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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 1175.PDF
Air-Cushion Vehicles fUGHT international supplement, 23 April 1964 INTERNATIONAL NEWS ... use a hovercraft on public roads. Under Clause 19 of the Road Traffic Act 1962 they are excluded from the public highways without specific authority from the MoT. Mr Stevens has built and successfully tested, in his garden and over the River Medway, a 12-sided, 8ft diameter ACV •with a 200 c.c. pre-war chain saw engine providing the lift and a 98 c.c. engine driving a pusher propeller. Top speed of the craft, which is built of aluminium and polystyrene, is about 3 m.p.h. After a successful over-water test during the Easter holidays Mr Stevens said: "It was entirely successful on land and water but the local police have advised me not to take it on the roads before getting a ruling from the Ministry. I did refer the problem to the County Council's licensing office but they said it was beyond them. There are all sorts of problems involved. There are different tax rates for two, three and four-wheeled Mr Martin Stevens testing his 8ft-diameter ACV, which he is attempting to licence foruse on the roads vehicles. Mine has no wheels at all so how much should I pay ? "The official purpose of road fund licences is to repair roads worn away by wheels. My hovercraft will not touch the road so it cannot wear away the surface. Is this the answer to Britain's road problems?" A spokesman for the Ministry said: "Mr Steven's application is the first we have had. If we allow it on the roads I presume it will need number plates and a road fund licence but I do not know what the price of the licence will be." Technically, to be fit for the road the hovercraft will have to be fitted with brakes, lights and a horn. BERTIN BC.11 PASSENGER AND VEHICLE FERRY A three-view drawingof the Berlin BC.ll, with its 14 joupes andaccommodation for all kinds of road vehicles A BROCHURE HAS BEEN ISSUED by the Societe Bertin & Cie, of La Garenne Colombes, Seine, France, describing an ambitious project for an ACV passenger and vehicle ferry designated BC.ll. As the accompanying manufacturer's three- view sketch shows, it is based upon the Bertin principle of supporting the vehicle upon a series of individual, cylindrical, flexible plenum-chambers called jupes (petticoats). The manner in which these "feet" operate was explained in Air-Cushion Vehicles for August 23, 1962, and a description of the company's latest ACV, the BC.6, was published in our issue dated June 27 last. In the case of the BC.6 the vehicle rides on two rows of four jupes, each fed with air from a centrifugal fan mounted im- mediately above it. The jupes are of sheet rubber, and can be tilted by the driver to impart a lateral thrust in any desired direction. The proposed BC.l 1 would ride upon a total of \A jupes: six along each side, and a very large one on the centreline at each end. In addition, the three-view shows a continuous skirt right round the periphery of the craft, which would obviously serve to restrict the outflow of air and thus generate a lifting pressure over the whole undersurface. Previous Bertin ACV designs have been intended primarily for overland use; in fact the BC.6 has front and rear wheels for steering and traction. The BC.ll is intended for marine operation, and the large bow structure is prominent. The vehicle payload is carried in the rectangular compartment (chain-dotted in the sketch), and passengers occupy a narrow raised upper deck. Lift engines and fans are presumably outboard of the payload hold, whilst the two pro- pulsion engines are doubtless housed in the fairings behind the two propellers. Bertin have provided the data which follow. They also suggest likely fuel consumption and cost levels. Depending upon the cruising regime selected, and upon the sea state prevailing, the con- sumption may be expected to be from 0.25 to 0.4kg/tonne-km, or 0.90 to 1.45 lb/ton-mile. The company continue: "Supposing that the fuel is taxed (0.50NF per kg), this gives a cost of 0.125 to 0.20NF per tonne-km, or 1.25 to 2.00 centimes per passenger kilo- metre. This cost level is very low." Bertin BC.ll data Type Large vehicle and passenger ferry, primarily for use over water. Dimensions Length, 60m (196ft lOin); beam, 20m (65ft 7iin); overall height, 15m (49ft 2±in); perimeter of skirt, 125m (410ft lin); cushion area (gross, within skirt), 920m8 (9,903 sq ft); floor area of vehicle ho!d, 650m2 (6,996 sq ft); cross section of midships frame, 180m2 (1,937 sq ft). Installed power Lift: two groups each of 4,000kW (5,364 h.p.), of which 2,5OO-3,OOOkW (3,353-4,023 h.p.) will be used under cruising conditions. Propulsion: two groups each of 3,000kW (4,023 h.p.), of which 1,500-2,000kW (2,012-2,682 h.p.) will be used under cruising conditions. The engines will be gas turbines of standard types used in current aircraft. Weights Empty, 170 tonnes (374,7891b); equipment and miscellaneous, 3 tonnes (6,6141b); fuel, 12 tonnes (26,4551b); payload, 65 tonnes (143,3001b); gross, 250 tonnes (551,1601b). Performance Cruising speed, 110 to MSkro/hr (60 to 80kt); range, 300 to 400 miles, or an en- durance of 4hr to 5hr at sea; running height over obstructions, up to 2m (78.7in), 48
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