Thursday 30 October 2014

The Evolution Of Flying Ships

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The invention of hydrofoils was one of the most revolutionary developments in the history of marine engineering. Hydrofoils are vessels that use wing-like foils below the hull in order to reach greater speeds on the water. The 'wings' are submerged so that the hull can be above the water.

When Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini built a full-scale hydrofoil boat (photo above) in 1906, the technology behind traveling on the sea took a hyper-leap. Despite their promise, hydrofoils did not take a leading role in marine technology. But throughout the last century an incredibly diverse fleet of these airplane-ship hybrids were built.

(via Look At This...)

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