HOVERING CRAFT & HYDROFO/L

THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF AIR CUSHION VEHICLES AND HYDROFOILS UUUW british hovercraft corporation limited YEOVIL ENGLAND HOVERING CRAFT & HYDROFOiL

FOUNDED OCTOBER 1961

F~rstHovering Craft & tiydrufoil Monthly in the World Ltrrya-1 in service OM tlie Moscoi.v-Volgn cnnal

11 has ~ecently been announced from Moscow that a new wele publ~shedIn lzveslzyu of August 11th type of vessel named the Larya-l has been put in servlce The Opytniy IS propelled by a water-let un~twhlcb diaws on the MOSC~W-V~I~Bcanal between ICalmingrad and &hev 111 water thiough a gsat~ngin the bottom and elect5 it wlth on the uppel waters of the Volga Descr~bedas a "gl~ssolr" [orce thlough the stern As she gathcls way the bow lifts th~svessel resembles a rather mole soph~st~catedversion of ~apldly,lhus produc~ngan all-cushlon effect beneath the hull Lhe Seatluck developed by Rotork Malli~eLtd, of Bath. 'Ihe (as In the Seatruck and 11s smallei plototype the Aquaglider) advantages claimed for each of these are slrnllar high speed The net result IS something rather like that of a s~de-wall pel holse-power, relatively low fuel con\umpt~on,rclativcly hovercraft, though the erlt~re hull never rises deal of the large payload, good manoeuvrability, and, above all, small water and the alr-cushion 1s produced naturally, without the draught, whrch pcrmlts of use in shallow waterways and in use of fans The up-tilted how and the absence of a vulnerable combinat~onwlth the bow deslgn, makes 11 posslble to embalk plopeller make ~t posslblc for the vessel to run bows-on onto and d~scmbarkpassengeis and cargo on any slop~ngfoieshole, any lncllned foieshore, lo1 the embaikat~onor disembalkation thus dispensing with the need of a quay or jetty oC passengers oi cargo, and, In combination wsth the flat, keel- The Zalya-1 when loaded w~thhe1 full capaclty of 65 pas- les5 bottom and the stifi "s~dewalls", malcea 1t possible to jump sengers, draws only 40 cm (I ft 3f Ins), and bas a speed of ova floating obstacles In the fairway such as logs, wh~ch 45 km/h (28 knots) She has a crew of two, a Captain and at celtain seasons arc a serrous problem on many of the Sov~et Engineel whose funct~ons arc ~nterchangeable Four more ~~versThe wheelhouse is just like the cab of a motoxbus vessels of the same type are to be con~pletedby the end of The Opytniy was tried out in iegulal service on two small this yea1 shallow livers or Centlal Russla-the Volkhov, runnmg Into Although not descr~bedIn any detall In Pruvda ol Octobe~ Lake Ladoga, and the Msta, sunnlng ~ntoLake J1'men'-ln 9th, in wh~chthe photograph above appealed, it 1s clear liom 1964 and 1965 and achieved such popularity among the local the appealance of the ciaft that ~t is a perfected veision of a ~nhabltants that the ofices at the Regional Centre we~ede- prototype named the Opylnly (Exper~menlal), developed by luged with letters fiom satisfied passengers protesting at the the Expcrlmental Labolatory of the Leningrad lnstltute of withdrawal of their "watcl-bus", which ss piesumably only Water Transport, of wh~ch a photograph and some detalls pcnd~ngits leplacen~entby one ol the lasya type

IN THIS ISSUE

Potential US Applications of Tracked Air Cushion Editor : JUANI'TA KALERGHI Vehicle Systems 4 HOVERING CRAFT AND HYDROFOIL is produced by Kalerglri Publications, 50-52 Blui~dforrlStreet, London, WI. Telephone WELheck 8678, Priizted in Great flritaiir The Safety Regulations of Air Cushion Vehicles 20 by Villiers Publicatioizs, Lordon, NW5. Anrrrrnl subscrip- tion: Five Guineas UK and equivalent overseas. USA . Letters to the Editor 31 and Canada $15. Tlzere are twelve issues annrrully. Contentr of this issue are the copyright of Kalergiri Publications. Pem1issiort to reproduce pictures and text can be granted only under written ugreernent. Extracts or comments may be made with due acknowledgerneizt to Hoveping Craft and Hydrofoil. COVER PICTURE : The 140-passerzgea PT.50 hydrofoil "Faia- ADVEIiTJSlNG REPRESENTATIVES light" built by T,eol~oldoRodriquez for the Port Juckson rind GREAT BIilTAlN & EUROPE: International Graplzic Pre.ss Ltd, 2 Dyers Buildings, London ECI; JAPAN: Mnnly Steamship Co Ltd The cl.rrft was hipped to Australia Japan Tmde Service Ltd, Masami ~riilking,1-30 Kondrr Jirnbocho, Clriyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan; HOL,LAND: on October 6/17, ~ndwill he put into rervicc across the Bay of old Teesing, Amsterdum-Z, lirrberzsstraat 68, Sydr1c.y Mr Hovvc~rd R, Iioss is a transportation c~tzulystat Stanford Research Institute, .Merzlo Park, Cnlifornia, located about thirty-fir)? miles south of San Francisco. Mr Ross, who is ~lzirty-six,graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree irz Nnvul Architecture .emd Marine Engirzecrirzg (BSE, NA&ME), and spent the first jcrv years of his career in ship design, Ajtc'r a two-year tour of duty iiz Japan cis an engineer- ing oficer in the U,S Navy, he switched to the nuclear power field and vvorlred ccr a grolip head orz the Enrico Fermi fast breeder reactor projecl ira Detroit, aizd for General Electric Co as r! project erzgiizeer on their fast reactor programme. He received iln advanced degree from Stanford University in Mcclzur~icaE Engirzeering (MSME) under the sponsorship of the Holzors Cooperative Program. His interest in the tracked ACV dates from 1960 when he begarz graduate studies CII Stan- ford. The results of a research project in corz~zectiorz with the Master's degree were reporred in two papers : "Comprehensive Desigrz of High Speed Surface Transportation", Jurzc 1961, and "Engineering Problems of Nigh Speed Surface Trarlsportcztiora", May 1962. In these, he cidvocated the development of a family HOWARD R. ROSS of vehicles using air support and guidance with linear induc- tion nrotors for propulsion. In I964 he left the nuclear field arzd joined the staf of Stanford Resecrrclz Institute, wllere he has since been er~guged full time in transportatiorz reserirch. His priizcipal interest has been seen irz ~dvarzced technology for 1)clssenger trcinsportcition. As for the Sarr Francisco cable cars (above), he writes : "They are (I fine mode of transport. They provide an exciting ~vuyto breathe the c~irurtd enjoy the r~ievvs of the city." INTRODUCTION ESEARCEI and development programmes on tracked all R cushron vehlcle (ACV) systems are now unde~ way in England, France and the United States The Japanese National Railway5 lesearch group ~eccntlyiepolted on rts prellmlnary studle\ of a 300 mph tracked ACV for the Tokyo-Osaka corrl- do1 In the Unrtcd States, the Federal Goveinment, In 1965, vta~teda laige nat~onalp~oglamme to advance the technology of hrgh-speed intercrty ground t~anspo~t The purposc of this papel IS to examlne the cha~actelrstlcs of the [lacked ACV that make 11 potentially attractive; levlew the Birlrsh, French and US programmes; d~scussthe transport lunctlon that the tlackcd ACV could potent~allyserve In the Unlted States; examlne the US n~egalopol~tanreglons whe~e s~lcllsystems could conce~vablybe bullt, and discuss some of the des~gncrltei~a that result when one cons~derssuch techno- logrcally novel concepts In the context of a rcal system CXARACTERZSTICB OF THE TIPACKEII ACV The [racked ACV appears to oKci an dttractlve potentlal foi h~gh-speedlnte~c~ty g~ound transport Although dlflelent ver- slons or it ale being studled, thc trackcd hovelclalt undcl Figure I. FIoverctuft Developrr~erlt Ltrl in Englurzd built this development by I-lopercraft Development Ltd (HDL) In England h ft long operating model of a truclted hovercraft, which uses 19 repreyentatlve of th~sconcept The tlacked hovercraft uses peripherul jet air cushion pcrd~ for suspen~iolz and guidnrzce pe~~pheraljet alr cushlon pads Col suspension and guidance, rind a lirzeur irzduction motor for propulsior? The aluminium and l~nea~rnductron motois lor propulsron The novelty ol thrs "rotor" for the motor is the vertical centre plate. Wound stator elegant concept de~ivesl~om the nialrrage ol these two rcla- poles on board the vehicle, energised by polyphase uc, draw t~velydcveloped technolog~es It appears to have the potentlal the vehicle ulong the traclc at ubout 30 myh. Power is distri- for s~gnificantadvantages in terms of cost and perlolmance as buted through brass strips embedded in the top surface of the cornpaled w~thh~gh-speed tralns such as the Japanese New track. The model is not a scale reduction of a full-sized vehicle: Toka~doL~ne (NTL) Some ol these advantages are the uir cuslziorz pcids, for example, are proportiorzately much lrrrger in the model. (Photo courtesy of Hovercraft Develop- @ Tn~tialcosts oi tde (lack structures may poss~blybe lowel, rnent L,td) even lor the hrgher speeds contcmplated Thrs 15 belleved possrble slnce cons~derablecvldence ex~ststhat substan- trally Irghtei-we~ght vehicles can be cleveloped, Impact BiilTISN TRACKED ACV PiiOGRAMME loadrngs would be mln~m~sed,lowel veh~cleprofiles would In England, tho hoverelaft concept was pioneered by Mr peimlt smallel tunnel cr 05s-sections, and I equlrements Tor Chi~slopherCockerell, rormeily rechnlcal Dlrector of Hovel- hack preclslon mrght be greatly reduced crarl Dcvelopnlent Ltd (HDl.,) at Hythc The IIDL programme @ With th~sconcept, the opelat~ngcost? (at thc same speed has been sponsoied by the Natlonal Rcsearch Development as thc N'TL) assoc~dtedwrth vehicle and hack malnten- Corporatlon (NRDC) In 1960, research and development were ance may be gieatly leduced, because he vehlcle does ln~traicdon the tracked hove~craltor trackcd ACV Results of not contact the track In add~t~onto this, ope~atlngcosts these early studres wele repo~tedIn the literature at about that ~elatcdto power mrght be reduced, because of a ~cduct~on time*; a more recent repoit appeared 111 1965 t Howevel, from ol vehlcle f~ontalalea and llghter-welght vehlcles would 1962 to 1965, the level of effort on the tracked ACV way low, requlre less pouer for acceleration and HDL was pr~n~a~~lyconcelncd wlth development of the @ The concept should permit quiet operat~onThere are lew "free" veislon of the ACV, ~esultlngin construction of such rnoving parts in contact, and the lineal inductron motor IS cialt as the SRN selles Increased elnphas~swas placed on inhe~entlysilent development of the tracked ACV late In 1965, and a number @ T~ulyhlgh speeds (~nthe range of 200-500 mph and of prel~mlnalystud~es and tests were cairled out, the ~esultsof higher) not poss~ble wlth steel wheel t~actlon can be whlch have not been publrshed As rt now stands, HDL hopes env~s~onedlor th~sconcept to step up its level of effort on the tracked hovercraft cons~del- For the purpose of this discussion, specific details of the ably In the neai future tracked ACV that HDI, or other groups may evolve are not Since late 117 1965, eKorts have been focused on the des~gn crucial: it is the concept that is important. HDL progress on dnd constructron of a 6 ft operating model and track The the tracked ACV has been followed with considerable interest model has demonstrated, for the filst time, the combrnation of by US transportation rescarch groups. A recent study* that per~pheraljet alr cush~onsuspension and gu~dancewrth a hnear Stanford Research Lnstitute carried out lor the Federal Aviation Induction mot01 p~opuls~onun~t; 11 was demonstrated on a Agency on the California Corridor concluded that: closed loop track at the Hovershow at Browndown In June The possibility of a new high-speed ground transportation The model and t~ackale shown In the accompanyrng ~llustla- system being constructed within any high-density travel mar- tlons The model is not to scale In the sense that ~t has the ket within the United States, such as the California Corridor, same pioportions a full-scale passengel-carlylng veh~clewould rests on the outcome ol' the research programmes presently have The guldance all cush~onpads, to1 example, are propor- being conducted by the [US] Department of Commerce. tionately large1 rn the model Thls results fiom the small track These research programmes are aimed at developing a sur- rad~usthat lim~tsthe length of the gurdance pads poss~ble face system that could attain speeds in the range of 300 to w~thoutthe ends contacting Thus, a deeper pad and deepel 500 mph. At the present time, a Lransport system built around s~destruclure ~esult S~milarly, the length of the model IS a trackcd air cushion vehicle, propelled by a linear induction lrmrted by track curvature, and mce the w~dthof the model motor, similar to a vehicle presently being developed by IS dete~m~nedto some extent by the need for a reasonable 11ft Hovercraft Development lAtdof England, appears to have a pad aspect ratlo, the model has a fa~rlyhlgh beam-to-length great potential as an effective high-speed surface transport ratlo as compared with that of a full-scale veh~cle The struc- system. . . .

