Velocity 60 Passenger Twin Deck Or Velocity 90 Passenger Single Deck.  Hoverflight Twin Deck Luxury Corporate WIG In 2006. 

Hoverflight 90 Passenger Wing In Ground Effect Hovercraft

*** passenger Nos. at an average weight of 75 kg each  

 Hoverflight 90 represents A High Profit Business opportunity for passenger ferry operators requiring High Speed Passenger Transport over adverse sea state at cruise speed of 75 knots.  

The following Pictures are from our Aviation Engineering Software used for Design and Flight Testing of Hoverflight 90.  This software proves the craft is straightforward to fly with minimal training to experienced sea captains with aviation experience.

 All construction is of marine materials for salt water open ocean travel surveyed to International Marine Organization Regulations by international class societies.

 These craft standard retail price is a low $5,500,000 US dollars.

Hoverflight 90 Ready for Take off from Runway.Runway take off is for Military, Coastal Patrol or Rescue Work.

Not for Fare Paying Passengers.  Water Take Off Only for fare paying passengers.  

 Lift Off at a Low 45 Knots with a Full Load.

Cruise over the ocean regardless of sea states. Passengers in air-conditioned comfort, with gourmet food, fine wine, in flight movies travelling to their resort island at 75 knots.

 Range 700 Nautical Miles with fare paying  passengers or 2,500 Nautical miles with four coastal patrol – military  crew only.  

Smooth landing on the open ocean in sea states up to force six.  Landing is air – cushioned by hovercraft skirt and hull distributing air pressure on landing exactly thought-out the hull via the plenum chamber.  

 Drift on the open ocean for a little fishing, scuba diving, dine, make love or just enjoy the sunset.

Arrival at your Island destination.

Arriving at city for additional passengers.  A high profit passenger service.

 $100 per passenger x 90 passengers is $9,000 per hour

Seven Flight per day is $9,000 x 7 Flights = $63,000 per day.

$63,000 per day x 300 Days per year is $18,900,000.

Have you got the passenger volume? Need to land on the open ocean, hover over water covered reef or mud flats?  If yes call us.

Construction Plans of Hoverflight 90.                                                                                                                                                                                              

View from Bow. See the man looking forward.

One man sitting down.

Hull cut in half.

                Close up of inside cabin. Propellers 14 feet diameter. 

          Spin very slowly at 700 RPM very low sound levels.  

Cut away view showing seats and frames.  

View from stern of Hoverflight 90.  

Full head height for 6 foot man. Cabin height 1.9 metres required by IMO Survey.  

Man standing next to seat. Seats 850mm apart.  Much more than aircraft.  

Side view with craft cut in half.  

Comfy chairs.  

Large windows for passengers to enjoy the view.  

View from the rear of craft.

Another view from the rear.

Passenger store their luggage next to the seats under the side decks.  

Will hold all suitcases with a width up to 300mm easily.

Side view showing passenger looking out that the view they paid to see.

The craft will make operators a lot of money.  

View form above.  

View underneath showing skirt, plenum chamber and hull.  

This allows landing day or night in smooth adverse seas.  

                                                                   A view from rear quarter.  

                                                         View from front quarter.  

Exploded view of many component parts.  

               Two toilets required by IMO survey for 90 passengers with flights more than ½ in duration.

VELOCITY 65 - 5500 Twin Deck

VELOCITY 90 - 9000 Single Deck

HOVERFLIGHT  90 Single Deck

Description Summary.

The three versions of this craft designed to be mass produced, priced to be competitive with a similar sized boat, offer generous cabin area with 300 degree visibility, low sound levels, can operate in sea states up to force six, in white water conditions, over surf, or amongst reefs with cruise speeds of 40 knots and a maximum speed of 70 knots. Departures with full load are normally from deep water.  

VELOCITY 65 - 5500 Twin Deck 

The corporate/luxury version of this hovercraft has an upper and lower cabins. The upper cabin has four bedrooms with built in robes, a toilet, a shower and lounge.  The lower cabin has crew accommodation with two single beds in one bedroom  a toilet,  chefs galley with a large conference room for forty guests.

VELOCITY 90 - 9000 Single Deck

The commercial single deck vessel is designed to carry up to 90 passengers in one cabin or a payload of 9000 Kilos for cargo operations.

HOVERFLIGHT  90 Single Deck

(Can be built as a Twin Deck for Luxury Clients)

Hoverflight 90 cruises at 70 Knots 1 to 5 metres above the ocean providing high speed ocean transport over smooth or rough seas. Hoverflight 90 is Velocity 90 -9000 with the addition of wings.  These wings can be removed for normal hovercraft operations as determined by mission requirements. This craft will take off and land in open ocean in force 6 sea states and in water depths of 3mm or more over reefs or mud flats.

