Aerocon Dash 1.6 wingship

The Aerocon Dash-1.6 wingship was a proposed American ground-effect vehicle intended to carry large cargos and thousands of passengers over long distances at near-aircraft speeds.

The Aerocon Dash 1.6 wingship, a 5,000-ton ground effect vehicle concept

The vehicle was claimed to be able to carry a combination of 1,500 short tons (1,400 t; 3,000,000 lb; 1,400,000 kg) of cargo and 2,000 passengers a distance of 11,500 miles (18,500 km; 10,000 nmi) at speeds close to those of commercial airliners.^[1]

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) evaluated the Aerocon design, along with submissions from several other manufacturers, as part of a preliminary study of the concept during the 1990s to determine whether a billion-dollar program was viable, to develop a wingship for military uses.^[2][3][4] By the end of 1994, the Department of Defense decided that the design was too high a risk and did not offer further funding.^[5]

Specifications

Data from W. I.: Technology Roadmap, Appendix C - Structures, page C-4 – C-6

General characteristics

• Capacity: more than 3,000 passengers; 2,000 troops^[6]
• Length: 566 ft 0 in (173 m)
• Wingspan: 340 ft 0 in (104 m)
• Height: 112 ft 0 in (34 m)
• Wing area: 38,720.0 sq ft (3,597.21 m²)
• Empty weight: 3,588,000 lb (1,627,000 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 10,000,000 lb (4,500,000 kg)
• Example Cargo capacity. Data from^[7]
  • 32 helicopters
  • 20 tanks
  • 4 landing craft
  • 300 105mm howitzers
• Powerplant: 20 × unknown type of jet engines, 90,000 lbf (400 kN) thrust each

Performance

• Cruise speed: 460 mph (741 km/h, 400 kn)
• Range: 12,000 mi (19,000 km, 10,000 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (4,600 m)
• Lift-to-drag: 32.5
• Wing loading: 258 lb/sq ft (1,260 kg/m²)

See also

• Aviation portal

• Beriev Be-2500
• Boeing Pelican
• Caspian Sea Monster
• HCA-LB
• Lun-class ekranoplan
• Spasatel