Editing Hovercraft (section)

===Other uses===
[[File:Boren Ride-on Power Trowel.webm|thumb|300px|Boren ride-on Power Trowel]]

====Hoverbarge====
A real benefit of air cushion vehicles in moving heavy loads over difficult terrain, such as swamps, was overlooked by the excitement of the British Government funding to develop high-speed hovercraft. It was not until the early 1970s that the technology was used for moving a modular marine barge with a dragline on board for use over soft reclaimed land.

Mackace (Mackley Air Cushion Equipment), now known as Hovertrans, produced a number of successful Hoverbarges, such as the 250&nbsp;ton payload "Sea Pearl", which operated in Abu Dhabi, and the twin 160&nbsp;ton payload "Yukon Princesses", which ferried trucks across the Yukon River to aid the pipeline build. Hoverbarges are still in operation today. In 2006, Hovertrans (formed by the original managers of Mackace) launched a 330-ton payload drilling barge in the swamps of Suriname.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-08-25|title=Hover barge History 
| website=Hovertrans |location=UK
| url-status= usurped 
|url=http://www.hovertranssolutions.com/hover_barge_history.htm|access-date=2023-03-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825182019/http://www.hovertranssolutions.com/hover_barge_history.htm |archive-date=25 August 2010 }}</ref>

The Hoverbarge technology is somewhat different from high-speed hovercraft, which has traditionally been constructed using aircraft technology. The initial concept of the air cushion barge has always been to provide a low-tech amphibious solution for accessing construction sites using typical equipment found in this area, such as diesel engines, ventilating fans, winches and marine equipment. The load to move a 200&nbsp;ton<!-- Which ton? --> payload ACV barge at {{convert|5|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} would only be 5&nbsp;tons. The skirt and air distribution design on high-speed craft again is more complex, as they have to cope with the air cushion being washed out by a wave and wave impact. The slow speed and large mono chamber of the hover barge actually helps reduce the effect of wave action, giving a very smooth ride.

The low pull force enabled a [[Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight#Civilian|Boeing 107]] [[helicopter]] to pull a hoverbarge across snow, ice and water in 1982.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://verticalmag.com/news/articles/happy-birthday-to-columbia-helicopters--oregon-based-company-celebrates-its-50th-anniversary.html |title=Happy birthday to Columbia Helicopters! Oregon-based company celebrates its 50th anniversary |work=[[Vertical (magazine)|Vertical]] |date=2007-04-18 |access-date=2012-08-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.colheli.com/news/the_hover_barge/ |title=The hover barge |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213052802/http://www.colheli.com/news/the_hover_barge/ |archive-date=2016-02-13 |work=[[Columbia Helicopters]] |access-date=2012-08-24}}</ref>

====Hovertrains====
{{main|Hovertrain}}

Several attempts have been made to adopt air cushion technology for use in fixed track systems, in order to use the lower frictional forces for delivering high speeds. The most advanced example of this was the [[Aérotrain]], an experimental high speed [[hovertrain]] built and operated in [[France]] between 1965 and 1977. The project was abandoned in 1977 due to lack of funding, the death of its lead engineer and the adoption of the [[TGV]] by the French government as its high-speed ground transport solution.

A test track for a tracked hovercraft system was built at [[Earith]] near [[Cambridge]], [[England]]. It ran southwest from [[Sutton Gault]], sandwiched between the [[Old Bedford River]] and the smaller Counter Drain to the west. Careful examination of the site will still reveal traces of the concrete piers used to support the structure. The actual vehicle, RTV31, is preserved at [[Railworld]] in [[Peterborough]]<ref>{{Cite web| title = Hover Trains| publisher = Railworld| url = http://www.fearnmarketingservices.com/railworld/hover.html| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070910045904/http://www.fearnmarketingservices.com/railworld/hover.html| access-date = 2009-09-12
|archive-date = 2007-09-10}}</ref> and can be seen from trains, just south west of [[Peterborough railway station]]. The vehicle achieved {{convert|104|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} on 7 February 1973<ref>{{Citation| title = *** MISSING TITLE *** MISSING TITLE ***| page = 235| newspaper = [[The Railway Magazine]]| date = May 1973}}</ref> but the project was cancelled a week later. The project was managed by Tracked Hovercraft Ltd., with Denys Bliss as Director in the early 1970s, then axed by the Aerospace Minister, [[Michael Heseltine]]. Records of this project are available from the correspondence and papers of [[Harry Legge-Bourke|Sir Harry Legge-Bourke, MP]] at Leeds University Library.<ref>
{{Cite web|title = Correspondence and papers of Sir Harry Legge-Bourke, MP|publisher = University of Leeds|url = http://www.leeds.ac.uk/library/spcoll/handlists/080MS742_LBourke.pdf|date = 2004-06-02|access-date = 2009-10-14|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090327094923/http://www.leeds.ac.uk/library/spcoll/handlists/080MS742_LBourke.pdf|archive-date = 2009-03-27|url-status = live}}
</ref> Heseltine was accused by [[Airey Neave]] and others of misleading the House of Commons when he stated that the government was still considering giving financial support to the Hovertrain, when the decision to pull the plug had already been taken by the Cabinet.