"; D. S. Bliss, "The Tracked Hovercar", Hoveririg Craft & Hydrofoil, January, February and March 1962; D. S. Bliss, "The Tracked Hovercar ':; Willialll L. Metzger and Howard R. Ross, An Anrrlysis of Irztercify for Intercity Transport", New Scientists, November 1961. I'usser~ger Trafic Movement within the Culiforr?iu Corridor Throuph 1980, l. Hovercraft Development Ltd, "The Civil Hovercraft Development Stanford Research Institute, April 1966. Programtlle", Hovering Croft B Hydrofoil, July 1965. Figuie 4. This view of the linear znduetion motor show5 the 1 Figure 2. Fabricuiion details of tkc traclced l~overcraftmodel guidarzcc ~lzcels,spring suspension, and electrical power piclc- i arc shown above. The central bay lzouses tlze liizeur induction olJ bru~lzes.(Plzoto courtesy of Hovercraft Development Ltd) motor. (Photo courtesy of Hovercraft Development Ltd)

w11l have to be used III full-scale vehlcles Polyphase power to tural material for the model and track is principally fibreglass; energlse the motor 1s dlstrlbuted thlough blass strips embedded fabrication details are partially shown in the illustrations. The ~n the top surCdce of the uack. I air cushion pads are of the peripheral jet type, and a secondary The track consists of a rectangulai c~oss-sectionbox grrder. I air spring suspension is provided. The entire inner shell of the Suspeniion ot Lhct vehlcle IS on the top surface, and gu~dance1s vehicle acts to some extent as an air plenum chamber. prov~dedby the pads lylng In the vert~calplane that ride on The propulsion unit is unique, being a linear induction motor the s~desof the track Thrs configu~atronoC vehicle and track with a wound "stator" suspended in the vehicle; the "rotor" IS very stable, as estabhshcd by tests The use of this cross- consists oC a flat aluminium plate centrally located and attached sectlon effectively sepalates the latela1 motlons from vertlcal to the top of the track, which the stator poles straddle. This mot~onsbut introduces problems of sw~tchlngand rncreased I motor, shown in the illustrations, was designed and built by overall vehrcle he~ght I Dr Eric R. Laithwaite at the Imperial College of Science and Current work on the tracked ACV at HDL IS be~ngdliected Technology, who now acts as a consultant to HDL. The motor hy Mr Denys S. Bl~ss,who also was in charge of the earlier develops 17 1b of thrust, at a high current rating; however, it efro~is Slnce Bl~sn and h~sco-workels plan to reanalyse thls has a design speed of about 20 to 25 mph, requiring about 5 Ib concept almost coinpletely, rt IS premature to guesb as Lo details of thrust. The stator is centred on the aluminiuln "rotor" by ol the future configu~atlon oP vehicles and track that may nylon wheels, mechanically analogous to the air film or air iesult The bairc des~gncharacterist~cs ol the tracked ACV cushion centring devices that will probably be required in full- system are descl~bedIn Bllss's att~clesprev~ously c~ted The scale vehicles. It is suspended in the vehicle by tension springs, lundamental ~deaol uslng all cush~onsuspensron and gu~dance corresponding to far more complex suspension concepts that w~thlinear lnductron motors for propulsion appears to be lavo~rredby HDL as opposed Lo air screws or lei englnes NDL reels that the llnear ~nduct~onmotor should be developed In parallcl wlth the alr cushron concept

Figure 3. Ztz lhis view, the Hovercraft truelced lzovcrcraft model, under construction, is shown o[j the trciclc. Periplzcral Flgute 5 Deizys S. Blics, Ernest F. Needhum and Michael jet crir cushion piids for support and guidar~ce are visible jorc Cliar.it)~,who arc ~vorlcirzgon the trrrclced lzovercruft for Hover- and aft. The liiaeilr induction motor is locc~tcd in the centre of ~rufiDevelopmewt Ltd, cue rliown wit11 the 6 ft test model that the model, arid polypknse ac power l)iclc-(18bruslzcs are Iactrted will use air cushion ~urperzsioaand guidance (peripheral jet) 012 each side of the motor. Fans lor tl~eair pads are visible at and a linenr induction motor (stator orz board) for prol~ulsion the top of the model. (Photo courtesy of Hovercroft Dcvclop- This i~ the "l~lug"that war used to mal~ethe femnle mould for ment L,td) the fibreglass fabricutiorz of the model Blitlsh industry and the ilational rnllways have repo~tedly been cool towalds the development 01 the tracked hoveicralt, perhaps because ~t 1s not ent~relyclea~ where the systein m~ght fit In the Br~tishtransport spectrum In the Un~tedStates, on the other hand, dense u~bancorridors and severe alr congestion In these colrrdors have led the US Government to conslde~ h~gh-speedground transport for intercity scrvlce These condlt~ons ale appa~ently not as pronounced in England Over the long term, neveitheless, 11 would not be sulprlslng to see alr congestion over major c~tlesdeveloping in England as ~t has In the Un~tedStates If thls is In prospect, the eflorts at HDL ale not premature, becauqe lead t~mefor development ol new h~gh-speed ground tlansport systems 1s excecd~nglylong In the United States, it looks as ~f firteen years w~llbe requlred to b~lnga new surlace ttanspolt system into bemg In the Northeast Corrldol * With this In mtnd, the NRDC sponsorsh~pof HDL eflortb on the tracked hovercraft can be mewed as a ~emarkablccase of foles~ght I7WENCH TRACKED ACV PROGRAMME In Flance, the pronilnent figu~eassoc~ated with all cushlon veh~cle?has been M Jean Beltin, who d~rectedthe develop- ment ol several veh~cles,~ncludlng the BC4, the BC 6 and HC 8 Terraplanes and the Ndvlpl~nesBC 11 and BC 12 The French programme 1s centred d~oundthe Socicte Rerlm el Cle and 11s subsldlary, Societe d'btudes de l'Aerotram French e8orls on the tracked ACV began more lecently than those of the Brltlsh, but they have proceeded more rap~dly Thelr funcllng has been p~inc~pallythsough the French Govern- ment whlch, in May 1965, ~uthorised les Fonds d'lnterven- iron pour l'hmenagement du 'Terrltolre (FIAT) to contribute $600,000 fol the condructlon of an expe~imentalAe~olraln and test track These funds were augmented by about %500,000from ~ndust~y, and in 1965 a vehlcle was bullt and a test tiack Figutc 6. The French Aerotruin, built by Socic'tk dlEtrtdes de partially constructed l'derotruin, u subsidiary of SociitP Bertin et Cie. This shot M Leon Kaplan is President of the Aerotraln ~ubsid~ary ~howsclearly the inverted tee cross-section of the track. Guid- The Scient~fic Dlrector ot Bertln et Gle 1s Dr Fran~olsL ance und support of tlze vehicle are provided by open plenum Giraud, who also d~rectsthe technical p~og~arnlneEol the flexible skirt air cushions. At the upper lefl is shown the hop Aerotram lnformat~onon th15 piogramme was supplled to me tvhcre tlze concrete segments are being fabricated. The air screw largely through dlscusslons wlth M ICaplan and Dr Grraud propulsion is recognised by the Aerotrain group us a provi- when I v~s~tedthen lac~lit~esin March ol th~syear and when sional solution, and for more advanced vehicles linear turbines Dl Glraud vis~tedSRI In Aprll or linear induction motors will be investigated. (Photo courtesy The test veh~cle,wh~ch IS shown in the accompanying ~llust~a- of Societk Bertin ct Cie) tlons, was bu~ltwith a~rcraltI'abr~cat~on techn~ques, welghs 2) tons, and has a length of about 33 ft; thus, the unloaded we~ghtper runnrng foot works out to the surprlslngly low figure 01 151 lb, whlch may be cornpaled with translt vehlcles that uelgh 800 to 1,100 lb per runnlng Soot The test veh~cle1s approximately half-vze and, uslng ~tswelght as a gulde, a lull- scale veh~clem~ght have an unloaded we~ghtin the order of 300 to 500 1b per running Coot, depend~ngon the type oC ser- vice 1 emphaslse this point because systems usmg lrghtwelght vehicles appeal to ofler the potentla1 for llghtes t~ack structures and lower total system costs The air pads lor support and guldance of the veh~cleare of the flexlble skirt, open plenum type and are reported to have an avelage pressure of less than 1 psl Power fo~the centrifugal blowers is p~ovldedby two Renault go id ill^ englnes of 50 hp each, wlth cross-connect~onssuch that loss of one englne wlll not cause a complete loss of an pad pressure It 1s reported that the vehicle can opelate on all supplied by one blower at half the alr cushion helght Detalls ol the an cushion pads were not revealed The vehicle IS des~gnedto carry lour passengeis, an operator and a test engineer Test runs thus far have been up to 125 mph, accord~ngto Guaud, who sa~dthat test speeds up to 180 rnph would soon be undertaken To reach the latter speed, the alr screw propuis~on,poweled by a 270 Cont~iientalalrcraft englne, would have to be augmented by addltlonal thrust, per- haps f~omsmall locket engrnes On the present vehlcle, braking 1s accomphshed by p~tchieversal ol [be dlr sclew, with emei- gency braklng made poss~blcby means oC brake shoes actlng on the vert~calelement of the track In case of complete loss ol all cushlon pressure, sklds ale piovlded on the undetslde of Figure 7. Shot showing the Acrotrain in operation. Note ruin- water being blown off trtrclc by air cushions. The French ':: The Northeast Corridor is the dense urban co~~iplc~stretcllilig fro111 engineers claim that small debris on traclt is swept ofJ by Boston through New York to Washington. ~~elziclepcissuge. (Photo courtesy of Socihtb Bertin et Cie) trasbourg Lorie St.

