A hovercraft is an amphibious craft able to travel over land, water, mud, ice and other surfaces, held aloft on a cushion of air that blowers force beneath the hull at slightly above atmospheric pressure, with the air escaping through slots or holes around the edge of its disk- or oval-shaped platform. The British mechanical engineer Christopher Cockerell is credited with the modern hovercraft: his team was the first to use a ring of air to maintain the cushion, the first to develop a workable flexible skirt, and the first to demonstrate a practical vehicle in sustained use, building his experimental models in the early 1950s. His SR.N1 prototype made its first hover on June 11, 1959, and crossed the English Channel just weeks later, on July 25, 1959.
Facts
Patent or First-Use Date SignificanceThe modern hovercraft is most often associated with British mechanical engineer Christopher Cockerell; it is amphibious and can travel over land, water, mud and ice. 1 FAQs
How did Christopher Cockerell test the idea of floating a vehicle on air?
He blew air through two nested tin cans with a vacuum cleaner nozzle and found the space between them held high air pressure.
Cockerell tested the idea with tin cans and the nozzle end of a vacuum cleaner. He found that a single can did not produce enough air pressure. Placing one can inside another and forcing the air through the narrow space between the two cans created a zone of high air pressure in the region between them. That basic design was used for the first commercial hovercraft, the Saunders Roe Nautical One, known as the SRN1, and for later versions.
Connections
Associated With
Source Christopher Sydney Cockerell (Grace's Guide)
Field end of a technology member entity grouped under this field
In Field
Source Hovercraft (Wikipedia)
Invented By
Source Christopher Sydney Cockerell (Grace's Guide)
Sources
1. Hovercraft (Wikipedia)
SR.N1 milestones
The SR.N1 made its first hover on 11 June 1959, and made its famed successful crossing of the English Channel on 25 July 1959.
SR.N1 first hover
The SR.N1 made its first hover on 11 June 1959, and made its famed successful crossing of the English Channel on 25 July 1959.
Christopher Cockerell section
The idea of the modern hovercraft is most often associated with Christopher Cockerell, a British mechanical engineer.
In Field: Marine Engineering, Introduction
A hovercraft (pl.: also hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces.
View the SourceChristopher Sydney Cockerell (Grace's Guide)
Associated With: Christopher Cockerell, Biography
1955 He patented the amphibious hovercraft.
Invented By: Christopher Cockerell, Biography
1955 He patented the amphibious hovercraft.
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