Lockheed WIG transport aircraft studies

[flateric]

Lockheed 1979 Large WIG Transport Aircraft studies

 

[Jemiba]

"The Russian put their eingine right in the front "
Another US used the same principle : Lockheed, too, designed
a WIG transport (from Flugrevue .9.78)

Couldn't find other info about the Airloiter (from Flugrevue .9.78, too )

 

[flateric]

"The Russian put their eingine right in the front "
Another US used the same principle : Lockheed, too, designed
a WIG transport (from Flugrevue .9.78)

http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,351.0.html

 

[Jemiba]

Ooops, sorry for this double posting ! Maybe because I still have
difficulties, to regard WIGs as aircraft !

But as far as I now have searched this forum, this Lockheed project
wasn't posted before, the Seastar catamaran flying boat, intended
as a kind of "flying frigate", but as an amphibious transport, too.
4- and 3-engined variants were shown in FlugRevue 1/1978.

 

[hesham]

My dear Jemiba,

the Lockheed developed that project to anther project of 1990,and I will
get you some details.

 

[hesham]

And from NASA site;

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19790022970_1979022970.pdf

 

[Triton]

Does anyone have additional information or images for the four-engined Lockheed "Seastar" flying boat? Any book suggestions to find additional information? Unfortunately, I just find information about the Lockheed T2V SeaStar trainer. Has there been a US Navy flying boat program since the cancellation of the Martin P6M SeaMaster in 1959?

 

[Jemiba]

"Does anyone have additional information or images for the four-engined Lockheed "Seastar" flying boat?"

As a transport, I can only remember this 3-engined version of the Seastar. The 4-engined
was intended as a patrol flying boat, a kind of flying FG, AFAIK.
(from FlugRevue)

 

[Triton]

Future Flight: The Next Generation of Flight and Aircraft Technology by Bill Siuru and John D. Busick (published October 1, 1993) calls what has been identified as the Lockheed SeaStar as a wing-in ground effect (WIG) transport that would probably operate at an altitude of 100 feet above the ocean's surface.

 

[Jemiba]

May be right, probably there were several designs based on this concept
In the mentioned FlugRevue, the 4-engined variant was just described
as an amphibium with excellent characteristics on the water, due to its
catamaran layout. The ASW is said to have hydro skis and would have been
armed with Lance missiles (?), AGM-54 Phoenix, two 105 mm howitzers
(probably similar to the AC-130 gunship installation),2 Vulcan Phalanx
AND a Seasprite helicopter in an enclosed hangar !
The dream of my youth ! B)

 

[fightingirish]

Here you see a another picture in colour of the Lockheed SeaStar modell shown in the article "They're Redesigning the Airplane", written by Micheal E. long and James A. Sugar and published in the magazine "National Geographic", January 1981, Vol. 159, No.1.
Thread: National Geographic, January 1981
The modell on the left is a Lockheed Large WIG Transport Aircraft study from 1979.
Thread: Lockheed 1979 Large WIG Transport Aircraft studies

 

[Triton]

May be right, probably there were several designs based on this concept
In the mentioned FlugRevue, the 4-engined variant was just described
as an amphibium with excellent characteristics on the water, due to its
catamaran layout. The ASW is said to have hydro skis and would have been
armed with Lance missiles (?), AGM-54 Phoenix, two 105 mm howitzers
(probably similar to the AC-130 gunship installation),2 Vulcan Phalanx
AND a Seasprite helicopter in an enclosed hangar !
The dream of my youth ! B)

I believe Lance is a reference to the UUM-125 Sea Lance missile:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UUM-125_Sea_Lance

 

[Avimimus]

May be right, probably there were several designs based on this concept
In the mentioned FlugRevue, the 4-engined variant was just described
as an amphibium with excellent characteristics on the water, due to its
catamaran layout. The ASW is said to have hydro skis and would have been
armed with Lance missiles (?), AGM-54 Phoenix, two 105 mm howitzers
(probably similar to the AC-130 gunship installation),2 Vulcan Phalanx
AND a Seasprite helicopter in an enclosed hangar !
The dream of my youth ! B)

Are you sure this isn't a mistake? It sounds like the typical armament of a destroyer, not an aircraft!

