Fischer Airfish AF-1

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FF Airfish AF-1
f2
Type: Ground effect vehicle
Design country:

Germany Federal RepublicFederal Republic of Germany BR Germany

Manufacturer:

Fischer flight mechanics

First flight:

1987

Commissioning:

1987

Number of pieces:

1

The Fischer Airfish AF-1 was a test vehicle of the Fischer flight mechanics to investigate the fundamentals for ground effect vehicles . The first test flights took place in Essen on Lake Baldeney from 1987 onwards .

history

After Rhein-Flugzeugbau stopped developing ground-effect vehicles with the RFB X-114 at the end of the seventies, Hanno Fischer took over the rights to the development and continued the work in his engineering office Fischer Flugmechanik, founded in 1979, together with Klaus Matjasic at his own expense. In contrast to the RFB flying boats RFB X-113 and RFB X-114, which can also fly at higher altitudes , Fischer and Matjasic intended to build a pure ground effect boat that could not leave the ground effect area. This should avoid the high aeronautical requirements for a ground-effect vehicle during development, approval and later operation, and the vehicle should be approved for purely marine technology. Fischer and Matjasic had to prove to the shipping authorities that their design was structurally incapable of leaving the ground effect area.

The fundamental questions of the design of pure ground-effect vehicles were worked out by both in the first few years with the help of smaller flight models. In the mid-1980s, construction began on a test vehicle , which first flew in 1987 under the name Airfish AF-1 .

construction

With the Airfish AF-1, Hanno Fischer used the trimaran concept familiar from the X-113 . Like the X-113 and X-114, the AF-1 had an inverted delta wing based on the Alexander Lippisch principle . The design was designed in such a way that the induced drag increases when leaving the ground effect area and thus leads the boat back into a sinking movement. With a small 33 hp motor that drove a jacket screw on the fuselage behind the cockpit, speeds of up to 100 km / h should be achieved in the ground effect area. While the fuselage was designed as a monocoque made of plastic, the wings and tail unit were designed as tubular constructions covered with fabric.

testing

The FF Airfish AF-1 was tested in Essen on Lake Baldeney from 1987 onwards. The wings, tail unit and engine were changed several times during the almost two-year trial. With the AF-1, the desired proof of the non-flightworthiness of the design was finally provided. This created the prerequisites for a technical boat approval of the Airfish draft.

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
crew 1
Passengers -
length 8.50 m
span 9.50 m
height 2.10 m
Wing area m²
Wing extension
Glide ratio
Slightest sinking
payload
Empty mass
Max. Takeoff mass 320 kg
Cruising speed
Top speed 95 km / h
Service ceiling 0.1 m
Range
Engines 33 hp

Follow-up drafts

After the technical approval of the Airfish draft, Fischer and Matjasic turned to the basic operational requirements of boat operation that were not met by the AF-1 test vehicle. By 1989 the design of a boat that was technically manageable was developed under the name Airfish AF-2 . The AF-1 test vehicle was used to build the second test vehicle.

Related developments

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Paul Zöller: Rhein-Flugzeugbau GmbH and Fischer Flugmechanik , 2016, ISBN 978-3-7431-1823-2
  2. ↑ Creapolis: Fischer Flugmechanik - A new technology in ground effect. 2011, accessed May 24, 2017 .
  3. ↑ WIG craft data sheets - Hoverwing WIG craft technology. Retrieved May 24, 2017 .