Eventually, this machine would be put into production in 2025. This concept is a hybrid between sea ship and airplane, and uses the so called “ground effect” (probably “surface effect” is more correct to be called) where aircrafts fly easily while they’re close to the surface.
During the last years of the Soviet Union, the Russian military forces built and tested ekranoplane called “KM” (short for “Korab Maket”, or “Ship Model”, instead of the American translation which called it “Caspian Monster”). Their vehicle was designed to carry soldiers, tanks and military technique and weighed 550 tons. Its production stopped with the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
However, the Ekranoyacht should have civil usage only. It is flying at height of 4m above the water surface and is able to fight with up to 3.5m high waves. The yacht’s propulsion system is a hydrogen powered engine that can produce top speed of 400km/h (248mph). The vehicle would have longitude of 36 meters and would offer full comfortable travel for 6 people. As the designer Jaron Dickson (student in the Australian Monash University) stated, the yacht was designed to be able to replace the ordinary houses and places for living: „The interior design was a very important part of the project, because if people are going to give up their static home living arrangements, there can’t be any sacrifice moving on to the Ekranoyacht.”.
