Flying sailboat

1993/11/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Garraioak

Though so far the plane on water was known, now have invented a flying sailboat. It has been called “hydrophoton” and has the capacity to take off thanks to the impulse planes or hydrolamines that come to the surface.

All boats of more than one hull have been based on the principle of Archimedes, that is, by withstanding a push up equal to the weight of the water they move. However, the hydropter remains in balance according to another principle.

The fleet remains in balance above the flotation line thanks to the vertical push of its floating planes. The upward thrust arises from dynamic pressure, as occurs in the wings when the plane goes into the air. When the boat has enough speed, the helmets emerge and the boat launches. When the boat is in the air, only the driving planes remain in the water, and unlike conventional boats, the resistance rises little by increasing the speed.

The hydropter can circulate at an average speed of 5 knots higher than the current fast meadows. To achieve these speeds, fifteen years have gone by working on the execution of the project. At first they tested 1/15 scale models and then 1/3 scale, but finally they have achieved a fast sailboat dreamed of applying aeronautical principles. Three experts from the naval industry and three other aviation experts have worked at the shipyards of Saint-Nazaire at the mouth of the Loire River in Brittany.

The new sailboat will go out to sea in the next spring and in summer, crossing the Atlantic Ocean, is about to take the mark.