Ken,

The Russian company Beriev had this interesting amphibian at OSH
Look how close the wing is to the water for ground effect
and the length of the  wing strakes. The Russians know a lot about
flight in ground effect. It was built with aluminum so composites
ought to be tougher and stronger.

Look how fast it is with only 420 HP.
I think the payload number is a mistake.
That is probably less fuel.

http://www.beriev.com/eng/be-103/be-103.html

I think the idea will work on the Coot.
You could do away with the sponsons and their drag.

Paul Lamar

   That is what Molt's idea was but on my new plane I raised the wing
5.5 inches to get the thrust line closer to the CL of the prop.
  I was the first to put sponsons on the coot and they added 10 mph
and everyone that has added them has reported the same gain in speed.
  I think that the V-hull is sending dirty air into the wing and the
sponsons are sending that air under the wing instead making the wing
more efficient.
  I am not impressed with the cruise speed considering the landing
speed, that tells me there ain't no wing on it and any seaplane pilot
will tell you that ain't going to work.

Ken

Looks like a lot of wing area to me. In true ground effect a wing becomes more
efficient. Also the strakes will prevent the hull air from affecting the 
wing. Beriev really knows what they are doing when it comes to sea
planes as they are the only company in the world to go into production
with a jet powered amphibian. They have been doing this for many years.

I will say mounting two engines on struts lowers the thrust line.
That is one advantage they have over the Coot configuration.

Paul Lamar
 
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