Hovercraft
Vehicles designed to travel close to but above ground or water. These vehicles are supported in various ways. Some of them have a specially designed wing that will lift them just off the surface over which they travel when they have reached a sufficient horizontal speed (the ground effect). Hovercrafts are usually supported by fans that force air down under the vehicle to create lift, Air propellers, water propellers, or water jets usually provide forward propulsion. Air-cushion vehicles can attain higher speeds than can either ships or most land vehicles and use much less power than helicopters of the same weight. Air-cushion suspension has also been applied to other forms of transportation, in particular trains, such as the French Aero train and the British hover train.
Hovercraft is a transportation vehicle that rides slightly above the earth’s surface. The air is continuously forced under the vehicle by a fan, generating the cushion that greatly reduces friction between the moving vehicle and surface. The air is delivered through ducts and injected at the periphery of the vehicle in a downward and inward direction. This type of vehicle can equally ride over ice, water, marsh, or relatively level land.
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