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- I have always pondered the possibility of inflatable aircraft–and I suppose a hovercraft would be possible also. If you have seen a parafoil, you know that the front is open and air flows in to keep it inflated to an airfoil-shape–well, I don’t mean like that. I mean a big, sealed plastic wing, something like a giant beach toy. You blow it up once at the start of the flight, cork it, and the wing stays “rigid” because it’s inflated. …I saw a kid flying a kite once that was made this way–it was plastic film, like an inflatable beach toy–but it had no sticks needed. You just blew it up and it held the shape it needed. It would seem to me that at it would be possible to make a lighter-overall structure than if you had a solid frame of any kind. And it’d be easy to store, too! -And for extra-lifting power, you could fill it with helium! Woo-hoo!!! You all owe me one jillion dollars.
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- But for a hovercraft, it could work too–instead of a “solid deck/frame with a rubber skirt” as normal, you’d have a shape that when inflated is something like a life-raft turned upside down. Then you would just need a small frame that sat on top of that, and held the seats and the engines. Of course if you ran into a pointed stick you’d be SOL, but hey, I ain’t Einstein. Figure that out for yourself.
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