Arcacl

Pori

Figure 8. Th(. truclc presents u smooth uppeatunce, due to steel moulds used for fubricutiott. (Pl~olocourte.ly of Socikth Bcrtin Distance Time et Cie) Routes (miles) (mills) Lyon-Grenoble ,,...... 50 20-26 Paris-Orlbans ...... 74 25-35 Lyon-Givors--St Etienne ...... 34 14-16 most ol the length of the veh~clewh~ch would provrde braklng Metz-Nancy ...... , . . , . . 3 5 15-17 and support at the same t~me Paris-.Orly ...... 7 4-5 The test tlack, when completed, will be nearly seven miles Le Bourget-Paris-Nord ...... 19 10-12 long, and 1s located soulh-west of Pans between Gometz-la- Marseille-Nouveau Port ...... 3 1 12-15 Vllle and Lrmours The grade does not excecd 10/,, although Paris-Lyon ...... , , ,,. 280 70-90 Giraud stated that 10% glades could be negot~ated with Rennes-Lorient-Quimper-Rrest ... 161 60-90 veh~clesol this type Turntables at each end of the track will Bordeaux-Angoul'Cme-Perigueux ... 109 35-40 be prov~ded In its final form, the track 1~111include an S culve Paris-Rouen ...... , , ,,. 8 1 35-40 over a length of about 1_,000ft, wh~chwrll test the abihty of the vehrclc to take curves at h~ghspeed Figure 9 The total track w~dth1s approx~mately6 It (1 8 m); the he~ght of the veitlcal element 1s 21 6 1n The track has an ~nvertedtee cross-sectlon that sepaiates the lateral motrons ol the veh~cle the routes co~lsideredarc shown in the accompanying illustra- hom vert~calmot~on; on qect~onsof strarght track, lateral d~s- tion. placement of the veh~cledoes not change the he~ghtof the alr At present, the French group is cxamining a route in the cushron above the hor~zontalsurfaces OrlBans area. C2onsideration of a 50-mile single-track route to Track segments 19 7 ft In length are prefabricated of re- connect Lyon and Grenoble has been dropped. For this latter inforced concrete and cast In ateel moulds, resulting In smooth route, preliminary cost estimates ol $llmillion per route mile fin~shes on support and gutdance surfaces Surface preclslon were developed, which would have included a large research ol the track IS on the order ot 1 mm In 10m, that 1s to say, and development programme, stations, vehicles and all asso- 0 040 in in 32 8 it Tlack segments are light and small enough ciated equipment. For future full-scale systems, vehicles would that they can be transported over finished portlons of the track operate initially at speeds of about 125 mph, with capabilities to the end wherc construction IS st111 under way Every seventh for increases in speed to about 2001nph with more advanced track segment has an expansron loint, and each segment IS vehicles. Part of the research and development programme supported at ~tsends by concrete p~lla~s would be addressed to the higher-speed vehicles. Although the vehr~lewas off the tiack when I v~srtcdthe Lightweight vehicles are envisioned for this system. Pre- facllitres, 11 has been repottcd that the 11de qual~tyis excep- liminary estimates by the Aerotrain group place the unloaded t~onallygood, and that nolsc levels are modeidte at speeds up weight of the vehicle per passenger at around 500 Ib. This can to about 125 mph Whether thls w~llbe the case at much hrgher be compared with rail rapid-transit cars that have weights oC speeds cannot be sa~dat th~stlme 800 to 1,200 1b per passenger, or the New Tokaido Line rolling The Frcnch Aelotraln group lecognlses that thete are certaln stock, which averages almost 1,450 Ib per passenger. Looking at tcchn~calproblems wrth thrs concept, but pornts out that thrs IS this another way, the 82-passenger car for the NTL weighs an experr~nentalvehlcle lather than a fully developed system 119,0001b, whereas the French ACV would weigh approxi- Some of the ploblems Include \w~tch~ng,nolse and v~brat~on mately 41,000 Ib, or 34% as much. These lightweight vehicles, lrom the ptopuls~on unlt at h~ghspeeds, effects of we at he^, together with the distributed loads possible with tracked ACVs, vrsual drscomfort to passengels, and exclus~onproblems One may make lighter track structures possible. This possibility has techn~calpioblem of particular mterest, whrch the French have profound implications for the economic feasibility ol' tracked expellenced, is that of lateral sway at hlgh speeds, wh~chone ACV systems, since track structure costs are a large part of the would expect w~ththe low spring late assocrated with the type cost of full-scale systems. In conventional trains, a factor of of alr cushion pads aelected about 25 to 35% is applied to the vehicle dead load to allow When I questloncd the Fiench about the relatlve worth of for impact loading, which would mostly be absent in ACVs. thrs concept compared with other systems, Col example VTOL Advanced propulsion techniques that the French intend to a~lc~aft,they sard that they wele not In a posltlon to make such investigate include non-load-bearing pneumatic tyres (driving economic evaluations These would have to be done by the ofT 01 the vertical element of the track), linear turbines employ- Transport M~n~st~y ing fixed turbine buckets in the track, and linear induction The Aerotrarn group has exam~neda numbe~of routes In motors. The French believe that the technical feasibility of air F~ancewhere lull-scale systems uslng thls concept would be cushion suspension and guidance systems should be demon- appl~cableThey feel that a system of this type would be useful strated first, and then they can address themselves to propul- prlncrpally for ~ntercltyscivlce and lor arrport lrnks Some of sion, for which several alternatives are possible. In any case, the plopulslon system selected must be capable of negotlattng to brrng a 3004 mph system Into being The MIT work d~d grades of up to lo0/, slnce the French wlsh to avo~dtunnelling not include the des~gnof any spec~ficsystem However, 11 did where the loute passes through the mountains synthes~sea few system concepts that could poss~blyresult Irom Slnce the Flench plan to e~nploya s~ngletlack, swltchlng has advanced technology, lncludlng a tracked ACV uslng lineal also occupied thew attention The Inverted tee track has some rnductlon motors One of these concepts 1s shown In Fig 10 ~nherentprobleins rl a safe, tellable swltch 1s to be dev~sed MIT is now dolng lollow-on work oL' $520,000 fundlng, They belleve that in the switch alea the veh~clecould lower which 1s devoted to research on the tundamental englneerlng wheels (pneumatic tyres) that would engage a set of grooves In characteristics or Auld and mechanical suspension and controls, the hor~zontalsurface, and the vertical leg ol the track would an ~nvestlgatlonof network schedul~ngtheoiy, the dynamics of be absent Thus the latelal guldance In the sw~tcharea would veh~clesIn tunnels, and lock-fracture theoiy related to tunnel- be prov~dedby wheels and not by thc alr cush~onpads on the ling veitlcal surfaces of the track Other technology studles are now belng started, lnclud~ngone In terms of economlc just~ficat~onfor thls system, the French on hear ~nductlon motors for hlgh-speed ground transport have devoted cons~derableattentrorl to the reduced maintenance syatems In the next two years, the Department of Commelce ~nhercntIn these concepts Slnce the veh~cledoes not contact plans to lnclease the level ol efrort on technology studies the track, has a l~ghtweight, and shock loadings are essent~ally greatly, includmg the synthes~s and prelim~naly deslgn (lor eliminated, they feel that an excellent case can be made fol analyt~cal, not conytruct~on, purposes) of ent~resystems that lowel ina~ntenancecost\ are expected to embody new concepts of suspension, propul- slon, gurdance and control The total for technology w11l be on Although the Frtnch plopuls~onscheme appears to me con- the older ol $58 mlll~on,ol neally two-thlrds of tbe entrre ceptually less attractwe than that of the Br~tishtracked hover- HSGT proglamme 'Thus, the expenditures for the first yea1 clalt, the French plogramnie IS In an eaily state of developmcnt ($4 5 mlllion) are small compared w~thtotal funds that will and 11 ii, too early to tell the drrect~on~t may take and the ult~matelybe expended In th~saiea veh~cleand track confrguiations that may ultimately result I1 a I'ull-scale route 15 bu~lt,the potential of tracked ACV Tebt Track Lranspo~ttechnology w~lltake on added s~gnificance,and the French programrne shoulcl be carefully mon~toredby trans- Fol the first year, the Department ol Commerce has placed poitat~onplanne~s throughout the world a somewhat heavle~ emphasls on work to advance the tcch- nology of conventional rall systems, and plans to comm~t$4 1JS HIGH SPEED GROUND TRANSPORTATION mrll1on for the first year and $2 mill~on the following two PROGRAMME yeais Th~seffoit wlll taper olT In subsequent years A 21 2-mlle In 1965 the US Uepa~tmcntof Comme~celaunched a large- iall ttst track on Pennsylva~liaKallload right-or-way, between scale national research and development programme on the New Blunsw~ckand Trenton, New Je~sey,1s belng readled foi technology of h~gh-speedgro~~nd transpoitat~on (HSGT) lo1 these tests, wh~chwlll be conducted wlth four rallcars to be lnterclty se~v~ceFor thls programme, $90 m~lllonhas been purchased from the Budd Company These cars w~llbe s~m~lai allocated for the next three yea15 The lnit~alImpetus fol the to those Budd has bull1 Col electrified Ph~ladelph~asuburban programme derlved from the lransportat~onneeds of the North- service, but ~111be of an impioved aelodynam~cshape In a east Corrldor, the nregalopol~tan complex stletchlng from stlrpped-down, geared-up velslon w~thmore powerful motors Washington to Boston and containing about forty mllllon They wlll be tested at speeds up to 150mph The object of people on only about 1 4"/, of the IJS land area However, the these tests 1s to advance technology useful to the ra~lioad benefits of the prcgramme will not be confined to the North- industry 1t appeals that the results of th~sUS effolt will be east Corrldor; they would be appl~cableto other US legions about as technically advanced as those ol the Japanese New as well Toka~doL~ne Interest In the Northeast Corl~dor'stranspoll ploblems was Demonstration Prograln~ne st~mulatedby Senator Clalborne Pell, who Introduced a resolu- tion into Congress In 1962 calling for rall lmpiovements In the For the first year, about $8 million will be spent to pur- alea Pres~dentKennedy, In response to Pell's concern for the chase fifty new multiple-unit railcars lrom the Budd Company problem, appointed a Pres~dent~altask folce In 1962 to con- (capable of achieving speeds oC about 125mph), which will s~derthe Northeast Corr~dortia~lspolt problems The task force be operated on certain segments in the Northeast Corridor. recommended that a project be establ~shed to Improve the Department of Commerce spokesmen have made it clear that l~ansportat~onIn the area, but that ~t should not be confined this demonstration m701.k is not intended to simulate the type of to ~mp~ovementsIn the ra~lmode In his 1965 State of the high-speed ground system that may- ultimately be built in the Un~orlMessage, President Johnson called for first-yea] funds corridor, hut is intended to test the response of the public to of $20 milllon lor research and developlnent in the technology higher speeds and other aspects of improved service. Right-of- of hrgh-speed ground tiansport. In final form, a b11l was passed way improvements costing on the order of $9 million to $10 for $90 mllllon over a thiee-year period; $18 5 mllllon was million will be paid for by the Pennsylvania Railroad. These appropriated for the fi~styear (fiscal 1966), and fiscal 1967 and will consist of straightening track, strengthening catenaries and 1968 wlll see $35 m~ll~onor $36 m~ll~onper yea1 for thls improving signals. On New Haven trackage between Boston piogiarnme Let us eaamlne how thls is div~dedfor the first and Providence, two experimental three-car trains using gas yea1 s effort, and how ~t may be div~dedIn subsequent years turbine propulsion units are to be tested operationally as part of this programme. For the remaining two years, an additional Technology Studies $10 million will be spent, bringing the total to about $18 Technology studies have been funded to about $4 5 mllllon million for the rail demonstration programme. for the first year These should have a profound Impact on giound transport in futu~eycars, because they seek to develop National Transportation Statistics Programme a fundamental advance In the technolog~calelements of ground This programme, with $2 million slated for it in the 'first transpo~tat~on(for lnterclty service), including new features for year, is aimed at eo-ordination of transportation data that are propulsion, suspension and guldance, contiol, comfort, safety being generated by a multitude of federal and local agencies. and scheduling This work IS a~medat the eventual develop- This programme will assist state and local agencies in designing ment or wholly new modes of ~ntercltyground t~ansportatlon data collection studies, and, in addition, will collect some data capable of speeds In the 200 to 500 mph lange on its own. The total three-year effort will come to between Spearheading thls effolt were studles at Massachusetts Instl- $5 million and $8 million. lute of Technology The fiist phase of the MIT work consisted or a ievlew of technology and recommendahons for leseaich .' Survey of Technology for High Speed Gro~rndTvmsport, Part I, Massa- and development, resulting rn a report that outllned aieas of chufctts Institute of Technology, June 1965, prepared for US Department resea~chon the technology of HSGT that wor~ldbe necessary oi Cornmercc. "Capsule" receiving poi t Passengel translet " Flexible coniicctio~ito next vehicle I

