Remarks on the Ground-Effect Machine

It is well known that an augmentation of the lifting capability of fixed or rotating-wing aircraft occurs whenever such aircraft are flying in close proximity to the ground. The main advantage of the airplane, however, has always been regarded as the ability to "escape" from ground environment. Increases in performance have never been judged worth abandoning the freedom of the open sky, although before World War II, the Dornier 12 engine amphibian DOX was reported to have crossed the Atlantic entirely within the ground cushion with greatly reduced induced drag. Mostly, however, "ground effect" airplanes and helicopters have been associated with engineering failures, the most common of which was failure to provide sufficient power for the machine.