The cross section diagrams of this new craft are different than most other WIG's, SES's and hydroplanes which usually feature an underbelly straight line (or positive camber airfoil) from bow to stern that tapers downward at the stern, and is higher in the front.
This design uses a negative camber airfoil to presumably pocket more air, that is the main difference from prior efforts from what I can tell.
Camber
https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Camber
Quote:
Production of lift is dependant primarily on airspeed, angle of attack and aerofoil design. A fundamental component of aerofoil design is the camber which will vary with the intended speed and purpose of the aerofoil. The upper surface of the aerofoil will always have a positive camber while the lower surface may have a positive (convex), zero (flat) or negative (concave) camber as appropriate for the intended use. An aerofoil in which the camber of the upper and lower surfaces are the same is referred to as symmetrical and is most often found in aerobatic aircraft intended for inverted flight. A supercritical aerofoil will usually incorporate a negatively cambered lower surface. Designers may also vary the camber over the span of the wing to improve stall and stall recovery characteristics.
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I'd describe this craft as a fanless and skirtless ram-air SES using lifting body aerodynamics.
A real mouthful.
Surface effect ship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_effect_ship
Quote:
A Surface Effect Ship (SES) or Sidewall Hovercraft is a watercraft that has both an air cushion, like a hovercraft, and twin hulls, like a catamaran. When the air cushion is in use, a small portion of the twin hulls remains in the water. When the air cushion is turned off ("off-cushion" or "hull borne"), the full weight of the vessel is supported by the buoyancy of the twin hulls.
The SES has two advantages over a hovercraft for open sea operation: it is more resistant to slipping sideways when acted on by air or sea, and it can use water jets for propulsion since the inlet nozzles are always covered by water.
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Lifting body
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifting_body
Quote:
A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage with little or no conventional wing. Whereas a flying wing seeks to maximize cruise efficiency at subsonic speeds by eliminating non-lifting surfaces, lifting bodies generally minimize the drag and structure of a wing for subsonic, supersonic and hypersonic flight, or spacecraft re-entry. All of these flight regimes pose challenges for proper flight safety.
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