Improvements in or relating to air cushion vehicles

Abstract

Abstract 1,114,822. Air-Cushion vehicles, convertible into ships. BRITISH HOVERCRAFT CORPORATION. 6 Sept., 1966 [24 Sept., 1965], No. 40885/65. Headings B7A and B7K. An air-cushion vehicle which may be operated as a displacement water craft has at least one buoyant hull which includes ducting for supplying gas to a gaseous cushion, said hullhaving pivotally attached thereto retractable structures which are arranged to extend and retract, characterized in that part of said structures when retracted obturate said supply ducting. A hull 1 carries structures 7 pivoted at 8 to be moved by jacks 11 between a retracted position shown on the right of Fig. 3 in which they are housed in a recess 10 in the body, and an extended position shown to the left of the Figure. A flexible skirt assembly 3 formed with segmented pockets 4 is attached at 5 to the body and at 6 to the extremity of the structure 7 and when the structure 7 is retracted the skirt obturates the lower opening in the bottom corner of the body of a duct (2), (Fig. 1, not shown), through which gas is discharged to form a gaseous cushion between the skirt structures 3. In a further embodiment (Fig. 4, not shown), each structure 7 comprises upper and lower panels connected by articulated members, the panels being articulated spanwise so that an outer part thereof, when retracted, may overlie the top of the body.

Inventors

• 👤 Anthony Winter

Bibliographic Details