I I Linear motor rail Linear mot01 section Tlouyli foi fluid slspension

Veliicle parameters: Guideway c~~closu~eot tunnel Length: 110 ft. Cooling oil scoop Height: I0 ft. Width: 12 fl. Weight: (loaded) Passengel t~arisfel"capsule" 120,000 Ibs. Fluid suspension clearance conti01 Capacity: 100 passengers Power: Linear rnotol with power pick-up Speed: 250-300 rnpli Suspension: Annular jet fluid High piessure fluid suspension Figrue 10. This velzicle illus- suspension, tiles fol Iirneal mot01 clea~ance trutes one of the wide vuriety for switching and Lineal motor ail sp~ingsuspension of systems ~vhiclz cun be emergency. Powe i~ansmission'~ails" synthesisecl from the con- Lineal moioi a ail' cepts described in the MIT Veliicle guidewoy Report, "Survey of Tech- 'Flotation" medium Guidewoy suppoltiny structu~e nology for High Speed GI.OUIZ~Transport", Purl I, Vehicle lluid suspension - - ...- - --- June 1965, prepured for US (comparimelited fo~contlol) Dcpclrtment of Commerce

SlJMMARY OF HSGT PROGRAMME evaluate new CISG? systerns on a cost-effect~venessbas~s wlthrn In summary, the HSGT programme ol the Department of the context ol cxrstrng transport networks, and wrll present Commerce plans to spend about $58 n~~llronon technology Government decls~on-make~swlth a series ol' alternatlves for studles (Crom which new systems wrll result), about $6 m~lllon the Northeast Corlldor This effort IS partrcula~ly noteworthy on the rall test track, $5 m~llionto 88 mllllon on the rtatlst~cs because no prevlous transportatron study has coveled such a programme, and about $18 mill~onon lmprovlng the exlstlng large geoglaph~cor demographic area --the Noltheast Corrrdol la11 system In the Northeast Corrldo~(see tabulatron below) includes the D~st~~ctol Colurnb~a, parts of ten states, and 20% Thus, of the cntrre $90 m~llson programme, about 20% is or the US populat~on Even more unusual IS the fact that addressed to the Northeast Colr~dor;the balance wrll go to a research rn technology wlll be proceedrng concurrently, the national prograrnnle to adbance hlgh-speed lnterclty tlansport ~esultsof wh~chwrll be continuously fed rnto the transpolta- technology tron study In prlnclple, this co-ordrnated apploach IS rdeal and pi omrses useful results Millions of Dollurs Drscussrons wrth Department of Commcice representatrves 1966 1967" 1968" Total" revealed the following tentative t~metableol events lo1 the Technology . . . . . 4.5 24 29.5 58 Northeast Corl~dorpl oject Test track ...... 4 1 1 6 Statistics ...... 2 3 3 8 Time Periotl Activity Rail demonstration ... 8 6 4 18 L966-68 Transportatson studies encompasslrlg economrc - -- - and system analyses; research and develop- Total ...... 18.5 34 37.5 90 men1 In technology oC h~gh-speed~nter crty ------ground systems, development of cost-benefit stud~es for a seiles or alternatlves to be NOKrEIEAST CBRIIIDOR REGIONAL presented to Government decls~on-makers, TR4NSPORTATION STUDY and financlng and admrnlstr at~vestudres In addltron to studies on the technology of lnterclty trans- 1968-70 Government declsron on type of system (11 portation, the Department of Commerce also plans to spend ally) for Northeast Corridor; airangement about $5 mlll~onovel the next th~eeyeals to carry out a sys- oi financlng and admrn~stratron tematlc transpoltatron study of (he Northeast Corrrdor These 1970-78 Des~gnand construction funds are In addrtlon to the HSGT b~llThrs study dlilers from 1978-80 Operational shakedown the HSGT plogrammc slnce 11 wlll cons~derall transportatron 1980- Operat~onol full-scale ~ystem modes In the corlldo~(not only lnte~cltvground transport) and The HSGT ploglamme wrll solve some problelns and ralse others It 1s addressed to only one segment of the transpolla- IS not plrlnalily concerned wlth technology Thrs study w~ll tlon spectrum rntercity technology We should really be :' Estimated by Stanford Research Institute. rnountlng s~mllarefforts on technology lo1 regronal rail com- n~ut~ngpioblems and z~ztrucity transport problems, lncludlng drst~~bution111 the central business distr~ct* Tiansportation for a mcgalopolrs 15, altei all, a system, and the level of technology In each of the subsysten~slntc~acts strongly The ju~~sdrct~on ovei resealch and development rn Lhc technology of rntraclty t~ansport1s held by other government agencies, and no srmllar elTolt on iechnology IS tak~ngplace It IS hard to see how new HSGr systems can be truly eflectrve \vrthout equally modeln collect~onand drstirbution aystems In each of the ma101 n~ctro- polltan areas to be served Competing System$ Conlceyts for HSGT The Depaitment of Commerce 1s not committed to any specific systcn~concept at this stage There is an array of applic- able sy5tem concepts lor hrgh-speed surlace transportairon that have been proposed by varlous groups and ~nd~vrduals,ranging f~cmthose embodving fully developed technologics to those embodying largely undeveloped technologies Several potentla1 system concepts that have been proposed lor corrrdol trans- portatlon are listed below @ High-speed rail systems on the NTL pattein the cals to be tested on the 21 2-mile test track wlll use technology Sho~inabove is u flexible plenum air cushiort pud under dcvel- comparable to that of the Japanese lrne opr?zent by General Motors culled "Hovair" or "l~zvisulift"; O Auto passengel tram ferry systems, such as the RKoll- pndc such as these have been tested at speeds up to I00 mph way proposal by General American Tlansportaiion Coi- or1 surfaces with varior~s degree^ of roughness Pumping horse- poratron (GATX) pocver is dependent on surface prepuru~ion, and ranges from O Tracked ali cushron vehicles (ACV), such as the experi- 0 2 Izpltoiz for bmootll metal surfaces to 1.0 lil?/ton on pre- mental Aerotrain pc~rcd concrete surfclces (Photo courlesy of Generul Motor3 Q Tracked alr cushion vehlclcs (ACV), such as the Hritlsh 7 eth~zicirlCenter) tracked hovercraft @ Tracked flexrble plenum art cushron vehrcles w~thlrnea~ inductron motom, such as the General Motols Hovari concept The US Depa~tmentor Commerce wrll have to make benefit- B) Pneumatrc tube trarns such as the grav~tyvacuum transit cost analyses oi the systems 11sied and others that may be (GVT) propo~edby Tube Transrt Inc, Palo Alto, Call- postulated to present dec~s~on-makerswith the most attractive forn~a alternatives Prejudgrng the outcome oC such analyses IS a little @ Tube fl~ghtveh~cles such as proposed by Di Joseph V r~sky,but we can at least speculate at tb~stime Foa 01 Rcnssclae~Polytechnic lnslrtute If we are looklng foi speeds In the 200 to 500 mph ~ange,we The principal character~st~csof these systems are glven in wrll probably have to go to some sort of wheelless s~lspension Table 1 Thrs 11strng may not be complete Fol example, mag- The Japanese feel that 190 mph may be about the practical netlc suspension systems may ult~matelybe fouild feas~ble,and lrmit Eor steel wheels 11 thrb 1s the case, NTI; trains and the theie ale other hear tractlon devices, such as l~nearturbines, RRollway concept cannot oRer the desrred speeds that conceivably could be comb~nedw~th different suspension Tube systems and tunnel-dependent systems on the other concepts Thus, other systems may be synihes~sedfor Lhrs t~ans- end of the spectrum look prohibltrvely expensrve The GVT port lunctlon pneuinatic train concept (usrng steel wheels on steel iails) has been estimated by rts inventoi to cost about $5 mrllion per :I: In a forthcoming article Tor Irzterrintior~nl Science urzd I'echrzoloy);, mrlc- tunnel experts told me it may cost as much as $10 entilled "Surface Transportation Technology", by the autlror of this paper, research needs in technology across a speclrum of surface transport func- mrll~oilpel mrle The costs of the tube flrghl concept inay be tions will he discussed. simrlarly expenslve - an 18 It diamete: tube will surely have

