Stunning photos showed the incredible flying boat floating above the water on a cushion of air at speeds of as much as 106 knots/196 km/h.
The winged Airfish 8 can carry as much as eight passengers and will revolutionize travel between the hundreds of islands in Indonesia, the Philippines, Polynesia and the Caribbean.
The company behind its creation is currently within the technique of designing and constructing a bigger ship that would accommodate as much as 50 people.
Equipped with a race automotive engine – specifically a 7.0-liter V8 – and resembling a sleek seaplane, the Airfish 8 is definitely classified as a merchant vessel.
The Singapore-based company behind it, Wigetworks, hopes to alter the way in which people travel and offer an entire host of other uses for this progressive vessel.
AirFish 8 (AF8) is designed to be operated by two people and may carry 6 to eight passengers.
Using the Wing-In-Ground (WIG) effect, the craft essentially flies near the water surface, supported by a high-pressure air field under the wings and above the water surface. This creates the impression that it is solely gliding over a cushion of air. Traveling above the water also means there isn’t a hydrodynamic drag, making the craft rather more fuel efficient.
Using technology pioneered by the Russians in 1960, the Airfish 8 itself relies on a German prototype and is the world’s first merchant vessel registered with the Singapore Register of Shipping.
Takeoff and landing are relatively quick and simple when the water is flat, but it will possibly get a bit rough when the waves are high. However, this only takes about 30-45 seconds, and once airborne, the journey will probably be smooth and simple, whatever the waves below.
It needs about 500 m to take off or land, and its range is about 300 nautical miles (926 km).
Source: DailyMail.co.uk | Forbes
