It reminds me of Howard Hughes with the Spruce Goose. Another 8 engine airplane that would only fly in ground effect and only one was built. Another failed effort at practical flight.
Eric, I had quite a few friends and coworkers who flew missions on the P-3 on the same sub hunt missions. Pretty interesting missions during the height of the Cold War and one that often fascinated me. I have a lot of respect for those guys and really appreciate the effort required to maintain extended flights at 200 ft. But there's a HUGE difference between 200 ft and 16 ft.