Progress Report: Placerville, CA – July 2, 2009 – The Walter Mobility Group, Inc., innovator of surface-effect vehicle technology, has completed construction of a first-of-its-kind HybriCraft™, applying their patented combination of several lift sources.
|
 |
The Walter Mobility Group's
Steve Doyle,
Fred Kent, and the
first-of-its-kind HybriCraft™.
|
|
Similar in capability to the land speeder from George Lucas’ “Star Wars”, this UAV-scale ground-effect vehicle demonstrates terrain independence through easily controlled navigation. Early evaluations indicate that vehicle development is on track to transport useful payloads across varied terrain and surface conditions.
The US Air Force Institute of Technology first considered studying the late William Walter’s HybriCraft approach in May 2000, publishing favorable findings in subsequent studies.
NASA’s Langley Research Center has published references specific to this technology as recently as 2006, and NASA more recently hosted a visit by The Walter Mobility Group to their Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, in California.
|
 |
The new HybriCraft™ is built
from
aircraft-grade aluminum
and light composites.
|
|
The new HybriCraft, built from aircraft-grade aluminum and light composites, lifts off vertically, unlike its cousins: the hovercraft (which cannot leave the surface) and the wing in ground effect, or WIG, which requires a long running start and the most favorable wind and sea conditions.
|
 |
HybriCraft™ do not use physical
skirts
to contain the air cushions.
|
|
Another distinction from conventional hovercraft is that HybriCraft do not use physical skirts to contain the air cushions. This advantage, demonstrated by all HybriCraft, provides nimble maneuvering and freedom from surface friction – just like a “land speeder”.
|
|
| Unlike helicopters, HybriCraft have no tail rotor, no tail boom, and can use a conventional propeller instead of an articulated rotor system. Some HybriCraft designs include embedded fans, which have no exposed rotor assembly at all. Because HybriCraft rest continuously on multiple air cushions, they operate more safely in low-and-slow flight modes, which are among the most challenging and dangerous for helicopter pilots. |
