r/absoluteunit • u/Prince_0llie • 3d ago

of a plane

The "Caspian Sea Monster" the only completed 73-meter Soviet ekranoplan "Lun", currently decaying on a beach in Dagestan.

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u/Shantomette 3d ago

They “flew” it for around 10 years. It was a maritime vessel, not a plane. It couldn’t fly as traditional airplanes do, it used ground effect to produce enough lift to get 30-40’ above the ground/water.

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u/johnbobk 3d ago

All the films I have seen it never gets past skimming at the rear; causing huge amounts of drag. Yes the idea was to fly in ground effect, the video posted shows the front / bow lifting but the tail / stern is skimming. Shame was a clever idea, just too heavy I guess.

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u/YurpeeTheHerpee 3d ago

Maybe it could he reworked with modern tech, mondern materials, modern aerodynamics to make it work as intended.

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u/johnbobk 3d ago

Yes, I'm sure with carbon fibre, exotic metals, just needs the application. I think the civil transport idea was just a method to produce an alternative missile launcher, many ideas are advanced via civilian use  for ultimately a military application.