After the Cambridge project was abandoned due to financial constraints, parts of the project were picked up by the engineering firm [[Alfred McAlpine]], and abandoned in the mid-1980s. The Tracked Hovercraft project and [[Eric Laithwaite|Professor Laithwaite's]] [[Maglev train]] system were contemporaneous, and there was intense competition between the two prospective British systems for funding and credibility.

At the other end of the speed spectrum, the [[U-Bahn Serfaus]] has been in continuous operation since 1985. This is an unusual underground air cushion [[funicular]] [[rapid transit]] system, situated in the Austrian [[ski resort]] of [[Serfaus]]. Only {{convert|1280|m|abbr=on}} long, the line reaches a maximum speed of {{convert|25|mph|abbr=on}}. A [[Narita Airport Terminal 2 Shuttle System|similar system]] also exists in [[Narita International Airport]] near Tokyo, Japan.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the U.S. Department of Transport's [[Federal Transit Administration|Urban Mass Transit Administration]] (UMTA) funded several hovertrain projects, which were known as Tracked Air Cushion Vehicles or TACVs. They were also known as Aerotrains since one of the builders had a licence from Bertin's Aerotrain company. Three separate projects were funded. Research and development was carried out by [[Rohr, Inc.]], [[Garrett AiResearch]] and [[Grumman]]. UMTA built an extensive test site in [[Pueblo, Colorado]], with different types of tracks for the different technologies used by the prototype contractors. They managed to build prototypes and do a few test runs before the funding was cut.

====Heavy haulage====
From the 1960s to 1980s, heavy haulers in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] used an air-cushion system for their [[hydraulic modular trailer]]s to carry [[overweight load]]s over bridges which were not able to bear the weight of the load and the trailer.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Totally ace! |url=https://www.heavytorque.co.uk/shop/heavytorque-issue-18/ |magazine=Heavy Torque |issue=18 |date=April 2019 |access-date=2023-05-27}}</ref> The [[Central Electricity Generating Board]] had to move [[transformer]]s from one place to another which weighed from 150 tons to 300 tons for which they did not have appropriate equipment; so they hired heavy haulers like Wynns and [[Pickfords]] who had specialized equipment like hydraulic modular trailers manufactured by [[Nicolas Industrie|Nicolas]] and [[:fr:Cometto|Cometto]], and [[ballast tractor]]s from [[Scammell]] which were strong and powerful enough to carry the load. This made the transportation efficient by avoiding bridge reinforcement, in some cases costing {{euro|30,000|link=yes}}.

The transformers were loaded into the girder frame of the hydraulic modular trailer with axle lines in front and behind of the transformer, which made it possible to keep the transformer as low as possible to the ground to negotiate obstacles on the route. Air cushions were mounted under the girder frame's surface and were operated by a [[compressor]] vehicle which was a customized [[Commer]] 16-ton maxiload provided by CEGB. The vehicle was loaded with 4 air compressors powered by a [[Rolls-Royce]] engine producing 235 bhp. While negotiating a bridge the air cushions were inflated and that reduced the stress tremendously on the bridge. Without this technology the government would have had to rebuild the bridges which was not feasible just to carry a small number of loads.<ref>{{Cite news |title=CEGB's problems are seldom little ones |first=Ron |last=Cater |pages=80–82 |date=1970-06-05 |url=https://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/5th-june-1970/80/cegbs-problems-are |access-date=2023-05-27 |work=Commercial Motor}}</ref>

====Non-transportation====
The [[vacuum cleaner#Constellation|Hoover Constellation]] was a spherical canister-type [[vacuum cleaner]] notable for its lack of wheels. Floating on a cushion of air, it was a [[Home|domestic]] hovercraft. They were not especially good as vacuum cleaners as the air escaping from under the cushion blew uncollected dust in all directions, nor as hovercraft as their lack of a skirt meant that they only hovered effectively over a smooth surface. Despite this, original Constellations are sought-after [[collectibles]] today.

The [[Flymo]] is an air-cushion [[lawn mower]] that uses a fan on the cutter blade to provide lift. This allows it to be moved in any direction, and provides double-duty as a mulcher.

The [[Marylebone Cricket Club]] owns a "[[hover cover]]" that it uses regularly to cover the pitch at [[Lord's Cricket Ground]]. This device is easy and quick to move, and has no pressure points, making damage to the pitch less likely.

A [[power trowel]] is a hovercraft device used for skimming concrete.