Questions tagged [ground-effect]

I have some confusion concerning the ground effect. If we take two applications: Aircraft and Cars, they seem to have completely opposite effects. Aircraft From Ground effect (aerodynamics), we can read: During normal flight, the upper wing surface…

I understand ground effect as far as Wikipedia explains it. There are two ways to ask my question; A ground effect vehicle flies along and encounters an obstacle (say a big wave) that's maybe about half the flying height. What will this feel to the…

The rule I have been taught is that ground effect begins within 1 wingspan of the ground. What is the derivation of this measurement? Is it actually true, or just an urban-legend/rule-of-thumb style teaching aid? If it is a valid way to assess…

There is an impressive flight (figure-of-eight) with a human-powered aircraft shown here: Given the long wings of the Aerocycle 3, can it be considered to fly in ground effect for the whole flight? Nothing wrong with that - the Ecranoplans are…