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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 0539.PDF
Afr-Cuihion Vehicles INTERNATIONAL NEWS... strations followed a highly successful series of operational trials in the marshes and shallow waters of Lake Okeechobee, Florida, and in the James River at Fort Eustis, Va. A recent Bell statement discusses an advanced version of the Carabao in these terms: "Bell engineers are now designing an advanced version of the Carabao, which features improved per- formance, payload capability and a four-place cabin. They predict that the new model, with all improvements, could be produced for between $30,000 and $40,000 per unit on production orders of 100 or more. "The advanced four-place design would incorporate a 125 h.p. lift engine and could carry a 1,2001b useful load. The cabin is being designed with maxi- mum space and flexibility a prime consideration. For example, the new Carabao could carry a driver, three passengers and baggage; or a driver, one medical attendant and two litter patients; or a driver and more than 1,0001b of cargo." Three Generations The following announcement has been issued by Westland Aircraft Ltd in connection with new photographs one of which appears below. The his- toric "family group" mentioned will be printed next month. "Seen together for the first time in public are all three currently operating Hovercraft of Westland Aircraft Ltd, including the first operational Hover- craft to be built in this country, the SR.N1. (Now, after 5O3hr operational, slightly different from the initial con- FUCHT International supplement, 27 February, 1964 ception, with the addition of extra fuel tanks, a B.S. Viper jet engine and a modified prow, plus, of course, 4ft skirts), the SR.N2 now also fitted with long skirts and finally the SR.N3. This later machine is the first military Hover- craft to be built in this country and is also the largest. "The venue for this gathering was the slipway of the Saunders-Roe Division of Westland at Cowes, Isle of Wight, and the occasion, the recent visit of Mr Neil Marten, MP, Parliamentary Secre- tary to the Ministry of Aviation, who has followed the construction progress of SR.N3 very closely. "One of the highlights of the day was when all three craft put to sea and operated together in the Solent—a scene which will probably not be seen again because of the uncertain availability of all three machines at one and the same time. "An unusual visitor to Cowes slipway at this time was the Denny Hovercraft, which is at present being operated by the Hovercraft Trials Unit and which brought another visitor, Vice-Admiral M. Le Fanu, CB, DSC, Third Sea Lord, over from Lee-on-Solent." Nylon "Armour Plating" From British Nylon Spinners comes the following statement:— "The 'test-bed' Hovercraft HD.l which has been carrying out her sche- duled trials programme on Southamp- ton Water has her hull completely en- cased in tough nylon 'armour-plating.' The process was originally developed by the Southampton firm of Leicester, Lovell and Co Ltd for wooden-hulled boats. "Designed by Hovercraft Develop- Peripheral Jet and Sidewall types of ACV are represented here by the Westland SR.N3,seen negotiating the slipway at Cowes, and a Denny D.2. The circumstances of the meeting are related in an accompanying news item "Three Generations" ACD.3 is the designation of this new craft, a news item concerning which appears on page 16. Captions provided by the designer, Mr Kenneth Gray, read (top to bottom): "On towing trailer," "Below the hump" and "Just moving off with eight aboard. Note absence of spray. Note absence of wind- screen" ment Ltd and built by J. Samuel White & Co Ltd, the Cowes boat-builders, the HD.l is purely a research craft and has been constructed mainly of wood so that she can be modified easily during the test programme. Two thousand square feet of nylon were used to cover the hull. "The flexibility of the fabric makes it easy to mould to shape. After first being 'tailored' to the requirements, it is bonded to the hull with Resorcinol resin glue and then impregnated with a pigmented vinyl resin. The result is an immensely tough and waterproof skin which can flex with the craft's timbers. The 'armour-plating' is inherently rot- proof, provides excellent resistance to impact and abrasion damage and com- plete immunity to attack by Teredo or other marine borers. "More than 20 Royal Navy mine- sweepers have been given Cascover nylon sheathing as well as large num- bers of yachts, motor launches and power boats. The HD.l is the first Hovercraft to be sheathed with nylon although the process has been used with great success on the Britten-Norman Cushioncraft to protect the inner ring of the rotor from wear." 18
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