Fischer Airfish AF-8
| Fischer Airfish AF-8 | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Ground effect vehicle |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
2002 |
| Commissioning: |
2002 |
| Number of pieces: |
3 +4 unfinished (2017) |
The Airfish AF-8 is an eight-seat ground - effect vehicle from 2001, whose series production as a taxi flying boat z. Is currently being prepared at Wigetworks in Singapore.
history
In the mid-nineties, John Leslie planned to set up a series production for ground effect vehicles in Cairns, Australia and founded the Flightship Ground Effect Pty . In 1997, Leslie acquired the still existing RFB X-113 test vehicle from 1972 from the bankruptcy estate of Rhein-Flugzeugbau GmbH in Mönchengladbach , as well as its design documents and the two-seater prototype of the Fischer Airfish AF-3 in order to be able to carry out the necessary technology studies. Leslie, however, did not aim for series production of pleasure boats, but specified an eight-seat flying boat with a 4-meter-long and 1.4-meter-wide cabin for taxi services in island hopping. Leslie handed over his specification to Fischer Flugmechanik in Mönchengladbach and commissioned them with the design, as well as with the construction and maritime approval of a prototype.
The Airfish AF-8 was then designed at Fischer Flugmechanik. Since Fischer Flugmechanik no longer had an operating platform for prototype construction after the bankruptcy of Rhein-Flugzeugbau, Hanno Fischer and the beneficial owner of Flightship Ground Effect Pty. in 1997 in Mönchengladbach the Airfoil Development GmbH (AFD). Hanno Fischer brought the license rights for the prototype construction of the Airfish AF-8 into the company, while the partner from Singapore provided the financial means for the prototype construction. Construction of the Airfish AF-8 began in 1999 and was largely completed in early 2001. The 70-hour flight test then took place on the Markenermeer in Holland. The Germanischer Lloyd participated in the testing and granted in December 2001 for the Airfish AF-8, the world's first approval of a ground effect vehicle according to the high speed regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) under the IMO no. 9274989. After the maritime approval, the boat was handed over in Holland to Flightship Pty, who brought the boat to the Cairns shipyard in 2002 as a model boat.
construction
When designing the Airfish AF-8, the basic design features of the earlier, smaller Airfish AF-1/2 and AF-3 were used. The Airfish AF-8 was designed as a trimaran with inverted delta wing according to the Lippisch principle. The fuselage and wings are designed entirely in composite construction. A 450 hp General Motors V8 engine is used as the drive, which drives two four-bladed pusher propellers on the top of the fuselage, which are arranged behind the passenger cabin. Like all Airfish, the Airfish AF-8 also has a double T-tail. As an amphibious, the AF-8 has a retractable landing gear that can be used for land movements. The design of the wing allows flight heights of up to 3 meters in order to be able to cope with obstacles or high seas without problems. Mathematically, the AF-8 has a range for a four-hour period of use at 170 km / h and is therefore faster than the usual high-speed ferries, but cheaper than airplanes.
Production and sales
So far, a Fischer AF-9 prototype has been built at Airfoil Development in Mönchengladbach, and four Flightship FS-8 series boats have been built at Flightship Ground Effect Pty. in Australia, which were not airworthy due to structural changes, as well as the first two Wigetworks Airfish AF-8 series boats at Wigetworks in Singapore.
Prototype construction at Airfoil Development
As already mentioned, Airfoild Development GmbH was founded in 1997 in Mönchengladbach specifically for the construction and testing of the Fischer Airfish AF-8 prototype. The model boat Airfish AF-8 was built here until 2002. The further series production was not planned, but should be at the licensee Flightship Ground Effect Pty. take place in Australia. After Flightship went bankrupt, AFD received an order from the new owner of the bankruptcy estate to complete the former Flightship FS-8 series boats under construction. For this purpose, an AFD shipyard was to be set up in the Ostseebad Barth, but this failed due to political resistance. The four FS-8s already in Germany were then sent back to Singapore and processed there with AFD support by Wigetworks. At AFD in Germany it remained with a single piece of the Airfish AF-8 prototype.
Series production at Flightship Ground Effect Pty , Cairns, Australia
In parallel to the development and approval work at Airfoil Development in Germany, John Leslie began building a shipyard in Cairns, Australia. When the AF-8 prototype was delivered, the NQEA shipyard in Cairns already employed 100 engineers and mechanics. Up to four boats could be processed in the shipyard at the same time.
Flightship FS-8 Dragon Commuter
The Maldivian ferry company Sunland Transport acted as the launching customer for the Airfish AF-8, which was marketed by Flightship as the Flightship FS-8 "Dragon Commuter" . Sunland ordered four Flightship FS-8 to set up shuttle services between the Maldivian islands. Sunland's demand for a slightly increased payload and better performance data led Flightship to modify the four Flightship FS-8 that were already under construction. The modifications increased the take-off weight of the FS-8 compared to the model boat AF-8 by almost 800 kg, which meant that the operational payload of the AF-8 was already exceeded. In addition, Flightship Ground Effect Pty. from 2003 to fight with economic problems. In order to be able to complete the four boats, assemblies from the AF-8 model boat were removed. After the delivery of the four boats was postponed in October 2003 for a time that was not yet foreseeable, Flightship Ground Effect Pty had to file for bankruptcy. In February 2004, the NQEA shipyard and four boats under construction including the AF-8 prototype were auctioned. The RFB X-113 and the Fischer Airfish AF-3 , which Flightship took over from the RFB bankruptcy estate in 1997, were auctioned again in 2004.