7'he flexible ple~xum riir cushior~ pad principle is illu~trated by this diagram. (Diug~am cour tcsy General Motors Teckniccrl Center)

costs comparable wlth the GVT concept, although no cost concomitant statiorl spacing, have a deterministic effect on estimates ale avarlable yet maximum usable speed : if stations are fairly close, a 500 mph From the concept5 that are examlned above, th~sleave5 us speed capability may be almost unusable. w~ththree concepts that are, rn prrnc~ple,qurte srmilar the Aelotldin, tracked hoverclaft, and GM Hovalr The Brltlsh and Elench concepts were d~scussedprev~ously Flexlble plenum arr H~gh-speedground transportat~onsystems can be economrc- cushlon concepts are belng developed rn the Unrted States by ally justified In the US corrldols whele drstances and densrtles the Genelal Motorb Co~porat~on* They have called ~t "Hovail" of passenger movements make ground systems attlactlve and at or "Invrsalrft" Its principal practical use thus far has been for least partly AT-supportrng Only a few such corrrdors exrst; mater~als handling, although transportatron appllcatlons are howevel, these megalopol~tanareas contain about 50% of the being studled The concept employs a unique a~langementof US populatlon flexlble members between the solld po~tlonol thc vehrcle and @ The Boston-Washrngton Ieglon (the Northeast Corlldor) the gurdeway Its major advantages rnclude conta~nsabout 20% of the US populatron A route length @ Low pumplng powei to malntaln levrtatron On smooth of about 450 mrles lrnkrng Boston, Provrdence, New York, metal surfaces thrs may be as low as 0 2 hp/ton; on Trenton, Phrladelphra, Balt~moleand Washington, DC, finlshed conc~eteabout 1 0 hp/ton would be Involved In an HSGT system rf a splnal route @ Low norse levels due to low pumplng powel requrrement5 welc selected arid low mass Row. 8 The Cal~Po~n~aCorlrdol, [Tom the San Flancrsco Bay @ Pressure range posslblc Ctom 1 Lo 40 ps~01 hrgher; thus Area and Sacramento down the San Joaquln Valley to one could tallor plessure to deslgn needs (eg smaller total Los Angeles and San D~ego,conta~ns about 8% of the pad area). US populatlon A ~prnalroute length of about 600 mrles Conceptually, howevel, all ot these three concepts are hacked would be ~equlredto connect these c~tres ACVs Further research and development may brlng about @ The Chlcago Corildol, from Milwaukee through Chrcago consrderablc convergence, since all three w~llpose sllnmlar and Peorld to St I,ouls, contalns about 4% or 5% of the problems when developed rnto MI-scale systelns IJS populatlon The total spinal loute length would be The tracked ACV concepts ale In an eally stage of then In the older of 300 miles development Important questions as to then feaslbrl~tywlll have to be answered by furthe1 analys~sand exper~mentatron @ A star-shaped megalopolltan reglon centres essentially on These questrons relate to aerodynam~c norse whlch m~ght the western end of Lake Errc In the area ol Detrolt or rcqurre reduced speeds In urban areas; stab~lrtyof the an Toledo, which can be dlvided as below cush~onat hrgh folward speeds; stabrllty of the vehrcle against - Mlchlgan contalns two corl~dors onc lnvolv~ngBay s~dewlrid gusts; weather Independence or the system; lequlre- C~ty,Sagmaw, Fllnt and Detroit; and the other involv- lnents for track alrgnment as these relate to tong-term settle- rng Muskegon, Grand Rnplds, Lansrng, Ann Albor and ment of the guideway; vrsual discomlort to passengels f~om Detrolt agaln high speeds near the surface; powel plck-off problems at hrgh - Ohro has a conldor runnrng f~omCrncrnnatr up speeds; and exclus~onproblems at hlgh speeds (IS a lrghtweight through Hamilton, Dayton, L,~ma and Toledo to enclosu~efor the track necessary7) 1 am lncllned to believe Detlort A route from Toledo to Chrcago mrght be that reasonable solut~onsto these problems may be obtarned envlsloncd at some Suture date to llnk the stal-shaped lrom an adequate plogramme of resealch and development megalopolis to the Ch~cagoCorrrdol Flnal answers cannot be grven at thls tlme, but to me the - Pcnn5ylvanra has a colrldor stretch~ngloughly from tracked ACV system IS conceptually vely attractwe Altoona, Johnstown and Prttsbulgh through Ohlo - Such a concept w~llonly reallse ~tstull potentlal lf ~tsdesrgn through Youngstown, Canton and Cleveland to Toledo characteristrcs are closely matched to the actual system require- At some futu~edate a route between Altoona and ments The vehrcle and track cannot be desrgned out of context Phlladelph~am~ght be used to Irnk thls corndol into One must carefully consrder the ulban reglons where such the No1 theast Cor rldor systema have a potentla1 appl~catron,selvrce requirements (eg -New York has a corr~dororlglnating In Albany and speed, statron spaclng, volumes, basrc network configurations, Iunnlng west thlough Troy, Schenectady, Utlca, Syra- and other system conslderairons Netwo~ks,for example, wlth cuse, Rochester and Buffalo to Erre, Pa, and to Cleve- land and Toledo in Ohro An Albany-Boston loute 'Mlgh Fpeed Ground Tlanapottatlon", General Motors Colporatlon would llnk up thrs corndor with the No~theastCo~rl- u presentat~on made to the US Department of Commerce on March 15t11, 1965, by GM Research, GM Defense Research and SLyllng, GM Defense do1 Re\ealcli 1 abolatories, May 1965 The ?tar-shaped megalopolrtan regron accounts Sor about

Figure 11. Mujor US megu!opolitun ~egioias. Ur- hnnised areus Figure 12. Compiirison Of trilr times versus stage dis- tance 012 intercity tril~s(city ccntrc---citycentre). Intercity trip times for. selected city- pairs in the C(i1iforizicl Cor- ridor are slzo~.vlzabove as u funcrion of clist~nce~s.Note tlzat even 200 mplz NSG7' curt be competitive with s111~rt-Iz~1uIjets because of poor airport access systems. Tlzis graph represents orzly a con~purison of u single criterion : trill time. Com- plete analyses would Iiuve to consider costs, noise, ciir 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 pollution, safety, comfort ~~izdotlzer criteria TRIP DISTANCE -miles

10"; of the US populatron The total route lengths are par:icular, the surface 5ystem may olyer better door-to-door more than 1,700 rnlles, but none oi' the radral corridors IS tlmes rf the glo~lndsyslem can actually connect crty centres dense enough, at present, to lustily an EISGT Future and 11 ~t has good collechon system Frg 12 compares trrp growth wrll probably alter this situatron tlmes with stage drstances on rnterclty trips In the Calllorn~a QD A dog-leg corlldor runs lrom Dallas-Fort Worth to San Corirdor Antonlo, and ovel to Houston, Beaumont and Port A key Sactor hcle is better door-lo-door lrmes VTOL has Arthur, Texas lhrs corrldor contalns about 2 5% oI" been proposed for thl\ selvrce, but the noise rt produces may thc US populatron and involves a loute length of about exclude landrng polls Tor ~t liom the clty, whe~easboth sulface 600 m~les and subterranean tetmlnals can be consrdered for a tracked ,4CV or othei FISGT system Another advantage of the ground @ A few snialler coi~rdols arc developing rapidly, lor system 15 11s ab~lrty,11 properly desrgned, to handle immense example, Crom Seattle to Eugene, Oregon (1 3% ol' the volurnes of passengers wrth only a small Iraction ol' the space US population); from Miamr to Jacksonv~lle(1 796); llom i eyuiremenls for all systems Kansas Crty to Srouv Falls (1 2%); and Slam Atlanta to The estllnales of rnterclty passenger tlaffic to be carrred by Dut ham, NC' (1 270 an I-1SCT system vary with the region undei cons~deratlonand, 'lhc three largest oi these co~rldors- the Northeast Corridor, more spec~fically with trrp drstanccs and the population ot the the Chlcago Corridor and the Cal~ioinraCorr~dor - have the crtres that are to be connected SIP1 estimated the trafic between greatest potentla1 lor actual HSGT systems In the next two Los Angeles and San Francrsco (actually for five countles in decades These, plus the star-shaped n~egalopolrtanregion of greater Los Angeles and the entire Bay Area surrounding San the Great Lakes, are shown in Flg 11 The system deslgn Francrsco) a1 18,400 per day One must recognise that this cons~deratronsfol each rl these corrldols valp tremendously, trdllrc 1s by all modes, and naturally 11 19 not expected that an which 1 wlll drscuss sho~tly HSCrT system could achleve 100% penet~ationol the market A 20% to 25O/, penetratron IS probably more appropliate alter Service Requireinenis: the system has been in operation Tor a lew years The tracked ACV appears to be well suited lo serve a specrfic Ertimateb of growth patterns ,n these rcgrons rndicate lather t~ansportationneed, the short rntelcrty tr~poi 100 to 200 mrles qpectacular Increases in rntcrclly passenger movements, langlng It also may be Carrly well su~tedto trrps in the 30- to 100-m~le up to about 200% or 300% over the next filteen years, depend- length range Thus, ~t appears to be attractive lor the Noltheast Ing on the ass~~rnptronsmade Corridor, which ha, a total length of 400 to 500 mrles and trrp The new ground systems that have been proposed to serve lengths thal may range from 40 io 400 m~les,dependrng on the thr5 lu~ictronhave speeds rn the range oi about 150 to 600 mph pattern of stops Other corrrdors w~throughly slmrlar charac- Some propcsals have even envisroned speeds of 2,000 mph in teristrcs, such as In CalrTornla, have been rdcntrfied When any a tube system, but rt 1s hard to see how the latter speed could rntercrty trrp length IS fa~rlyshort, as rn the Noltheast Corrl- be used In a corrrdol appllcatlon, and cost would probably be dor, a hlgh-speed surface system with crty centre connections prohtb~tlvefor any other applrcatron It looks as 11 a iedsonablc appears to ofler many attiactrve advantages ovei arr systems, \peed range mmght bc 200 to 500mph The lower limrt ot whlch arc bettel Sor trlps ol mole than 500 to 600 mrles In ?Oomph 1s a s~gnlficant rmprovement over even the most Figure 14. Spinal system

