Hovercraft have fascinated everyone since their invention in 1956 by Sir Christopher Cockerell. A hovercraft, or air-cushion vehicle (ACV), uses air to break the bond between itself and the surface it moves over. By eliminating friction, hover craft can glide over any smooth surface, moving directly from land over water, mud, sand, ice, snow etc. Since it’s invention, many people have wanted to travel on a hovercraft, to experience it’s levitational properties, and some people have even made homemade hovercraft.

For rescue purposes, hovercraft are ideal particularly in tidal areas where rising tides can trap swimmers, or low tide expose walkers to the dangers of mud or quicksand, or in colder climates, where ice can crack on frozen lakes.

Hovercraft resemble vehicles that appear in scientific fiction journals, the concept of a amphibious vehicle or hover car that mysteriously float over the ground and water using anti gravitational force captures our imagination, and perhaps in future we will all travel on hover boards.

Making a hovercraft is relatively straight forward, and schools often encourage children to design their own hover crafts as part of a science project.

Such is the appeal of an amphibious car, a number of hovercraft clubs exist to promote self build projects, working from hovercraft plans or hovercraft kit supplied by hovercraft manufacturers. For details of clubs you can join visit http://www.hovercraft.org.uk/ The European clubs provide useful contacts and forums detailing luftkissenboot, hoovercraft or Aeroglisseurs as our Euro cousins call them.

Radio control models have included rc hovercraft, widening the appeal of amphibious vehicles in general.

In 2004 Sir Richard Branson, completed the 22-mile English Channel crossing from England to France in his $115,000 James Bond-like shiny black Aquada amphibious sportscar craft in 100 minutes and six seconds, dressed in a dinner jacket and bow tie.

For those who cannot afford the time to build their own hovercraft, a new generation of marine leisure personal hovercraft are available from specialist manufacturers; such as the Hov Pod see http://www.hovpod.com