Flightship FS-40 Dragon Clipper
Parallel to the establishment of series production for the Flightship FS-8, John Leslie already developed the specification for a larger, forty-seat ground effect vehicle called the Flightship FS-40 "Dragon Clipper", which with a takeoff weight of 20 tons has a range of 2000 km at a speed of 250 km / h. Due to the economic problems at Flightship Pty. this development was no longer pursued.
Further development at Wigetworks Private Ltd. , Singapore
The surcharge for the insolvency estate of Flightship Ground Effect Pty. received Kenneth Tan from Singapore, who founded Wigetworks Private Ltd. in April 2004 . founded in Singapore as a rescue company for the insolvent flightship. First of all, Wigetworks commissioned Airfoil Development GmbH in Germany to modify the four Flightship FS-8 flying boats that were too difficult. After the conversion failed in Germany, Wigetworks, with the support of Airfoil Development, started restoring the Fischer Airfish AF-8 prototype in Singapore. After almost two years of construction, the Airfish AF-8 will be operational again in February 2007. This was followed by a three-year approval process, during which, from October 2010, the prototype of the Airfish AF-3 was used for practical pilot training. On March 30, 2010, the restored and meanwhile considerably improved AF-8 prototype received the national boat approval 9V8677 from the port authority in Singapore as AF-8-001. In August 2010, Wigetworks in Singapore starts building the first pre-production AF-8 boat PPC-1.
Series production at Composite Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM) , Batu Berendam, Malaysia
In October 2011, Wigetworks signed a cooperation agreement with Malaysia-based CTRM for the series production of the Airfish AF-8. After the construction of the shipyard in Batu Berendam, the PPC-1 under construction in Singapore and the AF-8-001 prototype as a model boat were handed over to CTRM. The first pre-production WIG PPC-1 took off on October 4, 2015 in Malacca for its maiden flight. The second pre-production TIG PPC-2 is now under construction at CTRM.
Versions
- Fischer Airfish AF-8 - draft and prototype of the Airfoil Development from 1998, single piece, later conversion to AF-8-001
- Flightship FS-8 Commuter Dragon - Series sample at Flightship Pty., Four boats under construction, not completed
- Wigetworks Airfish AF-8-001 - further developed AF-8 prototype at Wigetworks based on the AF-8 prototype from Airfoil Development
- Wigetworks Airfish AF-8-PPC - Pre-Production AF-8 at CTRM, one boat completed in 2015, second PPC under construction
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Fischer Airfish AF-3 | Flightship FS-8 |
|---|---|---|
| crew | 1 | |
| Passengers | 7th | |
| length | 17.22 m | 17.45 m |
| span | 15.16 m | 15.60 m |
| height | 3.35 m | 4.10 m |
| Wing area | ||
| Wing extension | ||
| payload | 1010 kg | 1180 kg |
| Empty mass | 3740 kg | 3570 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 4750 kg | |
| Cruising speed | 160 km / h | |
| Top speed | ||
| Service ceiling | 3.0 m | |
| Range | 550 km | |
| Engines | Chevrolet GM V8, 450 PS (approx. 330 kW) | GM 6.65 l V8 efi, 450 PS (approx. 330 kW) |
Whereabouts
The Fischer Airfish AF-8 prototype was severely damaged in 2012 when it came into contact with water in heavy seas.
The whereabouts of the four flightless FS-8s built in Cairns is unknown
The two pre-production boats PPC-1 and PPC-2 currently exist at Wigetworks / CTRM in Malaysia.
Comparable types
- Seafalcon
See also
literature
- Paul Zöller: Rhein-Flugzeugbau GmbH and Fischer Flugmechanik , 2016, ISBN 978-3-7431-1823-2
Web links
- Fischer Flugmechanik AF-8 (Homepage Fischer Flugmechanik, English)
- Wigetworks Airfish AF-8 (Homepage Wigetworks, English)
- Flying Fish with a heart of car (Jerome Lim, at Hotelier Maldives, June 2016)
- Flightship FS-8 Marketing Video (Youtube, Video, English)
- Wigetworks AF-8-001 landing (Youtube, Video, English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ moneyhouse.de: AFD Airfoild Development GmbH. Retrieved May 24, 2017 .
- ^ Paul Zöller: Rhein-Flugzeugbau GmbH and Fischer Flugmechanik, 2016, ISBN 978-3-7431-1823-2 . ( http://d-nb.info/1121026451 German National Library [accessed on May 23, 2017]).
- ↑ Fischer flight mechanics: Fischer flight mechanics AF-8. Retrieved May 24, 2017 .
- ↑ Aviation Nation.us: Airfish AF-8 Blog. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 11, 2017 ; accessed on May 24, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Airfish 8 - The long and winding road. Retrieved May 24, 2017 .
- ↑ CTRM Malaysia: CTRM-Wigetworks Press Release. Retrieved May 24, 2017 .
- ↑ Creapolis: Hoverwing TIG Craft. Retrieved May 24, 2017 .
