Wednesday, March 27, 2024

This 2-person Flying Hovercraft glides over land and water

Illinois-based retailer and catalog company Hammacher Schlemmer has launched ‘The Flying Hovercraft,’ a powerful flying vehicle that can glide over land and water.

Sporting a futuristic design, the Flying Hovercraft is powered by a 130-hp twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled gasoline engine – turbocharged and fuel-injected. The engine drives a 60-inch (152 cm) wood-carbon composite thrust propeller, while a 1,100 rpm 34-inch (86.4-cm) lift fan inflates its durable vinyl-coated nylon skirt for hovering above the ground. The landing skids are made of Kevlar composite, so they will stand the test of time and whatever surface they come to land on.

The Flying Hovercraft’s engine allows it to travel up to 155 miles (250 km) at 70 mph (113 km/h) and 20 feet (six meters) above the ground. Its low center of gravity and composite fiberglass/PVC hull enables it to operate in winds up to 25 mph (40 km/h) and waves up to six feet (1.80 meters) when in flight.

The company says the Flying Hovercraft can operate in fresh- or saltwater and up to 30% inclines over sand, mud, grass, swamp, desert, ice, and snow. Its wings and horizontal elevator enable pilots to simply hop over water- or land-based obstacles up to 20 feet high insurmountable to a typical hovercraft.

The hovercraft can carry payloads up to 600 lbs. (270 kg) in flight. It has integrated wings and an enclosed cockpit that can seat two people – pilot and passenger. A joystick is used to control three vertical rudders and the elevator, while a twist friction-lock throttle controls forward speed, and a variable drive system controls the lift fan for hovering. To break, the pilot must reduce the lift fan’s RPMs.

The hovercraft is available for purchase on the Hammacher Schlemmer website for $190,000. However, the owners require a boat license to pilot it.