Afd Airfoil Development Gmbh

Airfoil Development GmbH (AFD) was founded in 1997 by Hanno Fischer and Klaus Matjasic to Develop and Manufacture Ground Effect Craft, also known as WIG Craft. Its first successful WIG craft to be produced was the Airfish 8 which is an 8-seaters WIG Craft and has been certified by Germanischer Lloyd (GL). It is now owned and developed by Wigetworks of Singapore. At the sametime, Hanno Fischer developed the Hoverwing technology as a request from German Ministry of Research & Development. The goal was to develop a large Ground Effect Craft for future marine transportation. To proof the concept, HW2VT, a 2-seaters WIG Craft, was manufactured and tested. The maiden flight took place in 1997 on the lake Baldeney nearby the city of Essen, Germany. It was flown also in the Baltic Sea. HW2VT’s test flight was successful in which all the requirements for a Ground Effect craft were fulfilled. Some of those requirements are high speed, high efficiency, maneuverability and low power. Consequently, a 20-seaters Hoverwing (the Hoverwing 20, HW20) was decided to be developed and manufactured for commercialization. In 2008, GECAT Corporation acquired AFD and injected fresh fund to start with the development and manufacturing of HW20. HW20 is expected to fly towards the mid of 2012.