 

[Jemiba]

The mission mentioned in the article is sea control, especially escorting
convoys, mainly against submarine attacks. The planned mission profile
is shown in the diagram, actually it's a kind of "sprint-and-drift". The
Seastar is said to have been able to land and take-off up to a seastate 5.
What I'm really missing is a dedicated ASW weapon, but the heli surely
woud have carried ASW torpedoes and the Seastar itself was mainly
meant as a sensorplatform.

 

[Stargazer]

I believe Lance is a reference to the UUM-125 Sea Lance missile:

Probably not. "Thank" to the Vietnam war, Lance (MGM-52) was under consideration in the late 60s and 70s as a shipboard weapon for shore bombardment (in competition with a Terrier-derivative and possibly a new missile), for instance when a second modernization of the early Terrier cruisers with Mk-4 launchers and vertical missile magazines was considered (USS Boston CAG-1 and USS Canberra CAG-2; it didn't take place). This is coherent with the 105mm howitzers. Also the time-line for SeaStar points to Lance rather than Sea Lance. If I remember correctly, one issue of APR had a very interesting article on SeaStar.

 

[Triton]

Artist impressions of NASA/Lockheed WIG transports.

Wing-in-ground-effect (WIGE) transports would use a phenomenon that occurs when a plane flies near the surface: Wings get increased lift from a cushion of high-pressure air underneath and consequently require less power. The ground effect extends to an altitude half the wingspan. WIGE designs usually have stubby (low aspect ratio) wings for better low-speed control. They are usually seaplanes since they must fly over fairly flat surfaces with wing-tip end plates skimming over the wave tops. These NASA/Lockheed concepts would use a power-augmented ram affect to shorten takeoff and landing. Engines would tilt up, and exhaust would raise pressure under the wing. Speed would only be 400 mph. but payloads could be up to 750,000 lbs.

Source: "New-Technology Monster Transports Will Dwarf Today's Jumbo Jets" by Ben Kovicar, Popular Science, October 1980.

 

[hesham]

Hi,


here is some Lockheed Ekranoplanes or WIG aircraft projects;


http://vadimvswar.narod.ru/ALL_OUT/TiVOut0809/EkrplUSA/EkrplUSA001.htm

 

[hesham]

Hi,


the Lockheed Martin SEA;


http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376042106000637

 

[Stargazer]

I've already posted this one somewhere.

 

[hesham]

I've already posted this one somewhere.

Yes,ans sorry for this double post,


we must merge those topics;
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,2717.msg108541.html#msg108541

 

[Stargazer]

we must merge those topics;

No, let's leave the SEA in its own topic for now. There's enough material there.

Here is the link to the topic on the Lockheed SEA:
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,2717.0

 

[hesham]

From Russian TsAGI 19/1981,


here is the Lockheed 200 and 300 ton WIG aircraft,and anther some designs.

 

[Stargazer]

From Russian file 19/1981

Please can you at least say it's the TsAGI's technical information journal? Thanks.

 

[hesham]

Hi,


here is two Lockheed Sea Control aircraft concepts,and the third is a helicopter,also
intended for Sea Control ?.


http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a081572.pdf

 

[hesham]

From L+K 5/1978.

 

[Bazinga]

Ooops, sorry for this double posting ! Maybe because I still have
difficulties, to regard WIGs as aircraft !

But as far as I now have searched this forum, this Lockheed project
wasn't posted before, the Seastar catamaran flying boat, intended
as a kind of "flying frigate", but as an amphibious transport, too.
4- and 3-engined variants were shown in FlugRevue 1/1978.

 

[Bazinga]

 

[hesham]

Hi,


here is two Lockheed Sea Control aircraft concepts,and the third is a helicopter,also
intended for Sea Control ?.

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a081572.pdf

And,

 

[jsport]

Hi,


here is two Lockheed Sea Control aircraft concepts,and the third is a helicopter,also
intended for Sea Control ?.

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a081572.pdf

And,

wouldn't a larger full fold out wing structure in addition to the SES variable geometry create a BWB (altitude aerial loiter), WIG (fast oversea dash) , SES (high speed sea dash, and very low depth water infiltration) super mobility craft?
A modular craft, like LCS was supposed to be, and large enough for a small number of VLS and or UCRAS STOVL housing & TO/L would seem to be the definition of Distributed Sea & Littoral Control and more.

Such a development would challenge where L/W material science could go, so it might well be 30yr development but provide parameters.

 

[numbers station]

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1091893/m1/18/

 

[hesham]

From Aviation magazine 1979.