On A Cushion Of Air

This is the story of how private foreign enterprise in the form of Swedish Lloyd and Swedish America Line, who formed a British company called 'Hoverlloyd', galvanised the British Government in to supporting this new concept in transport through the formation of a British Rail subsidiary called 'Seaspeed'.

This is the story of how private foreign enterprise in the form of Swedish Lloyd and Swedish America Line, who formed a British company called 'Hoverlloyd', galvanised the British Government in to supporting this new concept in transport through the formation of a British Rail subsidiary called 'Seaspeed'.

This definitive text describes the theory and design both of Air Cushion Vehicles (ACV) and Surface Effect Ships (SES). It begins by introducing hovercraft types and their development and application throughout the world in the last three decades, before going on to discuss the theoretical aspects of ACV and SES craft covering their hovering performance, dynamic trim over calm water, resistance, stability, manoeuvrability, skirt configuration and analysis of forces acting on the skirts, ACV and SES seakeeping, and the methodology of scaling aerodynamic and hydrodynamic forces acting on the ACV/SES from model test data. The latter chapters describe a design methodology, including design criteria and standard methods for estimating craft performance, lift system design, skirt design, hull structure, propulsion systems and power unit selection. Much technical information, data, and references to further work on hovercraft and SES design is provided. The book will be a useful reference to engineers, technicians, teachers, students (both undergraduate and postgraduate), operators etc. who are involved in ACV/SES research, design, construction and operation. Guides the reader on how to perform machinery and systems selection within ACV and SES overall design For teachers, students (both at under- and post-graduate level), engineers and technicians involved in ACV/SES

Air-cushion models employing peripheral jet and plenum cushions of circular, rectangular, and side-by-side planforms were tested in hovering and at forward speed in the 17-foot (5.18-meter) test section of the Langley 300-MPH 7- by 10-foot tunnel. The principal purpose of these tests was to study the characteristics of air cushions when freestream dynamic pressure exceeded air-cushion pressure. Also examined were the hovering performance and the effects of moving ground belt, crosswind, height, and angle of attack. For the configurations tested, there was no significant loss in cushion performance when free-stream dynamic pressure exceeded cushion pressure.

A technical summary is given of the development of air cushion craft from their inception to the present day. The designation "air cushion craft" encompasses any craft that relies on a cushion of air for a significant part of its support and operates in close proximity to the suface. The technical summary covers both aerostatic craft known as air cushion vehicles (ACV) and surface effect ships (SES) as well as aerodynamic craft such as wing-in-ground effect vehicles (WIG). Other variants are included in the review.