advanced trarns in use tcday - an improvement that glves a tages and drsadvantages It has the advantage ol: maklng polnt- vahd rationale lor consrderlng such systems Above 500mph, to-point connectrons, and thus one can consider low-speed the tcchnlcal problems are form~dable,and hrgher speeds ale vehlcles Furthermore, ~t selves all of the cities In the reglon only margrnally userul for the pattern of stops ~equlred One d~sadvantage15 that ~t requrles a great number of route 1 he use ol tracked ACVs to serve as a crty centre to arrport mrle~,more than the other netwo~ksthat wlll be postulated lrnk (In this case for exlstrng arr polts), quite apart lrom 11s role The cost ol addrt~onalroute ~nrlesmay be oflset to soine deglee in HSGT, is another posvbrlrty that should be consideled by the lower speeds, whlch mrght result In lower-cost tlack However, adequate treatment of thls subject 1s beyond the structures and vehrclcs Anothe~drsadvantage 15 that the net- scope of thls dlscusslon wc~kdoes not serve the la~gecit~es well unless tathei dense local networks are establ~shed,11-1 whlch case even more route NETWORKS mlles are ~equ~redIn thrs aspect, the network 1s s~tnllalto all One primaly system consrderatron 1s the network configura- systems, whose efic~encyrs compromised by madequate ground tion Poi the track, and one ol the desrgn crrtel~athat result access systems lrom network conslderat~onjis the speed at whlch the vehrcles If a ~pinulsystem 1s selected, as shown in Flg 14, wrth some should operate. Thus, the basrc netwo~kselected affects major b~anchlngIn the urban aleas, the large cltrcs can be served performance and cost factors such as door-to-door trrp trmes, Jalrly well, because a h~ghpelcentage of the passengers would first costs and operatrng costs not bc; too far from a te~mlual The aigument heie ts that cne To drstingulsh between d~Berentspeed ranges for HSGT could burld a I'allly dense system ol termrnals and collectron systems, I introduce some definrt~ons The US Depaitment of lines In the urban areas, with the collect~online veh~clesopcrat- Commerce 1s looklng at a speed range of 200 to 500 mph Jor Ing at low speed There ale d~sadvantdgesto thls concept also new systems under the RSGT proglarnme Anythrng In thls The collectron lrnes would approach rn total loute miles the iangc 1s termed "hlgh-speed" ground Lransportat~on I would number requlred for the tlunk Ilnes, and the cost might be l~keto spl~tthrs range up 11; an arbitrary way, as lollows excesslve srnce these must be burlt rn the urban areas Furthel- Low speed 200-300 mph mole, the collectron llnes would duplrcate exrstrng transit lrnes Med~urn peed 300-400 mph for commuters Also the small and medium-size cdies located High speed 400-500 mph away lrom the sp~nearc not se~vedwell, and passengers origin- 1 would lrke to emphaslse that these dlst~nctionsare merely ating in those cltles would hale to use the automobrles or buses lo1 purposes of discussron - he Department of Commerce may to transfer on to thc sprnal system One coilld allow the sprnal settle on d "h~gh-speed" ground transpoit system of 250 mph system to branch out to encompass the outlylng crtres, rn or even lower, Cor example whlch cate the branch llnes could operate at med~umspeed and Now let us look at some of the poss~blenetwork configura- the maln splnal loute at h~ghspeed Thrs IS shown In Fig 15 tlons, and show how these affect pertormance and cost factors In thls case, the branch llncs evceed the total route miles ol In FI~13, 1 have sketched out a tricmgulur network 01 routes the sprne Moreove~,the large cltles would strll requlre some to .ielve a hypothet~cal grouprng of large, medium and small sort of collection and d~strlbullonsystem, wlthout w111ch the crties To a large extent, thrs looks very much like the network network would only serve the crty centre and a lew Intel- pattern for an alr system, and ~t has many of the same advan- mediate stops rhrs would cesult in total loute mlles perhaps Figure 15. J"pirza1 system with Dranclzing Figure 16. Grid network

several times the non~inallength of the corridor in question. Third, the economic importance of the CBDs of major cities 'These networks are designed with current urban patterns and in these corridors must be recognised, and the value of re- existing demand in mind, 11 is also possible to visualise the vitalisation of such cores must enter into transport plans for I transportation network as a powerful tool to shape the urban these regions. Current plans for new rapid transit Tor Washing- pattern. In Fig 16, a grid type of network is shown. If such a ton, DC, and Baltimore and modernisation programmes in system were built, profound changes in the urban pattern of New York, Philadelphia and Boston, together with rebuilding 1 the region would be brought about over a period of several of the CBDs of Philadelphia and Baltimore, attest to the fact decades. Thus, one must ask the questions: What form does that planners are well aware of these factors. Fourth, and society want a megalopolis to take? Should we work for central perhaps of crucial importance, the technology of intracity pas- nodes of very high density and outlying areas of lower density, senger transport musl be brought up to the level envisioned or would it be more desirable to decentralise and produce a for I-ISGT, which would require a large-scale research and megalopolis of relatively uniform population density? development effort to be undertaken as soon as possible. Another possibility is shown in Fig 17. In this case, a spinal Powerful pressures are building up for this type of effort, but system is envisioned, with moderate branching only to the we have no assurance that it will take place, and if it does, it larger outlying cities. may be too late. High-speed vehicles would be used on all routes. In every The network configuration shown in Fig 13 avoids duplica- city, the main line would penetrate to the central business tion of local collcction and distribution systems; this recognises district (CBD), with perhaps two or three stops in the largest that any transport mode must avoid trying to do all things. cities and one in the small and medium cities. No new collec- Each mode must bear its own share of the transport load. It is tion and distribution system would be built. Instead, one would desirable, however, that the technology of each mode be on a use existing and planned rapid transit, with modern technology, comparably advanced level. to perform the collection and distribution function. At present, Burdening rapid transit with an RSGT collection and distri- rapid transit serves primarily in a home-to-work capacity. For butio~lfunction apparently would not compromise the per- the concept shown in Fig 13 to work properly, we will have to formance of its major function - transporting people from rely on several major developments. The first is that massive home to work. The daily peaks for intercity travel appear at programmes to modernise rapid transit be inaugurated in the different times than the peaks for commuting. Also, the volumes major cities of thcse corridors. To a great degree, this is already handled for intercity travel are only a small percentage of com- happening. Second, the interfaces between rapid transit and muting volumes. On the Long Island Railroad, for example, HSGT must be considered in the design of each. The Depart- about 200,000 commuters per day make the trip to New York ment of Commerce transportation study of the Northeast City. Intercity trips from New York to Boston by all modes Corridor is a step in this direction; however, there are new total only about 25,000 per day. Tne most significant change technologies that need to be developed for these interfaces. in rapid transit if it is to function as a collection system for Factors A function of : Interfaces with other modes Delays because of ticketing, baggage handling and uncertainties Network density

Reliability Equipment complexity Availability of redundant vehicles and routes Choice of alternative inodes available Weather independence

Safety Control system speed Equipment reliability Passenger handling systems at stations Track exclusior~features

Vibration Nolse Acceleration and deceleration levels Passenger seating space Visual efl'ects of speed Penetration of vehicles by fumes and dust Temperature and humidity Psychological factors Services on board Baggage handling

Environmental Aesthetics effects Noise Vibration Figure 17. Spi~zulsystem using moderrlived rapid transit for Fumes collectiorz Dirt Urban impacts

Flexibility Ability of system to meet Future changes in population densities HSGT might be in ticketing procedures, baggage handling and Ability to increase capacity ~nteifacedesigns This leads us to a considelatlorr of how HSGT systems could Vehicle fleet size function in anothei role They could be deslgned to serve the Channel capacity supersonic transpoit ailports In the region In this sense, HSGT Ability to meet peak demand should serve as a collect~on and distr~butlonnetwolk fo~this 1,800mph aeroplane, wh~chwill be conilng on the scene In COSTS the eaily 1970s It makes considerable sense to build one 01 perhaps two SST airports In these coir~dors,and let the HSGT I'riniary Factors A fnuctio~rof : deliver passengers to the c~ties It appeals economically un- First costs Research, developn~entand design sound to build hall-a-dozen such airpo~tsIn the coirldoi when Right-of-way acquisition only one might do Track structures These discussions unde~scorethe tact that transpoltation Coi Stations a megalopolis is a system and should be des~gnedas such If Power distribution the interfaces are not p~operlydes~gned and the technologies Vehicles of the various Interacting n~odes ate at different levels of Terrain development, the system w~llnot lunct~oneffect~vely Thrs is Weather the case now * Climate SYSTEM CONSIDERATlONS AND DESIGN CRITERIA Soil conditions The design criteria for vehicles and track must be based on Operating costs Power the system considerations for real routes. 'These In tuln bleak Labour for maintenance down into element^, or factors, the most basic ol' which are Labour for operation perrorrnance and cost. These factors are tabulated below. Weather

