World Hovercraft Organization

=============================================================
=============================================================


In this issue:
- Sport and Recreation: Event news and updates
- Education: Learning Takes Flight in school hovercraft programs
- Commercial Applications: Hovercraft eliminates aviation threat
- Rescue Operations: Hovercraft rescue pioneers
- Hovercraft Industry: State of the Industry report 2005

=============================================================

HOVERCRAFT IN SPORT AND RECREATION

~~~ From the Hoverclub of America ~~~

* Hoosier Hovercraft Championship – THIS WEEKEND! *

The Hoosier Hovercraft Championship is set for this weekend, Friday 29 April

 through Sunday 1 May at Lazy L Lake in West Terre Haute, Indiana USA.

This is the perfect opportunity to see what hovercraft racing and cruising

are all about and to enjoy the camaraderie of the hovercraft world.

For links to full information on this weekend's Hoosier Hovercraft Championship,

 including the schedule of events and driving directions, read HoverWorld Insider

online at http://www.worldhovercraft.org/insider/apr05.htm

* US National Hoverally – June 2005 *

The largest hovercraft event in North America will be even larger this year!

The 30th Annual National Hoverally, 24-26 June 2005 in Chillicothe, Ohio

USA will offer more than $6,000 in purse money, scavenger hunts and raffle prizes.

In addition, the Hoverally will be preceded by a special symposium, Hovercraft as

a Teaching Tool, on Friday 25 June. This symposium will present educators with

full instructions on how to establish hovercraft programs as a part of their school

curriculum.

For more about Hoverally 2005, read HoverWorld Insider online

at http://www.worldhovercraft.org/insider/apr05.htm


~~~ From the World Hovercraft Federation ~~~

World Hovercraft Championship 2006 will take place 21-26 August 2006 in

 Latronquiere

at Lac du Tolerme, Lot, France. The debut of the WHC 2006 web site will

soon be announced.

Three nations have submitted bids for the 2008 World Hovercraft Championship:

 Australia,

the United States and Mauritius. The final selection will be announced after the

World Hovercraft Federation meeting in France in August 2006.

For more about WHC 2006 and 2008, read HoverWorld Insider online

at http://www.worldhovercraft.org/insider/apr05.htm

=============================================================

HOVERCRAFT IN EDUCATION

~~~ Learning Takes Flight: The DiscoverHover School Hovercraft Program ~~~

The DiscoverHover program, launched in 2003, now involves thousands of students

 across the world. The program's web site, www.DiscoverHover.org, provides hovercraft

plans and instructions, Curriculum Guides, and comprehensive resources at no charge

to schools and universities, instructors, and students. The value of the program

 is best illustrated in the praise it receives from member schools:

* From Robert Forbes, instructor, Wantirna College, Victoria, Australia:
"We're beginning construction on our second hovercraft using the

 DiscoverHover plans, because they work! The project has been a great experience.

One long-serving staff member says this is the best project he has seen at the

school in his 22 years."

* From Tom Burridge, student, Wantirna College:
"The DiscoverHover project has been by far the highlight of my time at secondary school."

* From Robert Hodge, instructor, Ellicott Mills Middle School, Ellicott City, Maryland USA:
"I've been teaching for 30 years and I cannot remember this level of excitement in any other

project I've done with students. It brings to life the math and science they're learning in

their other classes, and it excites them about education."

* From Mike Naughton, instructor, Cary-Grove High School, Cary, Illinois USA:
"One of the most valuable aspects of the project is the excitement of the students.

Our enrollment in Industrial Technology went up this year."

* From Ryan Marsel, former student, Cary-Grove High School:
"DiscoverHover gave me opportunities that many students couldn't dream of,

and helped me to enroll in the number one Aerospace Engineering school in the world."

* From Dr. Cameron Coates, instructor, Armstrong Atlantic State University,

Savannah, Georgia USA:
"It gives students experience with the practical aspects - money, budgeting,

hoosing the right component – the things you don't get in school."

For links to photo galleries and complete stories on member schools' hovercraft

projects, and to learn how your school can become a DiscoverHover Featured School,

 read HoverWorld Insider online at http://www.worldhovercraft.org/insider/apr05.htm

* DiscoverHover competitions *

Plans are underway to give students the opportunity to showcase their hovercraft

at national and international endurance racing events. US cities who have expressed

 interest in hosting events are Terre Haute, Indiana; Las Vegas, Nevada;

and Orlando, Florida. Nations who have expressed interest in hosting international

events are Thailand, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Watch for announcements

 about these events on www.DiscoverHover.org and in future issues of HoverWorld Insider.

* Hovercraft as a Teaching Tool *

DiscoverHover founder and chairman, Chris Fitzgerald, will present the DiscoverHover

 program at the symposium Hovercraft as a Teaching Tool, 24 June 2005 at the Hoverclub

of America's US National Rally. For complete details, and to register for the symposium,

 read HoverWorld Insider online at http://www.worldhovercraft.org/insider/apr05.htm

* New on www.DiscoverHover.org *

The DiscoverHover web site has added several new sections, including requirements

for the DiscoverHover One hovercraft engine, new Featured Schools, and new

comments from students and instructors. New Curriculum Guides and other resources

will be added to the site beginning in June 2005.

For more information and links to these new sections, read HoverWorld Insider  online at
http://www.worldhovercraft.org/insider/apr05.htm

=============================================================

HOVERCRAFT IN COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS

