Hovercraft

Description

A hovercraft is a amphibious Véhicule with aerostatic bearing pressure and air propulsion.

the bearing pressure is ensured by a Air cushion under weak relative Pression, maintained by a blower inside an enclosure whose side walls, called skirts, are sufficiently deformable to follow to more close the Relief of surface flown over and thus to reduce the escapes. The hovercrafts generally move on the Mer, but also on any terrestrial surface not presenting important obstacles (Neige, Glace, Sable).
the propulsion is air; speeds being weaker than those of the planes, the load with the disc (traction on surface) high makes that the propellers are sometimes careened, like the propellers of the tug boats.
the changes of management are obtained by deviating the breath using rudders or by orientation of the propeller, this one being then placed on a directional pylon.

According to the department of transport of the Canada, the hovercraft cannot be comparable with a boat. A hovercraft is a Amphibious vehicle.

Definitions

for the Worldwide organization of the Intellectual property .

"air-cushion vehicles” includes/understands all the vehicles which entirely or are partially supported by air cushions or other gases above the ground or the eau."

for the international Collection of safety regulations applicable to the machines at high speed :

"The term “hovercraft” indicates a machine whose mass entirely can or mainly to be constant, at rest or moving, by a permanent air cushion, whose effectiveness depends on the proximity of the surface above which the machine déplace."

Name

The hovercraft is also indicated by technical term English ACV (Air Cushion vehicle) or by the name of mark Hovercraft.

Before the definition of the hovercraft, one raises the terms of slide block, vehicles with progression shaving, flying platform as on the document of the review ciel&terre.

History

The first hovercraft having an industrial calling made up of a rigid platform (the SRN1 of Sir Cockerell), which posed problems at the same time of stability to him in crossing of the inequalities of relief (making it unsuitable with a military use, for example, but also asking a very great energy to compensate for the escapes). Later models, in particular those of the company Bertin, were provided with supple skirts making it possible to maintain a pressure constant under the vehicle and thus to limit the escapes of air and to marry various grounds.

Forwardings on dry land in the Antarctic and Arctique several months were undertaken since 1970.
Commercial exploitation trans Handle Dover - Calais of Hoverspeed ended on October 1st 2000 after more than 30 years of service, following the opening of the Channel tunnel and vis-a-vis the standard competition of ships catamaran a little slower but much less expensive and using the harbor installations classiques.
The speed records for a trans-manche crossing were 22 minutes.

Various vehicles on air cushion

the Hovertrain, the train on air cushion;
LCAC, barge of unloading on air cushion;
SRN4, Transport of passengers which was fastest on the Trans-Manche crossing;
light Hovercrafts (less than 1000 kg).

Apparatuses in the same way standard

Under the following names, (some being deposited):

Aérotrain
Ekranoplan
Hovercraft
Naviplane
Terraplane

the BORN ones (Ship for Purpose of Surface) is not a hovercraft because it presents immersed side walls.

Sources

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