A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is a craft capable of travelling over land, water,
mud or ice and other surfaces. Hovercraft is hybrid vessels operated by a pilot
as an aircraft rather than a captain as a marine vessel.
Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large
volume of air below the hull 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. Typically this
cushion is contained within a flexible "skirt", which allows the
vehicle to travel over small obstructions without damage.
A Lithuanian Coast Guard
hovercraft with engine off and skirt deflated.
The same hovercraft with engine
on and skirt inflated.
The first practical design for hovercraft
derived from a British invention in the 1950s to 1960s. They are now used
throughout the world as specialized 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.
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