Buy your own baby Caspian Sea Monster

"tapzz" (tapzz) 01/13/2015 at 18:15 • Filed to: ekranoplan

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If you've always hankered after your very own ekranoplan, have a gander at this eBay ad for a 1978 Tupolev A-3 Aerosledge.

The missing link between a boat and a plane, ground effect vehicles split the difference between go anywhere flexibility, payload and speed. A Soviet speciality, the bigger Lun class Caspian Sea Monsters where a cross between a Jumbo Jet, a missile toting fortress and Godzilla, and were made of 100% awesomnium.

This fun sized Tupolev, however, was meant for retrieving cosmonauts from splashdowns in the Siberian tundra, but it was also used as the world's coolest postal delivery vehicle in those areas.

Also not unimportant: a supercharged, nine cylinder Vedeneyev M14P radial engine, up 100 HP over the pidly stock 260 HP five cylinder. It sounds more civilised than you'd expect from such a proletarian power plant:

It'll do 75 mph on snow, and 120 on the water.

It's yours for $250k, and you get the custom trailer and a 2003 Hummer thrown in.

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Link via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

EDIT :

Here's the seller and restorer explaining more about the history and features of the Tupolev, including those weird parallel props:

Many, many thanks to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > tapzz 01/13/2015 at 17:06

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That sold at Barret-Jackson several years ago.

ly2v8-Brian > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/13/2015 at 17:11

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It was for retrieving Cosmonauts IIRC

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > tapzz 01/13/2015 at 17:23

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Stupid question. Since it is traveling through the air, why does it have a higher speed on land than over water?

this is not matt farah's foxbodymiata > tapzz 01/13/2015 at 17:34

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Supercharged radial, displacing 10L, that can be modified to make 460hp, turning contra-rotating wooden props, pushing a steampunk-looking, bare aluminum, fighter jet canopied, levitating, amphibious speed boat with tail number N 007 ?

I'm not sure I've ever wanted anything as much as I want this. Be still my wallet!

this is not matt farah's foxbodymiata > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 01/13/2015 at 17:41

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Not an aeronautical engineer so don't quote me, but I think it has to do with it not actually being in full flight. It's just sitting on a ground effect cushion, and is therefore directly effected by what surface it's over. I assume that because water moves around and snow doesn't, this affects the ground effect aerodynamics and causes more drag, or maybe makes it harder to get a little bit of altitude and get above the waves.

Still faster in rough weather, and more efficient in any conditions, than a normal watercraft traveling at the same speed.

tapzz > this is not matt farah's foxbodymiata 01/13/2015 at 17:43

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According to the BaT article, the props don't contra rotate, and the video bares that out. Which is very weird indeed, and one more reason to look for excuse to buy it ;-)

tapzz > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 01/13/2015 at 17:44

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Good question- at a blind guess, I'd say it may have to do with possible wave height?

this is not matt farah's foxbodymiata > tapzz 01/13/2015 at 17:49

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Wait how does that even work? Because they're not even offset, they're spinning right next to each other! Wouldn't there be all sorts of crazy turbulence? There's a reason they don't build supersonic biplanes.

I noticed that it they kinda looked to be going the same direction in the video but was like.. that's insane that makes no sense, just a trick of the camera, nobody would think that was a good idea.

Except now I that I think about it, the soviets built this. I'm no longer the least bit surprised.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > tapzz 01/13/2015 at 18:09

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Funny, because I just saw this on the live Barrett Jackson show.

tapzz > this is not matt farah's foxbodymiata 01/13/2015 at 18:20

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I've updated the post with a video with an explanation from the current owner and restorer: the idea is that the props are slightly offset in pitch, which, according to him, makes the prop 35% more effective and 35% quieter. The idea came from Canada geese drafting each other, apparently.

I can't speak to the efficiency, but it is indeed noticeably quiet.

tapzz > this is not matt farah's foxbodymiata 01/13/2015 at 18:23

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It seems the initial speed I quoted was wrong; it'll do 120 mph on water, according to the restorer. Given that it's supposed to sit 2 feet above the water, has a massive engine pushing just a 1000 kg (2000 lb) of duraluminium, that makes sense.

this is not matt farah's foxbodymiata > tapzz 01/13/2015 at 18:31

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Wow, that's really cool, learn something every day. Now I'm just wondering why this isn't more common. That would a dope looking DA20 haha

this is not matt farah's foxbodymiata > tapzz 01/13/2015 at 18:39

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I was going to question the 40mph, the whole point of an ekranoplan is that you get a lot more speed, and a smoother ride, for your money compared to a ship... and a lot more cargo capacity than a plane. The caspian sea monsters scared the shit out of the US because they were low enough to escape early warning radar aimed at aircraft, and fast enough to cross the pacific in hours instead of days, rendering surface defenses at a huge time disadvantage. It made a first strike ground invasion feasible again.

But you seem like the kinda person who does one's research, and I try not to be a comment section sniper, so I figured there was something I wasn't considering.

kanadanmajava1 > tapzz 01/13/2015 at 18:40

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If that would be the best way to install a propeller I'm sure that I would have had seen one already.

tapzz > this is not matt farah's foxbodymiata 01/13/2015 at 18:50

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I was thinking the same thing- maybe it only works properly at the speeds and altitudes of ekranoplans?

this is not matt farah's foxbodymiata > tapzz 01/13/2015 at 18:58

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Yeah I don't know, if it's so great you'd think light aircraft with never exceed's under 200 mph would be looking at it. A bush pilot would kill to get 35% more climbing power and/or range out of his Beaver.

It's probably just that getting this kind of thing FAA certified would be too damn expensive to make it worth it haha.

Sam > tapzz 01/13/2015 at 19:28

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I first saw this at the Auburn, Indiana Auctions America event several years ago. I thought it was some sort of James Bond movie prop.

Iain > tapzz 12/29/2015 at 12:53

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Lun and the Caspian Sea Monster are two conpletely different ekranoplans. The Alexeyev KM was the Caspian Sea Monster.