All hovercraft are built of marine grade aluminium and are powered by two 1360 HP MAN marine diesel engines.  The hull, lift fans, propellers, skirts, hydraulics are designed and manufactured in our workshops.

Passengers experience unrivalled stability at sea with air cushioned comfort never found on conventional craft. Passengers travelling in Hoverflight feel little or no experience of movement. 

Air conditioning,  DVD entertainment on each seat, a chefs galley, toilets with the passenger option to stroll around the deck under way, moor/drift on the open ocean, lagoons, in shallow reefs for fishing, scuba diving, water skiing or just explore natures wonders around unexplored islands and rivers in water depths greater than 3mm (1/8) inch that cannot be traversed  by ordinary boats.

The two 700 RPM 4.23 metre (14ft) diameter propellers  creates such low sound levels passengers often have normal conversations within 1/2 Meter of the propeller tip when travelling on the outside deck.

These craft is designed to carry up to 90 passengers or a payloads up to 9000 Kilos. The hull is built of marine grade aluminium.  The hull, lift fans, propellers, skirts, hydraulics are designed and manufactured in our workshops.

All craft are built to Australian or International survey as required.

Twin Modular Power Units.

One MAN 1300 HP radiator cooled diesel is preferred for reliability and low weight for each modular power unit.  There are two power units.  The engine, centrifugal lift fan and seven blade Pitch in Motion propeller (forward & reverse thrust in a composite duct to increase thrust efficiency and eliminate sound  ) are installed in each interchangeable modular power unit.  An engine speed of 2100 Rpm gives a propeller speed of 700 Rpm and centrifugal lift fan speed of 1,200 Rpm. Steel plastic covered mesh prevents passengers or cargo from contacting propeller blades. All modular power units are interchangeable with other craft to eliminate down time.

Controls

Three controls, throttle, rudder via a steering wheel, and an electric hydraulic control lever for forward and reverse propeller pitch.  Engine RPM dictates the volume of air pumped under the craft creating the desired air gap and propeller pitch dictates the desired forward speed.  Engine instrumentation, running lights, air conditioning, safety equipment and anchors are standard on all craft.

 Flying controls for Hoverflight are identical to conventional aircraft being three axis elevators, (main wing) rudders (behind propeller) and elevators (on top of propeller duct) as shown. In addition the main wing angle of attack is varied to a greater angle of attack for take off and landing at 40 knots to almost neutral for cruising at 70-75 knots on 65% power. The hull and passengers remain horizontal at all stages of flight.

Hull

The hull is manufactured from marine grade aluminium plate, 1.2m wide, 13.0m long  4mm thick underneath the hull and 3mm on sides and deck.  This plate is bent longitudinally. The bent plate is then welded longitudinally by an automatic welding

process.  The four bulkheads are then welded into place forming three watertight compartments, comprising the anchor storage, cabin and engine room.

 The bottom and sides of the hull is bonded to foam flotation, the shape being cut by a computer controlled wire cutter.  This provides emergency flotation outstanding heat insulation and soundproofing.   The cabin is welded into place, fitted out, the hull painted and the modular power units bolted into place.

 Wings

Wings are manufactured from composites of foam Carbon Fibre and Kevlar for high strength, light weight and no corrosion or maintenance problems.

 Skirt

The skirt is made of hyperon nylon neoprene and is a special variable pressurised chamber type designed and manufactured by Australian Hovercraft Pty Ltd.  This skirt was designed to operate in rough sea conditions with a design life of 4,000 hours.   Our current craft has shown no skirt wear over a two year testing program with no skirt maintenance.  This design allows the hovercraft to travel high speeds in very short seas.

 Cabin

Corporate-Luxury Hovercraft-Twin Deck

Entry to the lower cabin is via two side doors stairway. The interior dimensions are 14.3 metres long, 7.3 metres wide with a cabin height of 1.9 metres.  The interior of this cabin shown on our plans includes one bedroom with a two single beds, the second bed above the lower bed, a galley, a toilet and seating for forty guests in the conference room.  The seating may arranged around the circumference of the cabin or with forward facing seats or arranged as per client specifications.

 Access is gained to the upper cabin area via an electric hydraulic lowered stairway.  This stairway retracts to ceiling height in the lower cabin and level to the floor in the upper cabin. This arrangement allows more useable space and better visibly for both levels.

 The upper cabin area has a private lounge facing forward.  Each bedroom as a queen size double bed and robe. The passage way gives access to all bedrooms toilet and shower.

 A person standing in all cabin areas would observe the hull height is at waist level with  tinted glass from the hull height to the ceiling allowing exceptional vision to outside scenery.

 The interior of both the commercial and corporate hovercraft can be fitted out to include items found on most luxury craft such as air conditioning, Inter cabin communications, Television, Video, Stereo sound system (tape and compact disk), Fridge, Microwave oven, Sink, Dishwasher, Toilet and Shower.  Computer, Fax, and Communication systems.  Power is provided by a 12 volt DC invertor to give 240 AC current and or  diesel alternator.

