Air bypass to augment air cushion vehicle

Abstract

Air cushion vehicles traditionally have distinct systems for lift and thrust. Combining the two systems has benefits but generally leads to compromised performance as there are limited ways to balance the forces. With the disclosed dynamic air cushion vehicle, ram air is added to the air cushion through a controlled opening in a variable seal at the bow. Firstly, this adds pressurized airflow to the air cushion, which reduces the power demand on the fan. Secondly, it provides an additional degree of control over the pressure and flow of the air cushion, which allows further optimization of vehicle efficiency and performance.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.