Hovercraft is a vehicle that can travel on land , water , mud, ice , sand and other surfaces. A hovercraft it a hybrid vehicle and interestingly it is operated by a pilot rather than a driver. When the hovercraft travels, it is above the surface by a few centimetres. This is achieved by blowing air below the hull, so there is a layer of air between the surface and the craft when it is in motion. Hence the craft travels with very little friction since it is not in contact with the surface at all.
Today hovercraft is used in defense, in times of natural calamities, in sports etc. Coast guards and life guards on seashores use hovercraft to save people's lives. Hovercraft can be useful means of transportation in locations where seas or other bodies tend to freeze during winter. In England, there are hovercraft like pitch covers that are used in cricket fields, the covers won't touch the pitch, hence it does not do any damage to the pitches. The military uses hovercrafts to quickly transport ammunition and if needed launch attacks as well.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s India's DTD&P started a project of building an indigenous Hovercraft. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam headed the team , they successfully built an hovercraft that was named Nandi.
However APJ was left disappointed and disillusioned when this particular project was shelved. Even today India imports hovercrafts or manufactures hovercrafts jointly with some overseas company. Had the project not been shelved then, India would have been a leader in hovercraft technology. We would not only be manufacturing hovercrafts but also exporting them.
Today hovercraft is used in defense, in times of natural calamities, in sports etc. Coast guards and life guards on seashores use hovercraft to save people's lives. Hovercraft can be useful means of transportation in locations where seas or other bodies tend to freeze during winter. In England, there are hovercraft like pitch covers that are used in cricket fields, the covers won't touch the pitch, hence it does not do any damage to the pitches. The military uses hovercrafts to quickly transport ammunition and if needed launch attacks as well.
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| A Russian military hovercraft |
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| A US Navy Hovercraft |
However APJ was left disappointed and disillusioned when this particular project was shelved. Even today India imports hovercrafts or manufactures hovercrafts jointly with some overseas company. Had the project not been shelved then, India would have been a leader in hovercraft technology. We would not only be manufacturing hovercrafts but also exporting them.
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| This is the hovercraft developed by APJ Abdul Kalam's team. |
