When Prospect Heights resident Eric Goldstein, 35, takes novices out on a lake for a spin on a hovercraft, one of his favorite things to do is to head full speed for the shore. His passengers scrunch their faces and close their eyes, anticipating a jolt when the vehicle hits the beach.
The jolt never comes. Goldstein’s passengers open their eyes and grin, as the hovercraft slips from the water to the sand without a bump. “Then they say, ‘Let’s do it again,’ ” Goldstein says. He happily obliges, introducing them to a growing hobby, the hovercraft.
A hovercraft is a fuel-powered vehicle that glides like a hockey puck on an air cushion over any flat surface-water, sand, mud or ice-with a set of propellers and a rudder. Some machines resemble the vehicles in the “Star Wars” movies with their wings. There are essentially two types of hovercraft. Small ones for recreational use powered by gasoline are often built from kits out of wood and carry one individual. Kit versions cost about $1,500 and are somewhat noisy. Oh, and they lack brakes.
Smaller ones are made of foam, fiberglass and wood; larger ones, aluminum. The smaller models have a gas-powered lawnmower or snowmobile type engine.
Larger recreational hovercraft such as the ones made by Neoteric Hovercraft in Terre Haute, Ind., are made of fiberglass. Quieter, they have all sorts of bells and whistles, including patented brakes, sirens and Global Positioning Systems. These heftier hovercraft carry four individuals and will set you back $25,000; most are bought by towns for fire and rescue squads or wealthy individuals such as the King of Malaysia.
The second type of hovercraft are the large passenger ferries. These are usually powered by jet fuel, though some are converting to diesel, which is cheaper but heavier.
While most people are using them to have fun, the U.S. military uses them to wage battles, and they have been used to train space-shuttle astronauts, says Goldstein.
Christopher Cockerell of Britain is widely credited with inventing the hovercraft in 1955, though others worldwide created similar vehicles at about the same time. They include Dr. William Bertelsen of Neponset, Ill., according to Goldstein.
When the boating and shipping industries didn’t express interest in Cockerell’s project, he took it to the Ministry of Defense, which classified his invention for two years, Goldstein says. After the hovercraft was declassified, Britain subsidized its development.
Cockerell, who was knighted for his efforts, took out the hovercraft for a widely publicized trip on the English Channel, stealing the limelight briefly from the Russian/American space race.
Consequently, a large hovercraft capable of carrying 450 passengers was developed to ferry passengers across the channel, according to Goldstein. The large hovercraft was used through 2002 and retired for economic reasons. “Cockerell’s invention was incredibly practical, helping millions cross the channel,” says Goldstein.
Yet the hovercraft continues to be popular in England, with races drawing thousands nationwide, including Goldstein and Bob Windt of Cordova, Ill.
Americans adopted the hovercraft to carry vehicles in Vietnam. A smaller hovercraft also was used for fighting, and one is in the U.S. Army Transportation Museum in Ft. Eustis, Va.
Chris Fitzgerald created the Neoteric hovercraft in Australia in 1960. He brought his invention to the U.S. in 1975 with his partner Rob Wilson. The company makes only 35 hovercraft a year, but they are snapped up because the are good in disasters.
“They can handle a flash flood without a problem,” because they can safely ride above rapidly rising waters unlike a conventional boat, according to James Wallace, Neoteric’s education outreach director. Neoteric hovercraft are also used to police the U.S./Mexico border and to enforce the Homeland Security Act, he says.
Even recreational hovercrafters have rescued their share of individuals. When two youngsters got stranded a chunk of ice in the Mississippi River while Windt was out on his hovercraft, Windt used his vehicle nudge the ice back to shore. He was also called by the local fire department to rescue a family in a house threatened by ice and flood.
Goldstein and Windt are members of the Chicago Hovercrafters (www.chicagohovercraft.com), a local group of enthusiasts. They’ll have impromptu hovercraft demonstrations, winter, spring, summer, fall–to lure new members.
“Illinois’ flat terrain is great for hovercrafting,” says Goldstein, who’s anxious to take out his craft for a spin near his new home once he gets his neighbors’ approval.
“I enjoy getting out in my hovercraft more than other vehicle,” says Windt, a licensed pilot. “In 14 minutes I can get out in my hovercraft onto the river and be back and parked.”
Linda Weber of Cuba City, Wis., and a member of Lower Wisconsin River Hover Group, agrees. She got into hovercrafting after she met her husband in 1990.
“He taught me how to drive,” she says. “At first I was really nervous, but then it was fun. Now I find it relaxing and a great way to unwind.”
The couple manufactures fiberglass hovercraft for recreational use. Weber kept her full-time job for a while and quit when orders for new hovercraft became overwhelming. They made 150. The Webers quit making the vehicles for this year but will pick up again next year. They plan to start up again in late January. They charge $12,000 for a new hovercraft.
In the meantime, the value of the Weber hovercrafts has risen: the Star Cruiser version that sold for $6,000 in 1999 recently sold for $11,000, says Weber.
Until they start manufacturing again, Weber is selling parts and fixing hovercraft for ice-fishers. They like to go ice fishing on the nearby Mississippi River on their hovercraft. “We’ll catch crappies and bluegill,” says Linda Weber. “Last year I caught my largest crappie.”
When she’s not busy with the business, Weber (who’s known as the Hover Lady) also moderates Yahoo groups that focus on the hovercraft. The most popular, HoverLovers, has more than 850 members.
Wallace works with teens interested in racing the vehicles. Goldstein sells model hovercrafts to teachers, who show them to their students and teach them about physics. Since hovercrafts move in frictionless way, they illustrate the concept that a body in motion tends to stay in motion.
“Working with kids [on hovercraft] is the coolest,” says Weber. “The satisfaction you get from the kids when they smile is incredible. All their troubles are gone.”