~~~ Hovercraft eliminates aviation threat at Batten International Airport ~~~

Orville and Wilbur Wright mastered in 1903 what birds have been doing for more

than 100 million years. Since that first human flight, the skies have become too

crowded for comfort, and feathers are flying in a flurry of bird-aircraft collisions.

The problem, however, is no laughing matter. From 1990 to 2004, more than

56,000 bird-aircraft strikes were reported to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

Bird and wildlife strikes to aircraft worldwide cost military and commercia

l aviation more than $1 billion US a year, and more than 400 people have

 been killed in the last 20 years in bird-aircraft collisions.

Many airports spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on

bird mitigation efforts, including methods such as frightening birds with

model airplanes, recordings of birds in distress, fireworks, propane cannons,

flashing lights, laser-beam guns … and filling bodies of water with grape Kool-Aid!

Canadian geese are a large contributor to this worldwide aviation hazard.

John H. Batten Airport in Racine, Wisconsin USA is one of thousands of

 airports worldwide who have tried one unsuccessful solution after

another on the Canadian goose dilemma.

But unlike other airports, Batten International has the distinction of discovering

 a solution that works – a hovercraft – for a one-time cost of around $10,000 US,

rather than billions. "It's the safest thing we could come up with," says

 Airport Manager David Mann, "And the beautiful part is, it's working.

e hardly have any geese left!"

To learn how Batten International's hovercraft has created safer skies,

cleaner water and a healthier bottom line, read HoverWorld Insider online at
http://www.worldhovercraft.org/insider/apr05.htm

=============================================================

HOVERCRAFT IN RESCUE OPERATIONS

~~~ North Muskegon Fire Department: hovercraft rescue pioneers ~~~

First responders worldwide now recognize the advantages hovercraft offer over

traditional lifeboats and other rescue vehicles. Because it hovers above the surface,

 the hovercraft performs rapid, safe rescues on thin or broken ice, swift water, flood

 waters and snow, giving rescuers access to areas a boat or helicopter cannot reach.

North Muskegon Fire Department was the first fire department in Michigan USA

 to recognize these advantages, pioneering in 1986 the first official use of a rescue

 hovercraft in the state. Nearly fifteen years later, Fire Chief Steve Lague reports

that the craft is still in service, transporting about 230 people a year during

water and ice rescue operations.

Chief Lague and his firefighters purchased their hovercraft as a kit and assembled i

t at the fire station. He reports, "This has been a perfect unit for us, flawless.

 And the operating cost is only about $100 US a year."

North Muskegon is located in an area in which winters can be especially brutal.

 "In one day, we took about 35 people off the ice because conditions deteriorated

o rapidly they couldn't get into shore," says Lague, "Before the hovercraft we had

to rely on ropes, pushing out on ladders or whatever we could find. But the

hovercraft just flies right over deteriorated ice."

Lague reports that his department can take an emergency call, dress, launch the

 hovercraft and get to a victim on the other side of Muskegon Lake in less than

 ten minutes – beating the county's Coast Guard helicopter every time. Before

e hovercraft, it would take them 45 minutes to an hour.

He adds, "Swimming through or breaking your own ice to get to a victim is exhausting,

time consuming and unsafe. Cutting a hole in the ice with a chain saw to reach

someone is not real world rescue."

To learn more about North Muskegon Fire Department's use of their rescue

hovercraft, with photos, read HoverWorld Insider online at
http://www.worldhovercraft.org/insider/apr05.htm

=============================================================

THE HOVERCRAFT INDUSTRY

