Hovercraft……

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

…..don’t see so much of them these days!

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

I was (and still am) fascinated by hovercraft. However, not having seen any reference to this type of craft in the media for years I can only assume that they are a thing of the past. I have not seen any models of these craft at model engineering exhibitions for some years now.

What went wrong with the technology? I thought it was a brilliant concept.

Rik

[Michael HornerParticipant @michaelhorner54327]

**LINK**

Hi Rik

You could check this link out. Saw it on the telly recently but it could be years old. Couldn't find the date on the web page.

Cheers Michael.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

There might be something of interest amongst these

MichaelG.

[John RuddParticipant @johnrudd16576]

I once journeyed to France via hover…..hover speed?

i guess it was superceeded by the hydrofoil service?

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

I think the RNLI use them.

As far as I know you can go from Portsmouth to the IOW on them as well.

Edited By V8Eng on 25/01/2014 22:32:22

[MICHAEL WILLIAMSParticipant @michaelwilliams41215]

Large commercial hovercraft were killed off by rapidly rising fuel costs .

The forward thrust engines have to be very large and powerful and were usually derived from aircraft engines .

Indeed the fuel usage and cost was often comparable to that of an aeroplane .

Other difficulties were the very rough ride sometimes experienced on the hover ferries and the uncertain steering in rough sea conditions .

More generally no one ever solved the problem of running them on land over anything exept smooth terrain or prepared tracks .

On water Hydrofoils are much more fuel efficient and if you want to go really fast on water there are ground effect wave skimmers .

I believe that Hovercraft are still built and used for military purposes .

Hover systems were tried for railways but several initially promising systems were tried and abandoned .

The Maglev and derivative systems proved to be much more effective and were more intrinsically compatible with electrified railways .

MikeW

[julian atkinsParticipant @julianatkins58923]

yes, still used on the ryde (IOW) to southsea service. used to commute every day on them unless it was rough when it was a very late arrival home via the car ferry. if the windows in my office started to rattle i knew i was going to be very late home! always seemed to manage ok in the morning strangely enough even if we had to zig zag all the way to southsea which could take 45 mins instead of the usual 10 mins. one overturned in 1972 with the loss of 5 lives.

cheers,

julian

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Interesting video of a Russian Navy Hovercraft here

The advert seems to be obligatory, but it's worth the wait.

MichaelG.

[MICHAEL WILLIAMSParticipant @michaelwilliams41215]

Hi Michael G ,

Have a look at the Russian Ekranoplan – 300 mph over water at less than 3 feet altitude . Actually works and there are Western designs as well .

Regards ,

MikeW

[MICHAEL WILLIAMSParticipant @michaelwilliams41215]

What is essentially the Hovercraft principle is still used today in large rafts for moving very heavy or sensitive loads over conrete floors .

Toy size versions are sometimes used for moving machinery in factories – one little one under each support point – usually left in place for next time .

MikeW

[Bill PudneyParticipant @billpudney37759]

The only time I've nearly been seasick was on a hydrofoil, there used to be a service from Southampton to Cowes. Whilst it was quite fast, it rolled on its 'foils. Even in a straight line. Most uncomfortable.

cheers

Bill

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by MICHAEL WILLIAMS on 25/01/2014 23:38:06:
Hi Michael G ,

Have a look at the Russian Ekranoplan – 300 mph over water at less than 3 feet altitude . Actually works and there are Western designs as well .

Regards ,

MikeW

.

Wow !!

MichaelG.

[Robin PaineParticipant @robinpaine16841]

There is a 700 page book, with 450 pictures called 'On a Cushion of Air', (www.Amazon.com or http://www.thebookdepository.com and Kindle), which tells the story of Christopher Cockerell's discovery that heavy weights could be supported on a cushion of low pressure air, and the development of the hovercraft by those who were there, from the very early days through to the heyday of the giant 165-ton SRN.4, which crossed the English Channel starting in 1968 carrying 30 cars and 254 passengers at speeds in excess of 75 knots on a calm day. It was subsequently widened to carry 36 cars and 280 passengers with an A.U.W. of 200 tones and was later lengthened to an A.U.W of 325 tons and capable of carrying 55 cars and 424 passengers. The amazing point was that from 165 tons to 325 tons only 400 extra hp was required, although a bit of speed was sacrificed, proving conclusively that Christopher Cockerell's theory was sound.

Sadly, for economic reasons, the service came to an end on 1st October 2000. In total 6 SR.4s were built and the two remaining ones are in the Hovercraft Museum at Lee-on-Solent. See http://www.onacushionofair.com

[Sean CullenParticipant @seancullen60833]

I would recommend a visit to this place http://www.hovercraft-museum.org/ only open infrequently but absolutely fascinating. You can get a real close up view of all sorts of craft. We went last year and they said that firms like Griffon make craft for organisations like coastguards in places like India and the baltic states where there are large expanses of marshland as they are the only sensible way of getting around.

Sean Cullen

[MikeParticipant @mike89748]

Once travelled across the English Channel by hovercraft, and while the engineering was brilliant, the passenger comfort was not. Terrible vibration, enough to make your teeth rattle, and the thing kicked up so much spray, even on a calm day, it was like travelling through dense fog. I've also driven a small sport hovercraft, and the things are almost uncontrollable.

[Sean GriffithsParticipant @seangriffiths96762]

Hi Rik, there were Model Hovercraft being demonstrated at last years Model Engineering Show in Bristol (**LINK**) no pictures of them on the webpage though. I think they were displayed by the Air Sea Land Model group – but don't hold me to that!

Sean

[michael coleParticipant @michaelcole91146]

Our local paper the Wirral Globe has a piecelast week about a new hovercraft route, If if remember from the top to of the Wirral to somewhere along the North Wales coast. To start in 2014 or 2015.

Mike

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

As teenager building the Airfix SRN4 in 1:144 was a big thrill. It had a half-transparent roof so you could see the internal detail. A very fine kit. The SRN1a was a very different but equally rewarding build in 1:72.

I believe a recent Model Boats featured a practical hovercraft model. They must be much easier to build in these days of lightweight Lipo batteries.

Neil

[Boiler BriParticipant @boilerbri]

I was on the m56 near Runcorn on Sunday and there were a large group of people playing with single seater machines in a field. Looked like good fun.

 

Once travelled on one of the larger models from Dover to erm France. That was fun most of the travelers were Americans on a tour of Europe, all being sick. Nice!

 

Bri

 

Edited By Boiler Bri on 06/02/2014 20:04:23

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