Wing-in-ground effect vehicle

A control system for controlling a wing-in-ground effect vehicle that includes (i) a main wing comprising one or more main wing control surfaces, (ii) a tail comprising one or more tail control surfaces, (iii) a blown-wing propulsion system comprising an array of electric motors arranged along at least one of the main wing or the tail, and (iv) a retractable hydrofoil system comprising a retractable hydrofoil, the control system comprising:

• at least one processor;
• non-transitory computer-readable medium;
• and
• program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the control system is configured to:
• cause the retractable hydrofoil system to operate in an extended configuration in which the retractable hydrofoil extends below a hull of the wing-in-ground effect vehicle for submersion below a water surface;
• while the retractable hydrofoil system is in the extended configuration, (i) determine a first position, orientation, and velocity of the wing-in-ground effect vehicle and (ii) based on the determined first position, orientation, and velocity of the wing-in-ground effect vehicle, maneuver the wing-in-ground effect vehicle by causing one or more actuators of the retractable hydrofoil system to change an orientation of the retractable hydrofoil;
• cause the retractable hydrofoil system to operate in a retracted configuration in which the retractable hydrofoil is retracted at least partially into the hull of the wing-in-ground effect vehicle;
• and
• while the retractable hydrofoil system is in the retracted configuration, (i) determine a second position, orientation, and velocity of the wing-in-ground effect vehicle and (ii) based on the determined second position, orientation, and velocity of the wing-in-ground effect vehicle, maneuver the wing-in-ground effect vehicle by causing one or more actuators of the main wing and the tail to change an orientation of the main wing control surfaces and tail control surfaces.

A method for controlling a wing-in-ground effect vehicle that includes (i) a main wing comprising one or more main wing control surfaces, (ii) a tail comprising one or more tail control surfaces, (iii) a blown-wing propulsion system comprising an array of electric motors arranged along at least one of the main wing or the tail, and (iv) a retractable hydrofoil system comprising a retractable hydrofoil, the method comprising:

• causing the retractable hydrofoil system to operate in an extended configuration in which the retractable hydrofoil extends below a hull of the wing-in-ground effect vehicle for submersion below a water surface;
• while the retractable hydrofoil system is in the extended configuration, (i) determining a first position, orientation, and velocity of the wing-in-ground effect vehicle and (ii) based on the determined first position, orientation, and velocity of the wing-in-ground effect vehicle, maneuver the wing-in-ground effect vehicle by causing one or more actuators of the retractable hydrofoil system to change an orientation of the retractable hydrofoil;
• causing the retractable hydrofoil system to operate in a retracted configuration in which the retractable hydrofoil is retracted at least partially into the hull of the wing-in-ground effect vehicle;
• and
• while the retractable hydrofoil system is in the retracted configuration, (i) determining a second position, orientation, and velocity of the wing-in-ground effect vehicle and (ii) based on the determined second position, orientation, and velocity of the wing-in-ground effect vehicle, maneuver the wing-in-ground effect vehicle by causing one or more actuators of the main wing and the tail to change an orientation of the main wing control surfaces and tail control surfaces.