~~~ 2005: The State of the Hovercraft Industry ~~~

The hovercraft has come a long way from Sir Christopher Cockerell's

 experiments with coffee cans, a kitchen scale and a hairdryer in the

arly 1950s. Developments since then have taken the hovercraft from

 the exclusive domain of inventors and governments and put it into t

e hands of the public.

Once considered an impractical oddity, the hovercraft is used today

 throughout the world for a myriad of purposes, including leisure

 sport and racing; search and rescue; education; environmental

 projects; tourism; ice fishing and hunting; agriculture; surveying;

flood control; water transport and icebreaking.

We know where the hovercraft industry has been. But where is it now,

and where has it yet to go?

To find the answers, HoverWorld Insider consulted hovercraft experts

 and manufacturers in various locations throughout the world.

What emerged is a comprehensive overview of industry growth and

technological advances in the last two decades; factors affecting

growing public awareness of hovercraft; and future challenges and opportunities.

Read HoverWorld Insider with full text and photos online at
http://www.worldhovercraft.org/insider/apr05.htm
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

   
HoverWorld Insider
Hovercraft Events | News | Info

The Official Newsletter of the

World Hovercraft Organization
June 2004

In this issue:
- Introduction
- Upcoming Hovercraft Events
- Guest Editorial: The Devilish Details
- DiscoverHover: the Build-a-Hovercraft School Project
- Hovercraft Adventures on the Lewis & Clark Trail
- Beyond James Bond: Hovercraft in Corporate Team Building
- Fast Facts about the World's First Hovercraft Race

============================================================


At its midway point, the year 2004 is living up to its declaration as the Year of

 the Hovercraft. As we reviewed in a previous issue of HoverWorld Insider

 this is the first time

 in history that two major international hovercraft events –

the World Hovercraft Championship and HoverWorld Expo 2004 –

will take place in the same year.

Event updates are included in this issue, including a Guest Editorial

by the Chairman of HoverWorld Expo 2004.

Those events, however, are primarily of interest only to those of us who

are already involved with the hovercraft. In the half century since

Sir Christopher Cockerell patented the first hovercraft, the general

public has considered it to be, at best, an oddity - if they consider the hovercraft at all.

Due mainly to the efforts of small manufacturers and individual enthusiasts, the hovercraft

is now emerging from the status of a weird hobby of the quirky few into mainstream

 awareness. In addition to the heavy hovercraft use by ferry services and the military,

 smaller recreational hovercraft are now being used by the general public in a variety

of interesting ways - from honoring pioneer explorers to corporate team building,

 tourism, marketing and education.

Beginning with this issue, HoverWorld Insider will introduce you to some

unique ways hovercraft are used today.
============================================================


---29th Annual Hoverclub of America National Hoverally---
25-27 June 2004, Chillicothe, Ohio USA
www.hoverclubofamerica.org

This year's HCA National Hoverally, the largest hovercraft event in North

America, will be held for the first time in Chillicothe, Ohio and will include

the Ray Miller/Bob Carter Memorial Cruise on the Scioto River beginning

 on 25 June, followed by HCA sanctioned racing, endurance racing and

model competitions 26-27 June.

The Hoverclub reports that Chillicothe is cruiser hovercraft heaven, and

participants will be able to cruise 60+ unobstructed river miles upstream

to Columbus, Ohio. Volunteers to help with the event are needed, so be

sure to check out www.hoverclubofamerica.org for more information

and a listing of additional events.

