Air cushion center of pressure displacing means for ground effect vehicles

Claim 1

A VEHICLE FOR TRAVELLING OVER A SURFACE AND WHICH, IN OPERATION, IS SUPPORTED ABOVE SAID SURFACE BY AT LEAST ONE CUSHION OF PRESSURIZED GAS CONTAINED BENEATH THE VEHICLE BODY, COMPRISING A FLEXIBLE WALL MEMBER OF INFLATABLE CONSTRUCTION EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE VEHICLE BODY FOR AT LEAST PARTIALLY CONTAINING THE CUSHION ALONG ONE SIDE OF THE CUSHION PERIPHERY, SAID WALL MEMBER HAVING ONE PART FIXED TO ONE POINT ON THE VEHICLE BODY AND HAVING A CROSS-SECTION, VIEWED IN A DIRECTION NORMAL TO SAID ONE SIDE OF THE CUSHION PERIPHERY, WHICH, WHEN INFLATED, CURVES OUTWARDLY FROM SAID ONE POINT ON THE VEHICLE BODY AND THEREAFTER DOWNWARDLY AND INWARDLY, TOWARDS THE CUSHION, MEANS FOR INFLATING THE WALL MEMBER, AND MEANS ADJUSTABLY CONNECTING ANOTHER PART OF THE WALL MEMBER TO ANOTHER POINT ON THE VEHICLE BODY, SAID LAST-NAMED MEANS BEING OPERABLE TO DISPLACE SAID OTHER PART OF THE WALL MEMBER IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL DIRECTION RELATIVE TO THE VEHICLE BODY AND THEREBY VARY THE PROFILE OF SAID CROSS-SECTION, SO AS TO DISPLACE, IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL DIRECTION, THE CENTRE OF PRESSURE OF THE CUSHION RELATIVE TO THE VERTICAL AXIS PASSING THROUGH THE CENTRE OF GRAVITY OF THE VEHICLE.