PERFORMANCE Social costs Acslhetics Noise Factors A function of : Fumes Urban impacts Door-to-door Specd tr~ptimes Frequency of service Other design constraints include the present location of System capacity industiy, urban patterns, political factors, competitive modes, and subsidiary transport systems. An analysis of all of these Cactors for system optirnisation is For an interesting treatment of this, the reader is referred to Evan Herbert, "Transporting People", Infer.r~cr~iono1Scierrce orid Teclzrzology, exceedingly complex. Foi oi~etbing, many of the most impou- October 1965. tant factors cannot bc adequately quantified. From the stand- polnt of g~oupswhose prrmary concern 1s technology rather where the werght per passenge~is around 200 Ib), the elevated lhan systems, the most lnipoitant output ol system organisatlon stluctures might be made relatively llght If, In addrtion to thls, studlcs 1s gu~del~neson desrgn cr~terlalor vehlcles and track operatlng nclse oi thc veh~cleswcrc low and fumes absent, the configurations In thls drscuss~on, I have tr~edto show how loud, voc~ferousobjections to elevated systems m~ghtbe over- some of the major system cons~dcrat~onslead In the d~rection come, and they could be used whe~etunnels are now requlred of des~gncrrteria Only a fcw of the arguments could be Although no systems of thls type have been built, these argu- developed w~thlnthe scope ol this papel, and these only rn a riicnts appeal sound If they are, total system costs m~ghtbe preliminary way substant~allvreduced M ountarnous ter r ain req ulres specla1 cons~deration I1 one Vehicle versus Track and Operating Costs elects to tunnel, system speeds could be ma~ntalnedthrough In analysing how system consrderat~onsaKect vehlcle des~gll the mountainous segment, but track costs would be escalated. criteria, let us e'tan~inethe lnterrelat~onsh~psbetween vehlcle Two alternatives could be consrdered for a surface system The we~glitaand costs, passenger volumes, track costs, and operat- fils1 would be to dcslgn a propuls~onsystem that could maln- ing costs For US h~gh-speed g~oundtransport systems Tcr tam vehlcle speed even on steep grades Thls could be ach~eved lnteiciiy scrvlce, passenger volumes w~llset the numbei of by usrng a llnea~lnductron motor (stator on boaid) augmented vehicles requlred Foi the next two decades, ~t appears that the by a second lrnear motor w~thstator rn roadbed In thls case number of veh~clcsrequrred wlll lesnlt in total vehrcle costs the track costs would also be hrgh, and one would have to belng a small percentage of total system costa A gu~delrnefor ccmpare these wrth tunnelling costs The second alternative thls IS found In modern rall rap~dt~ans~t, where vehrcle costs would be to accept reduced speeds In mo~inta~nousareas F~I range lrcm 7% to about 19O1, ol total system costs, and average rxanlplc, a veh~cledesrgncd 101 a 300mph speed on the level about 10°/, Foi tracked ACV systems, the percentage may be could negot~atea 9% grade at 100 mph Reduced speeds would some~\ihatlowei (dependrng on how sophrstrcated the veh~cles imply some compromrse in trip times, and one would have to 1 become) because route lengths are much greater, and volumes wergh that factor against the cost savings are less than those lor la11 raprd transit Of total system costs, The norse and fumes produced by the vch~clesmust be con- the costs of track stluctures wrll predom~natc,averag~ng more sldered In l~ghtof urban compared with rural segments 01 the than 50% Track structule crsts In tu~narc sens~tiveto vehicle route No~seand fumes will be slgnlficant depending on wh~ch I ~ve~ghtsand load d~str~but~oncharacterrstlcs Therelore, there collidor 1s being consldered In the Northeast Corrrdor, lor are colnpelllng reasons to try to des~gnlightweight vehlcles, example, most of the route wrll be In urban areas of varyrng recognrslng that ~idequalrties and comfort should not be sacri- denslty, and one could not l~ghtlysanction a system that would ficed and that hghter we~ghtsmay mean higher veh~clecosts blrght the areas through which rt passed In Califoln~a,several Hox,ever, we would be seek~ngto minrmlse fotul system costs hundred mrles of route would be In pledomlnantly rural, non- In th~rregard, tracked ACVs offel unusual opportunltles to agr~culturalareas (on flat terraln lust east of the coastal moun- educe total system costs compared, for example, wlth h~gh- tam iange), and hrgher levels ol norse and lumes could no speed trams Heavy trucks and shock abso~ptlondevrces would doubt be accepted foi those segments be abscnt, and noise control would be slniplrfied D~str~buted These factors would wergh heavlly In decls~onsas to on- loads wlth the tracked ACV polnt the way to elinl~natlonof boald generatron of powei versus track-s~ded~str~but~on. the shock lcadrng design Cactors lor track structures The Again, the route to be served would tend to influence vehicle I~ghter-weightvehlclcs would need less powel Tor acceleration, design criteria strongly. and the reduced frontal areas poss~ble would reduce total powei requrrements at speed Reduced vehlclc cross-sections Freight versus Passengers should permlt tunnel cross-sectrons to be reduced comparably Initially, ~t appeared that the US programme rn HSGT would All ol these facto~smust be explo~tedto reduce total system be addressed primarily to passenger servrce Although 11 st111 cost5 appears that fre~ghtwlll be subordinate to pasnenger need?, Fulther complicat~ngthese analyses 1s the fact that costs and hauling of some lrelght w~lldefinitely be consrdered Passenger qual~ty01 servlce offered will rnfluence Sare structures, and demand lor lnterclty travel undergoes qevere dally fluctuations P lares w~llaffect demand Demand In tu~nsets the numbel of that would leave an expensive light-of-way lightly used dl11 lng veh~clesrequrred, whlch we noted as an rmportant lactot In many hours of the day. An rnvestment in lrerght vehrcles could the andlysrs of vehlcle, track and operatlng costs Clearly, there ~reldsubstantial re-\.enue that would make these systems much is some optlmum we~ght(In prlrlcrple at least) ol the vehrcle more attractive. However, heavler fre~ghtvehlcles would lequrle that results In lowest total system costs, but the analys~swlll heavler track structures and conccm~tanth~gher costs Thus, not be s~mple Lhe add~t~onalrevenue would have to be balanced agalnst The pornt of these arguments 1s that each route consldered rncreased system costs w~llhave drlrerent cha~acter~strcs,such as passenger volumes, The fre~ghtversus passengers argument 1s compl~cated by lelatlve length 01 grade, elevated and tunnel t~ackshuctures, lactors such as cargo density-volume relationships, time value and acceleration and decelerat~onpatterns Therefore, for each 01 goods, the movement patterns of goods, and so on Each loute, the optrmum vehrcle design nlay be qiilte dlffelent, and route under examinat~onmlght well have a dlflerent potent~al dlflcrelit dcslgn crite~~afol the vehicle and track wrll iesult Tor carrying freight on h~gh-speed iiiterc~tysystems It does appeal, however, that the carlylng of tre~ghtIr a dlstlnct Terrain and Urban Patterus probabllrty for these new systems, and system optimrsatron For each route that 1s cons~dcred,the terrain and charac- ioutrnes w~llhave to take th~sInto account, agaln aifectlng the terrstics of the urban patte~nswlll have an Important Influence des~gncrrteira on dcs~gncrlterra For example, In the Northeast Corr~dor the~cale cogent reasons for using tunnels In the heavrly urban- CONTINGENCIES ON APPLICATION lsed segments ol the route Slnce tunnel cost.; have proved to The appl~cab~lrtyof an HSG1 system In the Urr~tedStales IS be so high, the alguments lor low vehicle he~ghtswould be contingent on essent~allytechnolog~cal, financral and poht~cal espec~ally applicable The present configurat~on or the tIDL lactors For certaln system conccpts, such as hrgh-speed trams, tracked hovercralt model, IT used in a full-srzed vehrcle, would technology IS not an obstacle, and rt appears probable that he expensrve as car as tunncls are conceined, since the usable such systems could be burlt w~thl~ttle additronal ie5earch and vehrcle height rs only about hall of the total vehicle he~ght developmerlt It 1s probably sale to say (hat IT cost 1s not a One could also look at this anothel way Elevated struc- factor, there are no technolcgically insurmountable obstacles to tures In the11 present form are maaslvc and unaesthetic, and any of the system conccpis shown m Table 1 When the ques- the veh~cles are noisy (and sonlet~mes produce atmospherrc t~onof cost is ~ntioduced,substantral d~fferencesappeal among contarmnation) Theictoie, only tunnels ale perm~tted- fcl tbe concepts example, mole than half of the proposed Washington, DC, la11 Department ol Commerce oficlals are interested In a system rap~dtrans~t system will be In tunnels Howcvei, IT one could that wlll prov~dea quantilnl j~~mpin the clualrty of intercity design very 11ght veh~cles(say comparable to aircraft kusclages, servlce at reasonable cost They have spoken of systems that might cost '$3 mlll~onor even $10 m~lllonper mrle how eve^, locatlonal problems, for example, it may make sense to locate systenis that would cost In excess of thls, such as the grav~ty an SST anpolt cent~allyIn major coirrdors rather than burldlng vacuunl tlansrt (GVT), mlght be proh~b~tlveIn cost The financ- one for each majol city Ing alrangenlents to deslgn and construct such costly systems In Calrfornla, the corrldo~ 1s entnely intrastate, and 11 1s are a pr~mecons~derat~on it 1s unl~kelythat pr~vaterndustiy pcss~ble that ~t might be pol~t~callyeasler to bu~ldsuch a would put up the 11sk cap~talInvolved wlthout federal findnclal skstem, although lederal financing mrght be more dlficult to gua~antees It has been suggested that a COMSAT (communl- obtdln for a s~riglestate catton satell~le)type of publrc-prrvale financing ~ndybe neces- sary to prov~dethe large amounts ot cap~talrequiled and to brlng into a sponsoring position the common carrlel nldustrres A lalge-scale research and development plogramme to wlth whom such systems would be compelrhve advance the technology of h~gh-speed ground transport for The Depaltment of Cornmelee staB members wrth whom ~nlerc~tyservice 1s now under way under US Government thls financrng p~oblemwas rev~eweddo not feel that financ~ng sponsorsh~p At plesent, no specific systen? concept has been w~llbe an ~nsurrno~mtahleproblem They polnt out thal Tedelal selected for th~sservice; the cho~cewlll have to awart the 90%-state 10°/o financing of the Interstate Hrghway System, on iesults of extensive analyses and the action of Governnient wh~chpllvate Industry ope~ates~ts own vehlcles (eg rnterc~ty dec~s~on-makersThe tracked ACV appeals to have an attrac- buses and trucks), may set a patte~nthat can be emulated Tor trve potentla1 for thrs servlce, and progldmmes have been a new I-ISGT system In the Un~tedStates. rn~tlated In Great Elltarn, France and to a lessel extent rn The pol~ticalproblems pcsed by such systems need careful lapan to develop thls concept The applrcat~onol tracked ACV consldelatlon The No] theast Corl~dor,compr Ising the Distrlct systems 111 two or three major megalopolltan reglons of the ol Golumbra and palis of ten states, has twenty-s~x metro- Unrtcd State, In the next two decades IS a possrbrl~ty,although polltan areas and hundreds of governmcnlal agenciev at varrous such systems wrll have to meet st~rngentlequl~ements for cosl levels The lur~sd~ct~onalrequ~lements of these varlous agencres and perfolmance to be acceptable In any case, many contln- must be cat~sfiedor ~econcrled,whrch obvrously w~llbe dlffi- gencles on the constluctlon ol a hrgh-speed ground transport cult Agreements must be reached about lntcrfaces between the 5ysteni In any US co~rldorex~st IT such systems are burl[, the HSGT system and local tall rapld transrt and othel systems dcsrgn cllte~ralor vehrcles and track stluclules, as revealed by Dec~s~onsmust be mdde on how such a systeni vlould serve system? analyses of the routes, may he subsiant~allydrl'Ce~ent, reg~onal supelsonlc transpoll (SST) arrpolis, with attendant the~cprobably wrl1 not be a slngle des~gnsuitable lor all routes

