Static thrust recovery of PAR craft on solid surfaces

Power-Augmented-Ram Vehicles belong to a new class of ground-effect machines with hybrid support. Recovered static thrust and static lift on solid surfaces are important amphibious characteristics of this craft. Experimental data for the static thrust recovery and the transition to a hovering mode are obtained in the tests with a vehicle model on two types of ground surface and with variable engine thrust and flap trailing-edge gap. The uphill surface and increased mass of the model demonstrate reductions in thrust recovery. A comparison with a two-dimensional potential-flow theory is presented. The static thrust accumulation, identified in the pre-hovering regime of a model on solid surface, does not significantly benefit the low-speed forward motion.