About this book:

For over a century, the hydrofoil has been transportation’s great "what if"—a machine that promised the speed of flight with the convenience of a ferry, yet remained trapped in a cycle of high costs, noisy engines, and niche obscurity. *Flying Above Water* is the definitive chronicle of that tantalizing near-miss, taking you from the workshop of Victorian tinkerers and the urgency of wartime naval programs to the sleek, ill-fated passenger lines of the Jet Age. You’ll witness the brilliant, often eccentric engineering behind V-foils and fully submerged systems, and understand exactly why the economics of fossil fuel could never quite make the numbers work for mass adoption.

The narrative pivots sharply in its second half, where a quiet revolution changes everything. The advent of high-density batteries and compact, high-torque electric motors has shattered the barriers that grounded the hydrofoil for generations. Suddenly, the physics align: electric propulsion offers the instant power, silent running, and radically lower operating costs that make "flying above water" not just technically possible, but commercially inevitable. This book reveals how that convergence is rewriting the rules of urban mobility, opening waterways as uncongested highways for a new generation of clean, swift vessels.

Part engineering history, part business case for the future, *Flying Above Water* is essential reading for anyone fascinated by maritime innovation, sustainable transport, or the stubborn mechanics of technological breakthroughs. It proves that the dream of skipping across the waves wasn't a fantasy—it was just waiting for the right power source. The hulls are rising; the future is electric, elevated, and arriving sooner than you think.