The Hovercraft Society

Light Hovercraft Technical Reports and Papers

Introduction

On this page we focus on reports and papers presented specifically to assist the light hovercraft community. The THS Conferences library contains many papers that describe the development of light hovercraft, particularly those for utility applications. Nevertheless, an explanation of the fundamentals is valuable.

Howard Fowler assembled three reports that give a very good introduction and much food for thought for ACV designers, builders and operators. Linked to the documents presented in the Light Hovercraft books and booklets page these reports provide a solid starting point.

Technical Reports

The Design, Construction , and Operation of Light Air Cushion Vehicles
Howard S Fowler

Published by the Canadian Air Cushion Technology Society, 1979, 48 pp

Contents

  1. An ACV is not a magic carpet
  2. What is an ACV?
  3. How do you get in the game?
  4. Basic Design
  5. Skirts – Material, Bag Skirt, Air Vent Holes, Skirt drain holes, Skirt buzz
  6. The Lift System
  7. The Thrust System
  8. Controls
  9. Hull – Layout of components, Hull shape, Hull structure
  10. Trailer
  11. Driving – Hovering, beginning to move, stopping, slopes or winds, over water, over snow and ice
  12. The “U”- Tube Manometer
  13. References
  14. Acknowledgements

 

On the lift air requirement for Air Cushion Vehicles and its relation to the Terrain and Operational Mode,
Howard S Fowler

Published by the National Research Council of Canada, May 1979, NRC Report 17492, Mechanical Engineering Report ME-246

Contents

Summary

  1. Introduction
  2. The general relationship between lift airflow and skirt interaction drag of an ACV
  3. The description of lift airflow and drag
  4. Experimental confirmation
  5. The influence of terrain and vegetation on airflow requirements
  6. Terrain porosity measurements
  7. The ‘bush-bashing’ phenomenon
  8. The effect of vehicle speed
  9. Conclusion
  10. Acknowledgement
  11. References

 

Appendix 1 Description of Research Air Cushion Vehicles HEX-1B, HEX-4, and HEX-5

Thrust Systems for Light Air Cushion Vehicles
Howard S Fowler

Published by the Canadian Air Cushion Technology Society, 1979, 40 pp

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Basis of aerodynamic propulsion
  3. How is the jet generated
  4. Detailed discussion of various systems
    1. The ducted jet
    2. The centrifugal blower/volute system
    3. The ducted axial fan thrust system
      1. The duct inlet
      2. The aerodynamics of the fan
  • The effects of poor inlet flow
  1. The effects of fan swirl
  2. Integrated lift/thrust systems
  1. The simple propeller
  1. Acknowledgement

Appendix – A simple analysis of airflow through a rotor, with or without a duct

  1. Unducted rotor (propeller or fan)
  2. Ducted Rotor
  3. Conclusions
  4. A ducted fan performance map

Technical Papers

Technical papers will be added shortly (ab 09/07/2025)