RECENT UNITED KINGDOM HOVERCRAFT DEVELOPMENT

During the past five or six years, the three largest United Kingdom hovercraft designers/manufacturers have concentrated almost exclusively on developing the present operational hardware designed during the middle to late 1960's and carrying out basic research. The craft currently manufactured by these companies are shown in Table 1. These craft have reached commercial and operational viability by a process of experience and improvement. Many of the recent developments have been detailed engineering changes leading to improved performance and reliability. Others have been more fundamental in nature, involving, for example, the addition of an extra propulsor (SR.N6.Mk.1S to SR.N6.Mk.6), hull-lengthening (HM.2 Mk.III to HM.2Mk.IV and SR.N4 Mk.1 to SR.N4 Mk.3), and the conversion from water to air propulsion (VT.1 to VT.2). This paper gives a brief review of these developments and of the associated basic research required for them and for the definition of the new hovercraft designs that will extend the present markets by further improvements in economics and increased seakeeping capability.

• Corporate Authors:

  American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

  1290 Avenue of the Americas
  New York, NY  United States  10019
• Authors:
  • Wheeler, R L
• Publication Date: 1978-1

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 3-17
• Serial:
  • Journal of Hydronautics
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air cushion vehicles; Economics; Engine efficiency; Propulsion; Reliability; Seakeeping; Vehicle design
• Uncontrolled Terms: Ship design
• Old TRIS Terms: Hovercraft economics; Propulsive efficiency
• Subject Areas: Design; Economics; Marine Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00172107
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Journal of Hydronautics
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 29 1978 12:00AM