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Griffon Hoverwork

Griffon Hovercraft

An air-cushion vehicle, one of the rare craft that makes no distinction between water, sand, mud and ice.

Griffon Hovercraft — Hovercraft
Colin Babb · CC BY-SA 2.0
Griffon Hovercraft — Hovercraft
111 Emergency from New Zealand · CC BY 2.0
Griffon Hovercraft — Hovercraft
Kentaro Iemoto from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY-SA 2.0

Overview

A hovercraft travels on a cushion of air blown beneath the hull. A flexible wall called a skirt traps that cushion, and because the craft does not touch the surface, the type of ground largely stops mattering.

That makes hovercraft useful in tidal zones, shallow deltas and over ice — the in-between region where neither a boat nor a land vehicle works comfortably. This is where search-and-rescue interest comes from.

In exchange, steering is difficult: the near-absence of friction makes lateral sliding natural. Holding position in wind and stopping are what occupy most of a pilot's training.

Details

Brand
Griffon Hoverwork
Category
Hovercraft
Body
Hovercraft
Propulsion
dizel
Produced
1976–