Faster Than Sea Freight - Cheaper Than Air Cargo (Part 2)
Hybrid-electric cargo flying boats in ground-effect will disrupt global ecommerce and make everything cheaper.
In Part 1 we explored this new freight option for delivering products directly to consumer mailboxes across oceans under 7 days at bargain prices.
Surprisingly, even vintage flying boats like the Spruce Goose and Boeing 314 Clipper would have been game-changing freight options for global ecommerce.
The Aerospace Freight Disrupters
Air cargo today is expensive because freight aircrafts are essentially variants of passenger airliners. They were designed to fly high for speed and comfort. But cargo doesn’t need such luxury.
Several aerospace companies are designing a new breed of aircrafts designed specifically for cargo. These aircrafts focus on high lift efficiency by flying lower and slower.
DARPA Liberty Lifter X-Plane
In 2023 the prestigious Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency selected General Atomics and Aurora Flight Sciences to build its ground-effect cargo demonstrator. The Liberty Lifter is aptly named after the Liberty ships of WW2.
The goal is to demonstrate takeoffs and sustained flights over rough seas. The craft will be the size of a C-17 Globemaster and carry similar military cargo. Civilian variants may be considered.
Meanwhile the venerable Lockheed C-130 transport aircraft may soon have a flying boat version for commando operations. The MAC is not touted as a ground-effect aircraft. But it will almost certainly have the technology to fly close to the surface to extend range, payload and delay detection.
Natilus
Their aim is to create a global fleet of large scale autonomous cargo aircrafts. They use a blended wing body design where the cavernous airframe is shaped to contribute lift. This yields 60% more cargo volume than traditional aircrafts for the same weight.
However, Natilus aircrafts are not ground-effect vehicles. They will fly and be powered conventionally. Nonetheless Natilus is a rare civilian cargo aerospace startup with transoceanic ambitions. Their larger model below will carry 143 metric tons and have a range of 5882 miles.
Speeder Systems
The company is developing a small autonomous electric delivery aircraft in ground-effect. It is capable of VTOL to get underway and land at the destination. Its S30 model can carry 17kg over 94 miles at the speed of a helicopter. This makes it ideal for middle-mile delivery applications and servicing offshore sites such as oil platforms.
Seaflight
This Y Combinator company is creating an air cargo delivery service using efficient autonomous electric drones in ground-effect. The two aerospace founding engineers are fairly secretive about their technology.
They allude to an aerodynamic flow control system allowing the craft to takeoff faster and fly more efficiently. This may be a promising take on flow control studied by the likes of NASA and the military.
Flying Ship Company
They are envisioning an electric ground-effect aircraft capable of carrying 1200kg over a range of 575 miles. The design draws on decades of experience in ground-effect vehicles such as the AirFish. The craft will initially operate semi-autonomously with the goal of being fully autonomous eventually.
Regent
Their Seaglider is an all-electric vehicle that operates over water for high-speed coastal transportation. It features an hydrofoil underneath the fuselage. The Seaglider is envisioned as a passenger craft. However its use for freight is likely being considered too. Regent just announced raising $60M in Series A funding.
NASA NARI Academy
The potential of ground-effect vehicles fires up the imagination of everyone, including young aerospace students. Here’s below a design by STEM students participating to NASA Advanced Air Mobility virtual classroom. The concept craft is a high ratio ground-effect vehicle designed to carry 400 passengers. It would also be suitable for cargo applications.
In Part 3 we will explore a compelling ocean freight route that an aerospace startup with transoceanic ambitions might consider tackling first.
About The Author
Pierre is a software engineer for a major computer maker based in Cupertino. He likes to speculate about innovations in various domains such as aviation, cloud computing, AI and music. He holds an FAA pilot license for airplanes, helicopters and sUAS.
All opinions and speculations presented here are strictly his own, and are unrelated to his day job and employer.
