More than 600 seagliders have already been sold for a total of over $9 billion, according to Thalheimer. “When you’re coming in on a bumpy approach, then sort of get right over the runway, and the plane just sort of floats for a second before landing — that’s the ground effect at work. Wouldn’t that be a great place to spend the entire flight, that nice calm state over the runway?”The United States and Germany also experimented with ground effect vehicles, but ultimately the concept never took off. First, Thalheimer says, seagliders are better at dealing with waves than vintage ekranoplans. Old ground effect vehicles were more akin to aircraft, with pilots controlling them at all times.

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