Hovercraft

"Ground-effect machine" redirects here. For the vehicle also called a wingship or ekranoplan, see Ground-effect vehicle. For the band, see Hovercraft (band).

RLG-innovations eurocraft, a Formula 1 racing hovercraft
SR.N4 hovercraft arriving in Dover on its last commercial route across the English Channel (1 October 2000)
U.S. Navy LCAC

A hovercraft (pl.: hovercraft[1]), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV,[2] is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces.

Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull, or air cushion, that is slightly above atmospheric pressure. The pressure difference between the higher-pressure air below the hull and lower pressure ambient air above it produces lift, which causes the hull to float above the running surface. For stability reasons, the air is typically blown through slots or holes around the outside of a disk- or oval-shaped platform, giving most hovercraft a characteristic rounded-rectangle shape.

The first practical design for hovercraft was derived from a British invention in the 1950s. They are now used throughout the world as specialised transports in disaster relief, coastguard, military and survey applications, as well as for sport or passenger service. Very large versions have been used to transport hundreds of people and vehicles across the English Channel, whilst others have military applications used to transport tanks, soldiers and large equipment in hostile environments and terrain. Decline in public demand meant that as of 2023, the only year-round public hovercraft service in the world still in operation serves between the Isle of Wight and Southsea in the UK.[3][4] Oita Hovercraft is planning to resume services in Oita, Japan in 2024.[5][6]

Although now a generic term for the type of craft, the name Hovercraft itself was a trademark owned by Saunders-Roe (later British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC), then Westland), hence other manufacturers' use of alternative names to describe the vehicles.

  1. ^ Hovercraft Definition and Meaning, collinsdictionary.com, retrieved 2 July 2019
  2. ^ Wragg, David W. (1973). A Dictionary of Aviation (first ed.). Osprey. p. 18. ISBN 9780850451634.
  3. ^ Parkinson, Justin (9 November 2015). "What happened to passenger hovercraft?". UK: BBC. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  4. ^ Noble, Will (13 August 2021). "The hovercraft that kept on going". CNN Travel.
  5. ^ Sekiya, Yohei; Shimbun, Yomiuri (3 September 2023). "Hovercraft to Return to Oita, Ferrying Passengers to Airport". Yomiuri Shimbun. Japan. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Griffon Hoverwork wins £25m Japan export deal" (Press release). UK: Griffon Hoverwork. Retrieved 4 July 2024.