clearance above stormy seas. Development, construction, testing and refinement of a prototype "Pelican" intended for military application depended on funding from the defence department; at the time, such a vehicle was a low priority.
Many years later, a team of former Boeing personnel headed by Billy Thalheimer formed a company called Regent, which undertook research and development of prototype ground effect technology. Unlike European and Asian developers who built ground effect vehicles that traveled close to the water surface, the Regent team designed small-scale versions of their ground effect plane to travel at higher elevation above water. Many present and former Boeing personnel hold pilot licenses and have had first hand experience encountering the ground effect when flying close to ground level, above uneven ground and into wind gusts.
Regent Sea Glider
For the first time during early September 2026, an onboard crew piloted the ground effect vehicle named the Regent Sea Glider. While in ground effect mode, it achieved an elevation of 50% of wingspan or 33 feet above water and above small water craft. In future commercial service, it would likely travel between terminals with seaplane runways. It is the only ground effect vehicle to include hydrofoils that provide smooth ride and reduced water drag when sailing through choppy water and wave conditions, allowing it to accelerate to lift-off speed and "flight" above water.
Many years earlier, an Australian who built a ground effect vehicle claimed smooth ride at an elevation of 10 feet above waves of 13 feet height. The future of ground effect technology and of Regent depends on the ability of the Sea Glider and its competitors to safely travel with high stability above waves, choppy water and sea swells. While the original Russian built 'Ekranoplan' reached an elevation of 30 feet above the Caspian Sea, military pilots complained about flight instability caused by wing outer edges touching on water during severe turns, something not done with commercial craft.
Hydrofoils
A tandem-wing ground effect craft skimming the water surface
The Sea Glider hydrofoils assist in lift off, touch down and slow travel on water near terminals. Future larger-scale versions of the vehicle will include larger hydrofoils with greater surface area. The precedent of large aircraft having multiple wheels in the landing gear provides a basis to develop heavy ground effect vehicles that include groups of multiple hydrofoils placed in close proximity to each other, installed near the bow and under the wing. Groups of hydrofoils specifically designed to operate close proximity to carry increased weight would allow for elevated travel above water plus acceleration to lift-off speed.
Future hydrofoil arrangements designed to carry extreme weight would benefit both future ground effect vehicles and large-capacity seaplanes that provide service between coastal airports with seaplane runways. High-capacity seaplanes would operate longer-haul flights carrying passengers and/or freight, while equivalent size ground effect vehicles would operate shorter-haul trips. Both large-scale freight seaplanes and mega-scale ground effect vehicles would, in the long-term future, carry higher priority freight between coastal airports with seaplane runways, with automated mega-scale ground effect vehicles carrying freight on international multi-day voyages.
Ocean Conditions
Internationally, the most severe sea swell and wave conditions occur beyond the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, including in the North Sea, the mid-North Atlantic Ocean and far southern regions of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Such sea conditions discourage operation of ground effect technology. Gentler wave and ocean swell conditions occur between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn including across Asia, the Caribbean and along the tropical coastal areas of Africa and South America. Gentle wave conditions occur in some regions beyond the tropics, including sections of the Mediterranean Sea.
The long-term history of weather conditions over various regions of the ocean would indicate locations where gentler wave and sea swell conditions consistently occur. Smaller ground effect vehicles such as the 12-passenger Regent Sea Glider would operate between coastal cities in such regions. Regions of the ocean with potential for ground effect transportation include:
– Atlantic coast of Brazil
– Coastal cities around the Caribbean Sea
– Cities around the South China Sea
– Region between Indonesia and the Philippines
– East coast of Australia
– Coastal regions of India
– Small sea regions around the Mediterranean Sea
Conclusions
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Multiple factors enhance future market application for ground effect transportation between coastal cities. The factors include increased demand for fast intercity transportation between coastal cities, complexity and cost of training airline pilots, rising cost of energy and increased demand to serve greater numbers of airplanes at coastal airport runways. There is potential for ground effect vehicles built with hydrofoils to operate between terminals built next to coastal airports.
There is potential for ground effect vehicles built with airplane landing gear to operate between runways of coastal airports. Airport runways would require sloped ramps at the ocean's edge, to allow ground effect vehicles to transition from low-level travel above liquid surface to low-level travel above solid surface. Operation of such "hybrid" technology would require revisions to regulations that pertain to vehicles that arrive at and depart from airport runways.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.
