Airplanes are fast, but they use a lot of power to keep a payload in the air. Surface ships carry a lot of cargo, but water resistance keeps them slow. Last week Britain's Saunders-Roe, Ltd. (aircraft) demonstrated a hybrid craft that is neither ship nor airplane, but has some of the advantages of both. Called the Hovercraft, it moves a little way above the surface of land or water, supported on a nearly frictionless cushion of air.
Saunders-Roe's Hovercraft has a 30-ft. oval hull like an inverted platter. Sticking up from the center is a cylindrical housing for a 435-h.p. engine and...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
