The Future of Hovercraft

Hovercraft were invented 50 years ago, yet according to the media,

many people think that hovercraft vanished about 20 years later. This
misconception once again proves that you should never believe what
you read in the newspapers. As Mark Twain might have said “The
reports of the death of hovercraft are greatly exaggerated"

Hovercraft production continues to increase and new manufacturing

methods and materials are reducing the cost of ownership to make mass
adoption more likely. Hovercraft are now more affordable and smaller
versions make leisure ownership possible. 50 years from now, with
seawaters rising as a result of global warming, perhaps we will all
drive hovercraft instead of cars.

50 years from now, flooding will be more common, and hovercraft will
be necessary to assist rescue operations. More people will get cut
off by rising tides, and will need rescuing from mud and quicksand.
As winter temperatures rise, ice will thin, and use of snowmobiles
over icy lakes will become even more precarious, as will skating on
thin ice.

Higher water levels are changing the landscape and maps are being
revised to ensure their accuracy against satellite and GPS data. As
we have seen this year, flooding can cause expensive damage and
seriously disrupt our lives. The commuter hovercraft might be more
practical than the car for getting to work. It will be quicker to
take the hovercraft to work and cross the lake or river than take the
car along congested roads.

In trying to predict future trends, commentators have to consider

changing circumstances; improvements in affordability of hovercraft
will aid mass adoption. For the hovercraft to be universally
accepted, we need to look at developments that are taking place with
smaller hovercraft. As with the motorcar, affordability is the key to
mass adoption.

Large hovercraft remain expensive, so mass adoption of hovercraft

will be driven by the development and affordability of personal
leisure hovercraft. These smaller hovercraft versions are already
starting to make a big impact on commercial activities such as
rescue, commercial surveying etc.

Leisure hovercraft are fun to fly, comfortable to drive with inbuilt

air suspension and easy to operate. Simply twist the throttle, and
feel the air inflate the hovercraft skirt, to gently raise you up and
thrust you forward on your friction-free journey of exploration.
Experience the freedom of flying down the beach or slipway, and enjoy
the smooth transition from land over water. Imagine the freedom of
use 24/7; with no restrictions imposed by low tide, you just fly out
to sea, over the mud or sand.

Boat and Jet Ski owners await the tide, and need to plan their
voyages according to the restrictions imposed by tidal streams. Boat
owners need to watch out for submerged rocks and coral, hovercraft
owners fear not, as hovercraft have no propellers to get damaged;
they just fly out over the mud or sand whenever they like. It takes
only a short time for users to get the feeling and control of anti
gravitational flight. Personal hovercraft can travel at speeds of up
to 40 miles per hour, race craft go even faster, but with friction
free transport, any small hovercraft will guarantee the hover
experience adrenalin rush. A number of entrepreneurial operators now
offer Hovercraft experience days to passengers to experience water to
land transitions, or allow one to master the controls of leisure
hovercraft.

UK based manufacturer Reaction International Ltd is currently

enjoying considerable success with a small 3-person hovercraft known
as the Hov Pod. (www.hovpod.com)

All hovercraft are weight dependent, and in the past, hobbyists and
enthusiasts have raced each other on weekends on home made craft made
from very thin GRP to reduce weight to a minimum. Race hovercraft can
achieve speeds of up to 70 miles per hour, but lightweight
construction often compromises durability, so the Hov Pod hull is
designed principally for the commercial & leisure market from a
material known as HDPE, or High Density Polyethylene.

New lightweight engine developments make leisure hovercraft suitable

for use as rescue hovercraft for flooded ground, also ice and mud
rescue. Every year people succumb to drowning and hypothermia after
falling through the ice. Accidents occur through ice fishing, or the
use of snowmobiles traveling over thin ice (global warming affects
ice thickness). In colder climates, dog owners regularly throw sticks
for their poops to trustingly fetch from iced over lakes. Alas, too
frequently, dog owners routinely fall through the ice trying to save
their furry friends, as emotion overcomes logic. (Humans are usually
heavier than dogs so more likely to fall through the ice) Rescue
boats are pretty useless on ice and mud, and in cold conditions,
hypothermia is a real danger, as it slows your senses and mobility.
Small hovercraft are quickly able to reach victims as they hover
above any flat surface, and do so without exposing rescuers to the
perils that face the victims. (rescue them, don’t join them)

Rescue boats also fail during flooding, since propellers get snarled
on submerged street furniture and wire fences straddled across
fields. Hovercraft have no propellers so have no problems with
submerged obstacles during flooding emergencies, in fact Hovercraft
are happy traveling over any flat surface.

Small hovercraft are easier to transport than their larger cousins,

so are in great demand for homeland security patrols to protect
citizens from acts of terrorism and cross border incursions such as
the recent terrorist activities in Mumbai. Smaller patrol hovercraft
deployed over a larger area can be more effective than one or two
larger patrol craft. Hovercraft have no propellers to get snagged on
the roots of mangrove trees. Hovercraft can patrol coastal regions to
prevent incursions from drug and people traffickers. Hovercraft are
less likely to set off mines, and provide a far more stable platform
compared to boats; this is useful when firing off warning shots.

Will hovercraft still be around 50 years from now? We certainly think

so. New technology provides techniques such as computer-aided-design
to engineer parts with tolerances far tighter than possible 50 years
ago. Computers communicate with robotic CNC machinery to produce the
engineering parts to extremely tight tolerances to reduce vibration
and wear and reduce noise. Regulators in some countries continue to
try classifying hovercraft as boats or planes (You it mean it flies
like a plane, but it goes on the water?) But there is no turning back
for the hovercraft, they are here to stay, and news of their terminal
demise by the media may be a little inaccurate and ignorant of the
current speed of development. Hovercraft are fun, adaptable, useful,
great for commuting across rivers and lakes, reaching lakeside
property, rescue, patrol, environmental surveys, commercial
applications, shell fishing and indeed fun. For further details
please visit http://www.hovercraft-hovercraft.com/