I can't think of a clever title =~(

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/09/28/vo.iran.flying.boats.avn

"Iran shows off new propeller driven children's amusement park ride"
- new saddles for the Cavalry also unveiled

I look forward to air-to-air with Predator drones.

Live Target Practice?

Call them what the Russians called them, ekranoplans.

They are really more ground effect airplanes than flying boats of course. Not sure how the Iranian ones are going to be much more effective than a bunch of float equipped Cessna 182's though.

This is because they can't afford an aircraft carrier?

is it just me, or does it look like they just mounted a prop to a subaru motor bolted to some scaffolding there?

Iran: never before have so few brain cells commanded so much wealth, and done so little with it...berkleying berktards

If two drunks on a lake come up with it would be briliant, but to come from some kind of military it's laughable. What do they plan to do with it anyway? Troll for flying fish?

That looks like something that you could bring down with a boomerang.

http://www.polarismotor.it/

Primitive as they are, this could be an effective anti-capitalism weapon against tankers in the Straits of Hormuz.

Just thinkin' out loud here..........

Replacments for the Iranian F-14s?

Perhaps they are training craft for something more like these.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbecl88NsEQ&feature=related

These things make the goofy Thunderbird series 'transports' look pretty plausible after all...

The ghost of LeRoy Grumman says "Berkley, you, Iran!!"

oldsaw wrote: Primitive as they are, this could be an effective anti-capitalism weapon against tankers in the Straits of Hormuz. Just thinkin' out loud here..........

Egg-zachary. Those boats are little more than target practice for a carrier battle group or a squadron of Super Hornets, but they could do some serious damage to a single, unescorted ship like a tanker.

4cylndrfury wrote: Iran: never before have so few brain cells commanded so much wealth, and done so little with it...berkleying berktards

Let's be realistic here. Despite its very obvious flaws, the Iranian government is very well-educated. Despite it looking crazy, I'm sure there's good reasoning behind this.

I think it is a good idea for it's purpose Simple, rugged, cheap. Guns and cameras. I will capitalize important words in that statement

CAMERAS

I like the winglets.

aircooled beat me to it.

They look like the "homebuilt aircraft" guys decided to build Ekranoplans. The vid makes me wonder what the EAA meeting at Oshkosh meeting would look like if they had a lake.

http://www.airventure.org/

Appleseed wrote: The ghost of LeRoy Grumman says "Berkley, you, Iran!!"

I've been in love with the F-14 as long as I can remember, and to think that the Navy retired them 4 years ago and Iran still uses them, just makes me very sad.

And good point on using these toys to go after easy targets like tankers...

neon4891 wrote:

Appleseed wrote: The ghost of LeRoy Grumman says "Berkley, you, Iran!!"

I've been in love with the F-14 as long as I can remember, and to think that the Navy retired them 4 years ago and Iran still uses them, just makes me very sad. And good point on using these toys to go after easy targets like tankers...

Never even thought about the F-14s being Grumman. I just meant the Bethpage Ironworks turned out a lot of flying boats.

friedgreencorrado wrote: aircooled beat me to it. They look like the "homebuilt aircraft" guys decided to build Ekranoplans. The vid makes me wonder what the EAA meeting at Oshkosh meeting would look like if they had a lake. http://www.airventure.org/

They do: Vette Seaplane Base

neon4891 wrote: I've been in love with the F-14 as long as I can remember, and to think that the Navy retired them 4 years ago and Iran still uses them, just makes me very sad...

Don't be sad. almost all of them don't work

Appleseed wrote:

friedgreencorrado wrote: aircooled beat me to it. They look like the "homebuilt aircraft" guys decided to build Ekranoplans. The vid makes me wonder what the EAA meeting at Oshkosh meeting would look like if they had a lake. http://www.airventure.org/

They do: Vette Seaplane Base

Oh, wow! Thanks for the link, Appleseed! Now that I know the EAA actually has a seaplane base, I'm even more curious if anybody's (other than the Iranians, of course.. ) building an ekranoplan in their garage somwhere!