GB1215372A - Improvements in fluid cushion vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

1,215,372. Air-cushion vehicle. BRITISH HOVERCRAFT CORP. Ltd. 2 Jan., 1969 [3 Jan., 1968], No. 366/68. Heading B7K. An air cushion vehicle has a longitudinally extending skirt assembly, which may be either the longitudinally extending parts of the main skirt 11 or a longitudinal compartmentation skirt 13 or both, composed of a number of U- shaped segments 14, concave when viewed from the rear each segment overlapped by both arms of the segment in front. When the invention is applied to a compartmentation skirt, an upper flexible sheet 13 is attached to the structure of the vehicle and a number of segments 14 are attached thereto by attachment strips 18 and fasteners 19. The cushions are contained by a peripheral skirt which comprises an upper flexible sheet 10 with a number of segments 11 depending therefrom and additionally divided by lateral stability barriers 15. The segments of the peripheral skirt at the bow extend the full height of the skirt. The centre segment 20 is sufficiently wide to accommodate the forward end of the stability barrier 12 and the full length segments on either side are progressively narrowed to merge with the width of the dependent segments. The space between the flexible sheets 10 and 13 is supplied via ducts from fans and in turn supplies air through orifices to inflate the segments. The longitudinally extending parts of the peripheral skirt may be constructed similarly to the longitudinal barrier described. while the segments at the bow parts are turned inwardly. The segments may be attached directly to the structure.