---2004 World Hovercraft Championship---
31 Aug. - 5 Sept. 2004, Berlin, Germany
www.whc2004.com

The website of the World Hovercraft Federation's 2004 World

 Hovercraft Championship is currently under development,

so be sure to watch www.whc2004.com for news about the

event. You might also visit the WHF website at

www.hovercraft.org.uk/whf/whfhome.htm.

---HoverWorld Expo 2004---
28 Dec. 2004 - 3 Jan. 2005, Canberra, Australia
www.HoverWorldExpo.com

Read on for detailed news about the World Hovercraft Organization's

HoverWorld Expo 2004 in this issue's Guest Editorial by Expo

Chairman Chris Fitzgerald. The event will commemorate the

40th Anniversary of the World's First Hovercraft Race,

held in Canberra in 1964.

To date, 50 participants from seven nations are registered to attend, and

according to Ken Osmond, President of the Australian Hovercraft Federation,

 HoverWorld Expo 2004 is going to be "the most exciting hover event

ever conducted in Australia." New information is continually

posted, so bookmark www.HoverWorldExpo.com and visit often.
============================================================

by Chris Fitzgerald, Chairman, HoverWorld Expo 2004

---The Devilish Details: Update on HoverWorld Expo 2004---

This time two years ago I was in the midst of planning World Hovercraft

Week 2002 in Terre Haute, Indiana USA. I fondly recall that only a

gentleman's agreement was required for city officials to enthusiastically

 embrace the event and jump into action. With only a brief letter of

agreement, the Terre Haute Convention and Visitors Bureau

provided $20,000 in seed money; city leaders eagerly joined the

Board of Directors and went to work.

The scenario is a bit different with HoverWorld Expo 2004 in Australia,

 where a formidable number of governmental approvals and permits

must be in place before the event can happen. As someone once said,

governmental regulations are a lot like catsup or tomato sauce –

you either get none or far more than you want!

Even so, we are forging ahead and amassing the required

documentation that will allow us to create an event to remember.

In March of this year, I spent two weeks in Sydney, Melbourne

and Canberra to jump-start the Expo planning process, and

would like to provide the following update ……

============================================================

www.DiscoverHover.org

Since the World Hovercraft Organization's DiscoverHover program was

introduced late last year, hundreds of schools, organizations and

 individual students have registered to receive the program's free

 hovercraft plans and building instructions. The plans are now

nearing completion for download from www.DiscoverHover.org.

The original plans consisted of only two blueprints and minimal

detail, so the first task was to convert the blueprints into AutoCAD

 files and to bring them into conformance with professional

drawing practices. Tim Envall of Australia, and engineering

students from Indiana State University in the USA initiated

this work, which was then reviewed and modified by Rob Wilson,

Technical Director for Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. in the USA

nd Neoteric Engineering Affiliates Pty. Ltd. in Australia.

Since DiscoverHover participants will have the opportunity

 to race their hovercraft in competitions throughout the world,

including HoverWorld Expo 2004, the next task was to

 redesign the craft in order to make it easier to transport.

The new DiscoverHover hovercraft will be a modular design:

the cockpit, the hull or base, the thrust duct and the engine

module can be separated for shipping. This allows the craft

 to nest together to reduce shipping volume for international

 transport. The modular design is also an advantage when

transporting the hovercraft in a small cargo or passenger van

or a pickup truck.

In addition to new and improved plans, the DiscoverHover program

is receiving tremendous support from Questacon, Australia's

National Science and Technology Centre [www.questacon.edu.au].

 Questacon recently announced that $50,000 of their budget will be

 dedicated to exhibits and programs that tie in with

DiscoverHover and HoverWorld Expo 2004.

According to Em Taylor of Questacon, "We are hoping to build

 a HoverChair, put displays on the history and the technology in

the foyer, produce a promotional flyer for schools and members,

and bring out the exhibit from the British Hovercraft Museum,

plus a few other things."

