Essay On Hovercraft

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Many people find themselves where there is a geographical barrier between their next goal. They might be riding on a golf cart and find a pond between them and their next hole, or there might be an annoying hill they have to climb up to sled? Well their worries are no more for a hovercraft is a very versatile vehicle which can move over water and scale hills!

Hovercrafts have been in the midst of human life for over 60 years. The idea first patented in 1952 and was derived from a British invention in the late 40s and very early 50s. It was then further developed in the following years to fit increasing demands or an amphibious vehicle in the army. The zippo boats used in Vietnam were a type of hovercraft.

A hovercraft works by inflating the skirt around the base of the hovercraft that’s typically made out of rubber or other synthetic materials. This produces the ground effect. The ground effect states that if air is between the surface of an object and the surface of another object, the air will decrease the amount of friction the surface on the bottom has on the surface on top. It is very important that there are small holes in the skirt to let some air escape because if there are none, the ground effect will not take effect due to the lack of air between the hovercraft and the ground, thus the hovercraft will not hover.

Hovercrafts that are balanced typically float only about a few centimeters above the ground due to the weight distribution, and the amount of force needed to make the hovercraft hover. To make a hovercraft hover, the amount of force pushing off the ground needs to be only slightly more than the weight of the hovercraft in order to prevent flying.

If a hovercraft can float but cannot move, what use is it? Tha...

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...how that a hovercraft not only can be used for military use but also for recreational use.

The hovercraft has seen much non-government work as a hunting vehicle and even a flying machine. Hovercrafts have been able to fly because they have been adapted to weigh less than the force propelling them up and by streamlining the hull to be able to be aerodynamic. Because the force pushing on the ground was greater than the weight of the hovercraft, the hovercraft was able to create tons of lift force with the wings, which thus enabled it to bring its wings off the ground/water and fly into the horizon!

Hovercrafts can be used for many things but are not as popular as the normal car these days. So the next time a person is stuck between a pond and their next hole, or have to climb up a hill, they will think of the old but not too old, amazing, all purposeful hovercraft.

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