What happened to giant hovercraft? [video]
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They did gloss over that strong winds would cause Hovercraft operations to suspend, and sometimes those could last an entire day in the channel. So while they solved some early design defects, Hovercraft remain hurt by weather more than other ships, and cannot easily go around it like a real aircraft can.
Plus they don't pay enough attention to the Eurotunnel. While a SR.N4 can cross slightly faster, the Eurotunnel is far more reliable, and can get you a lot closer to your final destination (i.e. the land parts). You also have to look at the entire turn-around time of both, as loading the 60 vehicles onto the SR.N4 was time-consuming, but I don't have the numbers in front of me (only first-hand experience, it was SLOW).
If you're ever in the South of England pop down to Lee-on-Solent, where these and other hovercraft are at the Hovercraft Museum. While you're in the area you can still take Hovertravel over to the Isle of Wight, but I'd take the cat back, so you get a chance to ride the quirky former London Underground tube trains.
He used to invite the whole street to a barbecue every summer, and his garage was full of half-built hovercraft miniatures, pumps, miniature jet engines and whatever else you can think of, and hovercraft memorabilia, including photos of him with the James Bond crew and some ceremonial photos including the PM and members of the royal family IIRC, from when they launched new hovercrafts into service to cross the channel. Dude was a through and through engineering nerd and I had a blast reminiscing about his past :)
I’d love to see one of the leviathans the US (LCAC) and Russian (Zubr class) Military use (on friendly terms)
Can’t speak to others.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCGS_Siyay
It was quite a surprise, and very loud. Heard it before I saw it.
Here's an example of a pronunciation with a more open first vowel.
Wiktionary says that's usual in UK, /ˈhɒ.və(ɹ)/ vs /ˈhʌ.vɚ/ in the US.
that article doesn't explain ɚ at all, btw
Sure, my accent is attrocious, but at least I have an idea how /something/ could sound - only because I bothered to select the word, click RMB and choose 'Search on the web for $selection'
In reality they were super loud and everything vibrated, the entire time. Not so much flying carpet, more like getting strapped to the outside of an airplane.
In any case the massive mechanical cool of these things was awesome to see. It was like stepping into the world of Thunderbirds. No video can give the same experience.
What other regularly schedule commercial services have there been? The last airship service probably stopped in the 1930s.
Helicopter passenger (scheduled, not charter) was a thing in the 1960s and 1970s, but the closest I've found to the Channel was a Penzance/Scillies route from the 1970s at https://www.ashpole.org.uk/british-airways-helicopters-penza... . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_helicopter_airlines doesn't list any current services.
Conventional ferries can tackle the Cape Breton-Newfoundland route over 7-12 hours, depending on the destination port (Port-Aux-Basque vs Placentia) and weather conditions. Spending this long on a boat with nowhere to go is brutal and feels like you are back in the 1800s.
In 2000, a high-speed catamaran ferry (MV Max Mohs) was commissioned to make the shorter run over about 3 hours. It was short-lived as many passengers were intolerant to the vibrations (and probably cost of running was much higher).
I am not sure what I would like: much shorter time onboard but being slightly uncomfortable, or being stuck in one spot for a long time.
Honestly all of those were obsolete on the English channel the day the tunnel opened, and it's awesome!
The HSC Max Mols (1) ran between North Sydney and Port-aux-Basque, and the Wikipedia page seems to still run various ferry routes in Europe. It was limited to passenger cars.
To get to Gros Morne in Newfoundland, coming from PEI, would be (1) a 5-6 hour drive to North Sydney, (2) a 7-8 hour ride on the ferry, plus a 4 hour drive to Gros Morne/Deer Lake. This is exhausting, and why I say is like travel in the 1800s.
A 3-hour catamaran trip changes the dynamics quite a bit.
Perhaps someone smart will take a crack at updating this thing. It'd be nice if they could do something to blunt the noise a bit, too.
I remember it being a fantastically exciting experience at the time!
I'd never even been on a plane before, so my most vivid memory is boarding and sitting in the main cabin!
However, jumping on the train in London to Paris, getting pissed over lunch, and then getting the train home is/was a much easier thing to do than getting a ferry or hovercraft!
At least one time they were dressed as Santa
I’m a big fan - ha! - of these devices, but they are very, very loud for the amount of convenience they provide
there are several videos.
https://www.dvidshub.net/image/6666366/uss-essex-lhd-2-condu...