For those of you who have already registered to receive the

DiscoverHover free hovercraft plans, be sure to check the website

 often for their upcoming availability. For those who have not

yet registered, don't miss this chance for a life-changing experience.

All information on www.DiscoverHover.org, including the hovercraft

plans, is free to schools and universities, to instructors, to youth

organizations and to students age 7 to 21 anywhere in the world.

 If you don't fit into one of these categories, you can still

 purchase the plans for a nominal fee.
============================================================


In May 1804 near the frontier community of St. Louis, Meriwether Lewis

 and William Clark issued a one-word command - "Sail" - and plunged

 into the unknown on the historic expedition to the Pacific Ocean that

opened the American Northwest.

Two hundred years later, a different one-word command - "Hover" -

has launched two separate teams of hovercraft trailblazers who are

honoring the pioneer explorers by hovering in their footsteps, while

they spread the word about hovercraft and introduce the

DiscoverHover school hovercraft program to students across America.

The last issue of HoverWorld Insider, the story "From Sea to Shining Sea – in

a Hovercraft" previewed British citizen Robert Hodson's two-year Trans

American Hovercraft Adventure from Savannah, Georgia

to the Pacific Ocean – the longest hovercraft trek in history.

Last month a second group of adventurers, an American

hovercraft team from Universal Hovercraft also re-blazed the Lewis & Clark Trail from

the St. Louis area to Yankton, South Dakota.

With thanks to Robert Hodson; Bill Zang, Bob Windt

and their colleagues at Universal Hovercraft; and Harold Carter

 of the Hoverclub of America, we share with you the experiences

 of these modern day explorers ……


============================================================


Team building has become a corporate staple in America and Europe

during the last decade, and continues to be a growing trend throughout

the world. It is estimated that in America alone, companies spent

at least $21 billion last year on team building exercises and "adventures."

The philosophy behind corporate team building is that companies

 learn to work together more effectively by learning to play together

- resulting in improved morale and team spirit, increased motivation,

 greater efficiency and productivity, a dramatic reduction in employee

turnover, and a positive impact on the bottom line.

The "family atmosphere" that quickly develops amongst hovercrafters

is well known to those in the sport, so it is perhaps no great surprise

that corporations are realizing that hovering can foster business and

employee relationships as well. Beyond being Hollywood entertainment

and a fun sport, hovercraft can mean serious business. Do a search for

"corporate team building AND hovercraft" and Google now displays

 nearly 5,000 results.

HoverWorld Insider brings you the stories of three progressive

corporations who are using hovercraft to build a better company:

---Revolutionary Hovercraft at Revcor---
Revcor Revolutionary Air Flow, based in Chicago, Illinois USA

 with locations in Fort Worth, Texas USA and Juarez, Mexico,

 are utilizing hovercraft for not only corporate team building

but as a branding and marketing concept and customer incentive.

Revcor purchased their first hovercraft late last year from

Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc.  and named

 it "Revolutionary Air One." Archie Eschborn, Vice President of Sales

and Marketing, reports, "Hovercrafts are here to stay at Revcor and

are actually a similar technology to our core technology at Revcor – air movement ……


---Thrillseekers, Unlimited: Hovercraft Extreme Team Building---
Thrillseekers, Unlimited, a US company with branches in Las Vegas,

New York and Hollywood, offers hovercraft racing as a part of their

Extreme Team Building program. The Future Sports section of their

website explains, "You will float on an 8-inch cushion of air at speeds up

 to 50 mph across a wide-open dry lake bed in the desert just outside of Las Vegas" ……


---Chillisauce: Team Building Hovercraft Racing---
Chillisauce, with scores of locations throughout the

 United Kingdom, offers hovercraft racing as a team building

exercise and for corporate events and group weekends as well.

According to Chillisauce, "Even for those who have done every other

conceivable motor sport, hovercraft racing is somewhat of a unique experience.

They handle like no other machine, powersliding across the surface whether on land or water" ……

============================================================


The World's First Hovercraft Race took place on 14 March 1964 - only

five years after the first hovercraft flew in Great Britain - on Canberra,

Australia's new, partially filled, £2 ½ million Lake Burley Griffin.

