Personal Hovercraft or Air Cushioned Vehicle
A brief introduction to some of the different types of Hovercraft.
So what are Personal Hovercraft and how does the Hovercraft work?
The personal hovercraft is a smaller hovercraft or air cushioned vehicle normally carrying fewer than 10 passengers. Their relatively low cost is what makes them affordable for our personal use.
A personal hovercraft or air-cushion vehicle, is a vehicle or craft that can be supported by a cushion of air sent downwards under pressure against the surface close below it.
It can travel over most relatively smooth surface’s, including sloping land, water, ice, snow, or marshland, while having no substantial contact with the ground as it is supported on it’s own cushion of air. This makes the smaller Personal Hovercraft ideal for commercial use’s such as search and rescue or for your personal hovercraft rental business.
Racing hovercraft are built from very light materials to maximize their speed and therefore safety is often compromised. Generally speaking, racing hovercraft are provided with a high revving motor at the rear of the hovercraft which provides the required thrust, while another motor at the front provides the lift.
The world’s first hovercraft race was held in 1964 in Canberra Australia. Although there were only 13 participants, 10,000 spectators turned out to watch the race!
Self-builthovercraft, or those built from hovercraft plans or kits are ideal for the hobbyists and for those of us where the price is the main criteria.They can be self-designed crafts or built from personal hovercraft plans which are commonly available from online sources, or they can be built from basic kits.
A hovercraft kit can cost from as little as $600 for a single person craft up to $5000 plus for the larger type of craft. Depending on the manufacturer a kit may be complete or almost complete. Some kits even include the engines! Many plans can be found online so all you need to do is to source and buy your own materials to build your own craft.
Leisure hovercraft are generally designed for their ease of use and their safety. They have a much higher buoyancy ratio making them safe to use on the water, even with the engine stopped. Leisure craft are usually professionally built by manufacturing companies. There are several companies which offer already completed hovercraft which we will take a look at soon.
