Inventors
Hovercraft
By
Mary
Bellis
A
hovercraft is a vehicle supported on a cushion of air supplied by a powered
fan mounted on the craft.
 The hovercraft was invented by Christopher
Cockerell in 1956. The theory behind one of the most successful inventions
of the 20th century, the Hovercraft, was originally tested in 1955 using
an empty KiteKat cat food tin inside a coffee tin, an industrial air blower
and a pair of kitchen scales. Sir Christopher Cockerell developed the first
practical hovercraft designs, these led to the first hovercraft to be produced
commercially, the SRN1.
Christopher Cockerell's idea was to build a vehicle
that would move over the water's surface, floating on a layer of air. This
would reduce friction between the water and vehicle. To test his hypothesis,
he put one a smaller can inside a larger can and used a hairdryer to blow
air into them. The downward thrust produced was greater when one can was
inside the other rather than air just being blown into one can.
Christopher Cockerell - Biography (information provided
by NASA)
Christopher Sydney Cockerell was
born in 1910. He worked for the Radio Research Company until 1935 and then
for the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company from 1935 until 1951. During
the war years, Christopher Cockerell worked with an elite team at Marconi to develop
radar, a development which Churchill believed had a significant effect
on the outcome of the Second World War, and Cockerell believed to be one
of his greatest achievements. While at Marconi, Christopher Cockerell patented 36 of
his ideas. Christopher Cockerell was knighted for his achievement in 1969.
Hovercraft
History & Hovercraft Museum
By Chris Potter - An on-line encyclopedia
describing the history of Hovercraft from their early beginnings to today's
successful commercial operations.
Christopher
Cockerell, Hovercraft Inventor
Christopher
Cockerell, Biography
Sir
Christopher Cockerell, Creator of the Hovercraft, Dies at 88
Universal
Hovercraft
Build your own hovercraft, order hovercraft hulls and parts, hovercraft
faq, how they work and drive.
Related Innovations
Airplanes
Photo Hovercraft SK-5 Provided by NASA Ames Imaging
Photographer: Jim Remington; Date: Feb 8, 1971
Important disclaimer information about this About site.
| 