HoverWorld Expo 2004, 28 Dec. 2004 – 3 Jan. 2005, will commemorate

the 40th anniversary of the World's First Race, and illustrate just how far

 hovercraft racing has come in the last four decades.

---A hovercraft is a hovercraft by any other name---
The 1964 news media struggled with what to call those newfangled hovering

thingamajigs. One reporter referred to them as "strange craft that combine

some of the qualities of a lawn mower, speedboat, helicopter and egg

beater." Other media reported on the world's first "hoverboat race" and the

world's first "hover vehicle race."

The Canberra Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society tried to ease the

confusion by explaining that 'hovercraft' was a proprietary name; that the

 proper term in Britain was 'air cushion vehicle' and in America, 'ground

effect machine' … but the media preferred various forms of 'hover-something-or-other.'

But all agreed that whatever they were, it was the first time in history that

 more than two of them were brought to the same place at the same time in

order to compete. It was estimated that that only 18 of whatever they were existed in Australia in 1964!

---What? We're racing on water?---
Prior to the race, most of the ten entrants had never hovered on water; in fact, two

 of them started building their hovercraft only a week before the race! Contestant

Dan Reece explained to the media, "We have never been able to get permission

 to go on water in the Australian Capital Territory before … We've had to use

backyards and paddocks."

Two entries tried to get a leg up on the competition. On their way to the race,

the Queensland entry, to much amusement, tested their craft on a swimming pool

at a Royal Australian Air Force base, and the South Australia entry took a dip on

Lake Torrens the week before the race.

Allen Hawkins, first place winner, said, "Taking the water for the first time was a real

 shock. It was like riding a thundercloud … I didn't have much control and wind blew me about."

Judy Papps, a spectator at the 1964 event, recalls, "What is most vivid in my mind is how

funny it was watching the hovercraft going off in all directions – not necessarily the

one the driver intended!"

No doubt due to being hover landlubbers prior to the race, only five of the ten craft finished;

three had to be towed ashore, once capsized twice, and one sank out of sight altogether.

---The Disappearing Hovercraft---
While being towed, Frank Greenham's hovercraft suddenly disappeared into the waters

of Lake Burley Griffin. Although only partially filled, the lake was sufficiently deep and

murky to make finding the craft a real treasure hunt. Skin divers plunged in at the end of

the day to search for the craft, but came up empty-handed. The disappearing hovercraft

was finally located and fished out of the lake by the Water Police, with the aid of grapnels,

 four days after the race.

---And the world was watching---
The World's First Hovercraft Race attracted journalists, press and television cameras,

and an estimated 10,000 - 20,000 spectators, more than one in seven of the entire population

of Canberra. The race, according to news reports, provided them with "plenty of excitement

and amusement" as they watched the genesis of the sport of hovercraft racing struggle

 with it's 'training wheels.'

Although the participants were certainly dampened in other ways as they capsized

and faltered and sank, their spirits remained undaunted. These were true hover

pioneers, with little to guide them. As contestant Dan Reece said in 1964, "You can't just

go out and buy a book … you just have to figure out what makes them go and work

out a design for yourself."

The sport is where it is today because of these pioneers, who predicted back

then that the last word in hovercraft design would not be said for many years,

and believed from the beginning that hovercrafting would be "big-time" in years to come.

============================================================


- Hovercraft in Advertising: Black Sea World, Bulgaria - a Future WHC Site?
- Hovercraft in Entertainment: Agent Cody Banks in a Neoteric Hovercraft
- Hovercraft Rescue Experiences
- Hoverchairs, Hoverboards and … Hoverwalkers?
- Event Updates, Fast Facts ... and much more!                                                                                                                           

Har du kendskab til begivenheder

                                                                  Webmaster:  Hovercraft Sport and Intertainment post@Hovercraft.dk

http://www.goldnhours.com   Cruise

http://www.hovercraft.dk     Hovercraft Danmark

http://www.hovercraftclub.dk   Hovercraftclub danmark

http://www.erhvervsdesign.dk   Supersaver and design

http://www.scathovercraft.dk   SCathovercraft used