French special forces take to the air
French RIB builder Sillinger has joined up with one of last year’s Speed@ Seawork exhibitors, SEAir, to develop a RIB capable of operating on foils for the French military writes Dag Pike.
Sillinger is one of the major RIB builders in France and the company has a long-standing relationship with the French military, supplying a variety of RIBs to both navy and army. Now they have developed this ‘Flying RIB’ as a boat for the Special Services with the promise of a smoother ride and higher speeds.
The boat is based on a standard Sillinger 7.65 metres RIB and this has been modified in cooperation with Speed@Seawork exhibitor SEAir to incorporate their foil system that allows the boat to ride on foils once up to speed. It is claimed that the foil system will give the boats a smoother ride less influenced by wave action and the reduced hull contact with the water will allow higher performance.
It is claimed that this RIB can reach speeds of 46 knots powered by a Mercury Verado outboard with a reduced fuel consumption per mile. The hull can have up to 20 cms clearance with the sea surface when riding on the foils, allowing high performance in higher significant wave heights.
The SEAir foils are made from carbon composites and can be retracted when not in use, allowing the boat to be beached and trailered and to operate like a conventional RIB. The system is controlled by a computer-based system that can fine tune the control of the foils and allow push button control of the foil depth. There are three foils, one on each side that retract into the RIB hull and the third at the stern that is fitted to the ventilation plate of the outboard so its retraction and angle of attack work with the engine’s power trim and tilt.
SEAir produces the foils by 3D printing to ensure a high level of accuracy and whilst this is currently carried out using composites the company will soon have the capability to produce 3D printed foils in metals.
Currently the French Special Forces are using conventional RIBs made by Zodiac but Sillinger is hoping that the performance of this flying RIB will convince this operator to switch to this new technology.
SEAir were a very exciting guest to have at the Speed@seawork sea trials event last year and at the main Seawork show, their foiling RIB prototype was awarded with a Special Commendation in the vessels class of the European Commercial Marine Awards. The Sillinger foiling RIB is due to attend Speed@ Seawork 2020.
