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Landshark

Posted by michael on from the knock-knock-who's-there dept.

An anonymous reader writes "This has got to be, or will be when they actually make one, the coolest amphibious vehicle around. It's a cross between a motorcycle and a jet ski, and it seats three. It can travel at 200 mph on land and 50 mph on water. Just what you need to get you from point A to point B."

5 of 337 comments (clear)

  1. Durability? by TamMan2000 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The combined drive system is really clever, but I wonder how it will hold up... The impeller is mounted on the drive wheel, the wheel moves over the uneven surface of the road, and adsorbs shocks from all the bumps, so what I want to know is: how the heck are you going to build impeller seals that will hold up to that and still hold a tight tolerance?

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  2. Re:But WHY? by Gopher971 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Simple answer - Traffic. i live in Dublin near the coast. To travel to work every morning takes an hour and a half. With something like this I could be in work in 25 minutes by crossing Dublin Bay and travelling up the canal.

    Although, somehow I doubt you'd ever get up to 200mph on any road in Dublin!

    Gopher

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    Just you're average nitpicker.
  3. This will have the same problem as the 1960's by thilmony · · Score: 3, Interesting

    not passing us safety requirements. here's an article about that problem:

    http://www.motorway.com/home/articles/amphibicar .a sp

    and a picture:

    http://www.hemmings.com/images/amphicar.jpg

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  4. Fantasy Propulsion by jvl001 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I don't see how a centrifugal compressor will drive this thing the way it's been illustrated. Normally a centrifugal compressor takes axial flow and turns it into radial flow. According to the website they are using it to take in water upstream of the hub and blast it out a slot at the rear. They way this thing appears to be designed they are wasting an incredible amount of energy just spinning the flow around inside the rear wheel. I hate to think what cavitation will do to this thing.

    Note to landshark guys: It aint a turbine unless you're extracting power from the flow. In your case it's just a centrigual pump. Mount a forward pointing scoop that directs flow down the axis of the pump, then collect _all_ the radial flow and direct it out the exit.

    PS. You are driving this thing with the equivalent of the guts of an air-raid siren. How appropriate.

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    /. is to journalism as graffiti is to a bathroom wall
  5. Re:Planned or measured? by bflong · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's a Hydrofoil boat on the water. Perhaps the hydrofoil can be tucked up into the body while on land?
    It can keep it's center of gravity low and also employ veriable pitch airfoils for downforce while on land.
    This is not built like a typical V-Hull Grady White.

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