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The Korean government decided to step up development of a WIG ship, or Wing in Ground ship, at a ministers' conference on science and technology on Thursday. The WIG ship, dubbed a flying boat, is essentially an airplane that flies just above the surface of the sea.
The 20-seat WIG ship proposed by the government would be 77 m long, 65 m wide and weigh 300 tons. It would travel at speeds of 250 to 300 km/h, similar to the KTX train, and carry a loads of around 100 tons, as much as Boeing 747 can carry.
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An artist's impression of a large WIG ship, or Wing in Ground ship. /courtesy of the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute.
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The government plans to spend W170 billion to develop the ship over five years, aiming for test runs in 2011 and commercial operations from 2012. The vessel would be used as a passenger ship, freighter or military craft.
Traveling three or four times faster than normal ships, a WIG ship exploits aerodynamic forces to skim just one to five meters above the water.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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