 The drawing included  details the spacious seating layout of both the  commercial and corporate hovercraft.       The seats shown in the drawing measure .5m X .5m with a wrap around back rest. These are especially built in Perth for Australian Hovercraft Pty Ltd. Leather is the preferred covering material for the corporate hovercraft.   Smaller aircraft style seats with a more compact seating arrangement will provide a much larger area in the cabin for other uses.

 Cabin

Commercial Hovercraft - Hoverflight 90

Entry to the cabin is via two forward side doors down the stairway. The interior dimensions are  14.3m long, 7.3m wide with a cabin height of 1.9m. These dimensions can be changed to mission requirements.  A person standing in this cabin would observe the hull height is at waist level with tinted glass from the hull height to the ceiling giving 300 degree vision to outside scenery.  The interior can be fitted out to include items found on most luxury craft such as air conditioning, television, video, stereo sound system, fridge, microwave oven, sink , toilet and shower. Power is provided by a 12 volt DC invertor to give 240 AC current or an diesel alternator.    Lounge seats shown in the plan measure 500mm by 500mm with contoured backrest. Ample legroom is available between and underneath the front seats.  Much more useable space is available if business class or economy airline size seats are fitted.  Male and female toilets and a galley are also shown.  All seats are removable for cargo operations.  The cabin is fully air-conditioned with heating provided for colder climates.

 Specifications

                                          Luxury         Commercial     Hoverflight 90

                                       Twin Deck       Single Deck

                                           Metres             Metres             Metres

Hull length                              25                    25                    25                   

Hull Width                             10.30              10.30                 10.30

Cabin Length                         15.40                15.40               15.40

Cabin Width                             7.30               7.30                 5.50  Width Less for Aerodynamics

Cabin Height                            1.90               1.90                 1.90

Freeboard                                 1.57               1.57                 1.57

Propeller   Diameter                4.23               4.23                 4.23

Hull distance above water       1                    1                     1

Empty Weight Ton               10.50 +             9.50 +           15.50

Payload Ton                             5.50                7.50                7.50

Maximum speed Kts             70                    70                   100

Normal Cruise Kts                40+                 40+                   75

Passenger Nos.                       40                    90                     90

Specifications may change without notice

Operational

Our craft operate on/over water then dock at any jetty, mud flats, or waters edge to offload passengers or cargo. Shore to ship or ship to ship transfers are best done at a speed of 5 knots where in rough seas our hovercraft skirt will press against the ships hull allowing safe passenger and cargo transfers. The skirt is a excellent buffer and hull protector for both vessels. Operations over sand or rocks are not recommended due to possibility of sending sand into bystanders' eyes or into the propeller.  Passengers on our hovercraft Lady Bernie demand a maximum speed of 5 knots over reef so they can stand outside the cabin to view reef, coral, sea grass, fish and other marine creatures.  Water skiing in deep water is a must for tourism providing great fun for skiers and onlookers alike. All Passengers stand on the port or starboard side of  our craft with little or no listing. Fuel consumption figures per engine manufactures specifications at 65 to 70% of full power. Engine life with excellent maintenance is between 8,000 and 18,000 hours. These figures change to various operational factors such as short trips, high engine load with many cold starts (8,000 hours), long trips or continuous operations where the engine is always hot with constant power settings (18,000 hours).  Quality servicing eliminates down time and extends engine and component life to reduce operational costs.

Military or Coastal Patrol Operations.

Our  are built to customer mission requirements with specialise equipment as required. For long range patrol, cabin configuration can include individual sleeping cabins, long range fuel tanks to extend range from 700 Nautical Miles standard to 2,500 nautical miles if only a few crew are on board.  Scuba refilling compressors, night vision equipment, decompression chambers, GPS navigation, computerised maps, anti Collison radar and other equipment are fitted to customer requirements.

 Environment

Cruising speeds of 10 knots or more creates waves of 3mm inch, causing no erosion to river banks.

 The propeller at cruising speed is 700 Rpm or less creates a low frequency sound that dissipates over a short distance.  Tests done with dolphins, sea lions, and birds at nesting colonies have proven our hovercraft can get twice as close to the animals as a boat of the same size (with an outboard motor) before the behaviour of these animals changes.  

Passengers often stay on the bow, side decks or rear deck while the craft is moving and have been unconcerned with the sound levels.  

The skirt design allows people standing in waist deep water to have the hovercraft pass over the top of them at 5 knots without injury. A diver 5 ft under the water cannot hear the craft pass over him.  

Survey

Hovercraft and Hoverflight are classified as marine craft and are surveyed by Germanischer Lloyd or Lloyds Shipping   Register to International Marine Organisation Regulations.