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Comment by monkeyspaw | Hacker News Reader

Anyone know the source of the 35-50% increased fuel efficiency numbers? I'm curious if it's a point-to-point estimate, or what. It'd be pretty amazing if the efficiency was such to overcome the reduced drag from flying at higher altitudes.

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Challenge accepted: I wasn't able to tease out a number more specific than "up to twice as efficient" here

http://jalopnik.com/5490236/the-nuclear-warhead+equipped-ekr...

but it might be decipherable in this PDF:

http://ftp.rta.nato.int/public/pubfulltext/rto/mp/rto-mp-015...

A couple of sources said such a plane can fly up to a few hundred feet up. And another talked about a yacht using WIG:

http://www.yachtboutique.com/Designers/Ekranoplan/Ekranoplan...

I don't know the source, but I imagine they're comparing efficiency against a conventional plane flying at sea level. There's no way this can compare to flying at altitude - I mean, the fastest this thing can fly is far below stall speed at altitude - but its key advantages at sea (particularly for littoral defense against strike groups of surface ships) are that it's essentially a ship and a plane in one, doesn't need an airfield, and can hide from radar. (Given this, I'm actually surprised China hasn't been interested in this technology.)

It wouldn't be of much use to China. It can't hide from airborne radar. And it can't operate effectively in rough seas.

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