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to Hovercraft? Want to know they work? How they've over time? Take the Follow the buttons below to guide you along the way from the early days of the hovercraft right up to the present day.
Prev: Tour EndNext: Hovertour Start
Route: Concept and Theory, SRN4 Features Tour, SRN4 Cockpit Tour, SRN4 Systems Tour, SRN1, Vickers VA-3, SRN6, SRN4, N500, AP1-88.
Craft Listing: SRN1, VA-3, SRN2, SRN4, VT-2, SRN6, N500, AP1-88, Tiger 12; Model Hovercraft
Page Contents: Welcome | Most Recent Site Content | Bulletins and Requests | End of Hoverspeed | Hovercraft and Global Climate Change | Image of the Moment | Hovercraft Retail | Other Information
Please note that wherever a reference has been within the site used the source is cited, e.g., [Rowson, 2006] and its corresponding publication details are in the Bibliography.
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I've been meaning to bring this site up to 21st Century standards for quite some time so now it's done! Removal of Frames allows better search-engine access and generally better look on most browsers and mobile devices. I hope you like the new look! As always you can click on small images to bring up a proper, zoomed-in version of them. New to this site is the addition of the Hover Tour, so please take a virtual wander through the ages of the hovercraft!
This site is kept alive by the kind contributions of visitors, and as such I am always looking for anyone with new content to come forward. If you have anything you think could be worthwhile adding to the site, that is any experiences you've had of the hovercraft, or any photos or videos you'd like to "donate", I would be very grateful if you could get in touch with me through the Contact Form.
Do you have a hovercraft-related photo you'd like to appear here? If so, drop me a line by filling in my contact form!
The first hovercraft, the SRN1; Arrives at Dover on its historical first crossing of the English Channel. SRN1 Gallery. Image: Alec Morecraft.
I regularly get requests from visitors about certain things that I don't have answers to, but that I hope some viewers may. If anyone has any information on the following points I'd love to hear from you! Thank you:
- Any special hovercraft experiences you'd like to share with the world
- Racing hovercraft adventures photos and/or experiences?
- Your model hovercraft creations. I'm willing to put a page up per model with your photo/s, description and any tales to tell of the craft!
- Anything else you'd like to share with fellow viewers!
As of 7th November 2005 the Dover-Calais cross channel company Hoverspeed, which once ran the Hovercraft, ceased operations of its last remaining service, the Seacat. Sea Containers their parent company have to do with this decision, of course. The future of the SRN4 hovercraft at HMS Daedalus is now in the balance - Check the news in the near future for information; I won't put any on this website as it's unofficial word, of course...
The weather is big in the news of today. All the time we're seeing floods due to snowmelt, or unseasonal rainfall, even sea level rise. This doesn't just affect "3rd world" countries like (for example) Bangladesh and African countries, it also has an equally devastating effect potentially on "1st world countries" like the US, UK, European countries.
There's not a lot we can do about it.
Therefore we have to find ways to cope with what might happen in perhaps 10 years down the line when our towns built on river deltas or reclaimed land start to flood.
Imagine the possible environment for a moment. Roads will be useless, because they'll be flooded and muddy. Well, travel by boat then, you might say. No, because the water's too shallow for a powerboat, too muddy and full of reeds for propellers to operate in. So, what's the answer? Well, in my view, there's only one transport method that can really provide a cheap, and versatile means of moving around, that being of course, the hovercraft. It's been around for years, over 40 in fact, on a large scale, yet few people use them to get around.
I'm not saying that the old behemoths like the SRN4 should be reinvented for mass public transportation, but smaller craft like those offered by Griffon, Hover-Shuttle, and Australian Hovercraft (to name but a few companies) would be ideal.
Already, craft built by Griffon are in use by the British RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institute) on the mud flats in and around the UK, river estuaries, tidal bays and so on, and have saved many lives. These are small craft, about 6-8 seaters, which can go over land, sea, and mud.
They're a success! Is this what we need in the future? Is this what we need now? Only time will tell, but in my opinion it could well be better to be safe than sorry.
To buy a hovercraft, or make your company known to the Internet, Visit the "Hovercraft Companies" page for a list of companies and featured companies. A 'Free-Ads' section of the site for anyone wanting to sell or buy a hovercraft can be found in Private Advertisements. Companies or individuals selling or wanting to buy Hovercraft Related Products (such as vouchers for trials etc.) visit the Hover Related Products page.
If you have a related query as to the above three pages, please contact me by using the Contact Form on the left links column.
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The last commercial landings of the supersonic jetliner Concorde were on the 24th October 2003. To commemorate these and the history of Concorde, a great feat of engineering and a beautiful aircraft, I have set up at www.jameshovercraft.co.uk/concorde.
If you have any comments, questions or issues regarding this website, its content, or anything about hovercraft or Concorde, please use the Contact Form.
James' Hovercraft Site is not affiliated in any way with any organisations, such as The Hovercraft Museum, Hoverspeed, Sea Containers, British Airways, etc. Please note that I am not connected with sellers of hovercraft featured on the Buying Page of this site, I am just hosting their craft for their own use.
The intent of these two sites (Concorde and Hovercraft) is for them to be built up by contributions from viewers: photos, pictures, data, information, stories, video captures and more are all very welcome.
Website design, layout, background and non page-credited images, including main logo are © James Rowson 1999 - 2008. If I have missed crediting an image that is not mine, I apologise and please contact me using the contact form regarding the matter. James' Hovercraft Site is not responsible for the content of externally linked pages and website.
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