If you’ve ever traveled to a country that was cut up into parts by large bodies of water, we're sure you had to take a ferry to get from side to side. Have you ever thought to yourself that this method was really outdated? Well, progressive Singapore has, and therefore they came up with the Airfish 8 – its name telling exactly what it is! Read on to find out more about this awesome invention that’ll replace all ferries and ships!
The Airfish 8 was created by a Singaporean company called Wigetworks, whose aim is to completely change water transportation. This water jet does not have a regular airplane engine but rather that of a race car - a 7-liter V8 engine to be exact - and in fact, the vessel itself is defined as a commercial ship.
The plane hovers at a height of 2 to 6 meters above sea level and can reach a speed of 180 km/h, which is 2-3 times faster than the maximum speed of a regular ferry, which is made possible by an effect called "wing in ground", which creates air pockets under the craft when it is lowered to a height that equals half of its wingspan.
For the Airfish 8, there is no need for landing or even a hangar, because it does everything on the water, making it an exceptionally mobile plane. With such an aircraft you can get to places that regular ships or ferries could never reach, so experts predict a bright future for it in threatening rescue missions at the heart of the sea.
The model you see in the pictures can carry 8 passengers, but Wigetworks wants to build a version that will allow for 20-40 passengers. In addition to using it for tourism, the aircraft is also intended for use in the field of defense and commerce, and will probably be used worldwide by mid-2018.
