User:Char/sandbox
| AITC-14 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Amphibious anti-submarine seaplane |
| National origin | Aztapamatlan |
| Manufacturer | Axinitlan corporation |
| Designer | Micol Aketzalli |
| First flight | 17 September 1974 |
| Status | In service |
| Number built | 221 |
The Aketzalli Axinitlan AITC-14 Atl-Iohui Tlamanicuiztli (Seajet Surface Glider) is an Aztapaman anti-submarine aircraft in service with the Aztapaman Navy. It is notable for its unorthodox design created by the Aztapaman aeronautic engineer Micol Aketzalli, which is primarily intended to operate within the ground effect above land and especially over the surface of the ocean. While in the ground effect, the AITC-14 can reach speeds in excess of 750 kilometers per hour, cruise at 650 km/h and carry a payload of more than 20,000 kilograms. Unlike other Aztapaman surface glider designs, it is also capabale of conventional flight outside of the ground effect albeit with reduced speed and range with a service cieling of roughly 8,000 meters (26,000 ft). The main feature of surface gliders, and the principal advantage of the AITC-14 design created by Aketzalli is the capability to carry a heavy payload comparable to that of a ship at speeds competing with those of aircraft due to the aerodynamic advantages of traveling within the ground effect. The AITC-14 was the first military surface glider design and the first ground effect vehicle to reach wider success, demonstrating the viability of such a craft and the ambitious prosals of Micol Aketzalli for other uses to Axinitlan and other manufacturers.