Hovercraft

 

The principle of hovercraft was developed by Christopher Cockerill, later knighted for his hovercraft invention. Interestingly he lived and developed the hovercraft in Hythe, just a few miles from our club sailing water

His aim was to reduce the drag on the hull of a ship so reducing the power required for a particular speed or increasing the speed for the same power. He used air as the lubrication medium and eventually came up with the idea of supporting the whole craft on an air cushion. Which was achieved by a big fan blowing air under the hull. This was found to be inefficient and a flexible curtain was placed around the hull to reduce the amount of air required to support the hull. This curtain became known as the skirt and the design and shape is a science all of its own. The first craft that was built was the SRN1, built by Saunders Roe and was number one made hence the SRN1 name. The build was paid for by the government through the National Research & Development Council or NRDC.

Hovercraft

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Modified On: 26/11/2008

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