Today is the 50th anniversary of the unveiling of the hovercraft to the press, at the Saunders Roe boatyard at Cowes, Isle of Wight.
Boatbuilder Sir Christopher Cockerell had come up with the idea after playing around with a cat food tin inside a coffee tin, an industrial air blower (altered to blow rather than suck) and a pair of kitchen scales. The key patent was filed in 1955, the Improvements in or relating to vehicles for travelling over land and/or water. Here are its main drawings.
The problem, though, was lots of spray and insufficient lifting power. Much of the force generated by directing the force downwards was going uselessly off to the sides. It was by using flexible segmented skirts round the bottom of the craft that ensured that the power was used effectively. The Improvements relating to means for bounding a space for receiving pressurised gas by Denys Bliss did this, and here are its main drawings.
I'm reminded of a line from an 1960s edition of the BBC radio comedy I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again: "Since its invention ten years ago, the hovercraft has progressed by leaps and bounds. Which is why it's so unpleasant to ride in..."
Posted by: Rob | 11 June 2009 at 15:11