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Mini Hovercraft Lifts Its Skirts

A new development in hovercraft skirts by two Christchurch businessmen means that personal hovercraft may boom as the new leisure craze for the next millennium.

Stephen Preest and Nigel Golding have designed a two-person hovercraft with superior performance and safety, at a price that could see thousands being sold around the world.

Tipped to go on the market at around $25,000, the "Slider" personal hovercraft offers the same thrills as a jet ski, but with the advantage of being able to traverse land and swampy ground as well as water.

Although hovercraft have been around for more than 30 years, the breakthrough technology involves a totally new skirt for the hovercraft which stays partially inflated at all times, even when the craft is not in use. This makes the machine safer and more durable.

The skirt is like a giant bladder, or rubber tube, incorporating flexible extensions and provides the hovercraft with a "dodgem" ability to fend off solid objects without damage. It also gives buoyancy on the water when the hovercraft is not sitting on its cushion of air.

"It is an original idea and the key to the success of our hovercraft," says Preest, who has been involved with hovercraft for many years.

He piloted the first hovercraft across the Cook Strait in 1990 and, together with Golding, developed a 40-tonne hovercraft drilling platform for use on a shallow lake in Western Australia.

The two were so convinced their latest idea was a winner, they gave up their full-time jobs 18 months ago to set up Pacific Hovercraft NZ and develop the technology full time. Recent funding from Technology New Zealand enabled them to build a test-bed for the new skirt technology, to ensure that it would work on a full-scale hovercraft.

The prototype incorporated other new ideas, including three fans (two for lift and one for propulsion), making the hovercraft quieter and more efficient than the conventional design which uses one large fan for all functions. Lower noise results from using a three-blade propeller to provide forward drive, rather than the usual eight blades or more.

Successful evaluation trials have been carried out on Lake Ellesmere and the Waimakariri River, and testing on Lyttelton Harbour showed the new skirt could also negotiate surf. Following the success of these trials, production of the "Slider" hovercraft for the retail market has begun.

"We think there is huge potential for the hovercraft in the leisure market which is why we have deliberately designed ours as a two-seater," says Golding.

The small craft could also appeal to commercial users, such as adventure tour operators, the military and search/rescue organisations.