"Pd L. RODR QUEZ 4 SUPRAMAR t;dg PATENT Messina, Italy / 1 THE WORLD'S MOST EXPERIENCED SHIPYARD IN HYDROFOIL BOAT BUILDING 1 A Study by the Air Cushion Vehicle Co-ordinating Committee

Air Registration Board June 1965

6 PREFACE TO THE SECOND DRAFT

The first draft of thls stucly PVUJ submitted to the Comrnittce for approval rn I>ecembel 1964. AT a result of further meetings, some crmendmerzts wer e crgreed but, more ~mpottuntly,some points tegcrrdrng the objectives of the study appeared to I cquire emphasls P Primrtrlly it is enzphaslsecl that although the drscu~sionleads inevitably to ~tutementsof an irnperatlve rzrttr~re, there is no intoztion in thi~study to write definitive legislation, nor to prejudrce the form by which legislation s/zould eventually be conveyed The purpose of the study, and of the Committee, is to explore the need fo~scrfety requirements and procedute for Ait Cushion Vehicles The need is quickly estrrblfshed, and the discu.rsion tulns to the form which such guiclance .should take. Secondly, however, the need has become widely recognised for at leasf a certain minimum of legislation which is necessary to define, or allo~lto be defined, respon~ibilitiesfor the implemenfcrtion of the various codes which are proposed in the ~tudyThe urgency of this mnttrr will be tvldent when the contents of the study ore seen in thc context of current nctivrty in ACV develop- ment arzd oper ntron Thirdly, in the interest of progress in the matter of ACV safety regulation, some subjects have been given less attention than others in the present strrdy. In particular, further work on more detailed proposals for crew licensing and for the provisiorz of commuiiication rrnd other. facilities is currently in hnrzd.

trolling operation influence the design of the vehicle." N June 1960 ~t was oficrally declded that, pro tem, vehrcles The Commrttee has not lcgarded as wrthrn rts scope reconi- I then desciibed undei the gene1 rc tcr rn hovercraft should he incndatrons concerning the dellm~tafron of rcsponsibrl~tics regarded as arrcraft They would operate under Perm~tsto Fly between the va~lousauthorities whrch mrght be concerned, Issued by the Mln~stly of Aviat~onin accordance wrth Artrcle 4 though rt 1s behevcd that its technrcal recommendatrons wlll be (I) (e) of the A11 Navigation Older (1960) Also the alrange- of matella1 assistance In maklng such adrn~nrstrat~vedecisions men1 whereby the Mlnlstiy consults the Alr Regrstratron Boaid At the meeting In July 1963, ~t was agieed that a stage had ~egardlnga~iwo~thrness of a~rcraftwould be construed to m- been leached when a usel'ul rnterim rcport could be ploduced, clude hovelcraft Addrtional advrce would be grven, on matters sumindrrslng the findings of the Committee to date and servlng of operation, by the Minrstry of Transport wh~chhad, how- a3 a basrs lor furthel work of the Committee eve], safeguarded ~tsposition In certaln iespects concerrling the It must be emphasised that the work of the Committee is use of "hovel vehicles" on publ~cloads Certain marrt~melocal not complete. Whilc an eflort has been made to maintain a authoilties also applled the11 own opeiat~onalcontrols balanced view of all applications of the air cushion principle, In January 1962 these artangements wele levlewed rn the predominant attention has inevitably been given to the marine llgbt of appl~catronsby the ~ndustlyto conduct publlc opera- application, which almost alone is yielding operational experi- t~onsol hovercraft durrng that year The need was seen for the ence at this time. ex~stlngarrangements to be put on a more formal basrs, wrth Several terms have been adopted and defined in the report. part~cularemphasis on the creation of codes relatlng to the sale Rather than providing a separate glossary, definitions have constl uction and operation of hovercraft been given (and where desirable repeated) in the text, so that To this end, the Aii Registration Boa~dwas requested by their suitability can be examined in context. the Mimstry of Aviation and Ministry of Transport to form a committee to consider the form which these codes should take. 2. THE 'CKCHHIC PRINCIPLES The Air Cush~onVehicle Co-o~dinatingCommittee, including 2.1. Definition of the Air Cushion Vehicle lepresentatives of the two Ministries, the industry and the A recommended definition is : ARB, first met in March 1962. Its terms of reference were "An air cushion vehicle (ACV) is a vehicle capable of being defined as follows : operated so that its weight is partly or wholly supported by a "To consider the need. or otherwise, for safety require- continuously generated cushion ol air that is dependent for its ments and procedure for all applications of the Air Cushion effectiveness on the proximity of the surface over which the Vehicle principle. To forrnulate proposals for requirements, vehicle operates, whether at lest or in motion." part~cularly tho\e which directly influence the design and Some consequences of this definition are discussed in paras construction of the vehicle, and also those which by con- 8.4 and 9.1 2.2. The Air Cushioli Principle mode speed 1s liiri~tedbut manoeuvrab~l~tylcmalns h~gh Much attention IS ~urrentlybe~ng glven to ACV perlorm- A vehicle 1s suppo~tedon a cushlon of ~IIat a plessule sllghtly above atmospheric, rna~ntained by, and contalned ance ovel rough watei, and the flexible extension has greatly w~thln,a su~~oulldlngcuitaln produced by the ejectlon of ail extended the range oS ope~at~onIn this respect, operat~on, from a no~zlearound the per~pheiySuch a scheme allows the perhaps at educed \peed, can take place rn waves at least as vehlcle, even In :ts s~mplestfo~m, to hover and move over any hlgh as the flcx~ble"skrit" reasonably flat and level surface Propulsion and cont~olcan 2 3 2 Over-lunrl 4CVr be prov~dedby separate means, or may be an Integral fun~t~on Experience of ovei-land operatloll ol ACVs has not so far of the air cush~onsystem been extensive, although many operations have den~onstiated The Important developinents whlch have made the alr the~rpossib~l~t~es Technically there are three major groups cush~onprlnclple applicable to vehicles In pract~cehave been (a) wheeled vehicles on whlch an all cush~onsystem 1s pro- conceined first wlth producrng and containlng the alr cush~on vlded wh~chcan support some of the we~ght; with a mlnlmum ol expended power, and secondly w:th In- (b) vchlcles with perhaps only rudimentary land gear, s~m~lal creasing the clearance between the rlgld st~uctu~eof the veh~cle to over-wale1 vehicles des~gnedto operate cleal of the and the rough surface over whlch ~t IS t~avell~ngThe first has water, been achieved by optimum des~gnof the alr cultam, and the (c) track-gu~dedvehlcles second by the development of nex~blecxtenslon\ to thc struc- Type (a) has been p~oposed as a means of ~elievlngthe ture. pressure of exceptionally heavy veh~cles011 the road where, at 2.3. Applicatiolls of the Air Cushion Prir~ciple low speed, adequate control could be malntalned A lactoi In both types (a) and (b) IS that convent~onalland vehicle control Except in the most lui~damentalaspects, air cushion veh~cles deterrorates as we~ght1s taken off the wheels. Alternat~vemeans vary considerably w~ththe~r Intended environment and appll- of d~rcct~onalcontrol (eg alr ieact~on)tend to be object~onable cat~onThe characterlstlcs of over-water, over-land and amphl- In most env~ronments In one pa~tlcularapplication- that IS, b~ousvehicles wlll be discussed brlefly, followed by a summaly fo~use on soft ground - the tract~onproperties oi the wheel of posslble future developments drive can be optlm~sedby relrev~ngthe we~ghton the wheels 2 3 1 Over -water ACVs Thls has been demonstrated effectlvely for agrlcultulal purposes The prloblem of containlng the alr cushlon IS solved perhaps 2.3.3. Amphibious ACVs most effectlvely in the ACV wrth ~mme~sedslde-walls, In whlch All vehicles which operate clear of the surface are poten- all curtalns are lequlied at f~ontand back only; thls advantage tially amphibious. The Creedom with which they can be used holds good only up to moderate speeds, when the water drag over land and water will depend upon the extcnt to which they of the rmme~sedstde-walls becomes large Also, thls solut~on can be designed and equipped to provide compatibility with tends to limlt the vehlcle to pu~elymarlue use However, when other users of the two environments. In many cases the over- des~gnedfor moderate perfo~mance,~t 1s ielatlvely lnsens~trve land cperation will not be over public roads. to st~ucturalwe~ght (m comparison, that IS,to a~~ciaft01 h~gh performance vehlcles) and has economlc advantages Propuls~on 2 3 4 Future Applicutzorzr can be by water or ail plopeller or by water ol all jets, the Attempts to pred~ctthe long-term lutule of the all cushion fitst type tends to compromise the otherwrse shallow dtart of vehicle as gu~dcdby economics are not appropriate to thls the veh~cle leport Some appl~catlonsso far envisaged may prove to be In order to ach~cvespeeds over, say, 40 knots econorn~cally, unreward~ng, othe~Important appl~cal~onsm~ght yet be con- ~t 1s essential to avold s~gn~ficantcontact w~ththe water ce~ved Howevel, In assessing the techn~calform and scope of Vehlcles deslgned for 60-70 knots have the~rcush~ons totally leglslat~on,it is necessaly to take a b~oadvlew of pos~lble contalned by alr cu~talnscleated by alr ejected downwards and developments Inwards from slots round the periphe~y To benefit flom the The following wmmary is based upon that given by W J potentially hlgh performance and smooth ride prov~dedby th~s Egglngton In January 1963 Some changes have been made In system, it 19 necessary to have suficient effectwe clearance to the l~ghtof current trends avold contact w~thsurface roughness Large clearance under the r~g~dst~ucture demands excessive powel, but flexible exten- tions which tend to conto~mto the p~oiileof the surlace pro- TABLE 1 A Prediction of I'owible Future Applications v~dea solut~onto this problem The alnphlb~ouspotential of this type of vehicle can be achlcved by the use ol alr propul- Rarzge of slon Surface Type oj Craft Crrri,sing Weights Speeds (tons) L~mitationsto the h~ghspeed ol the fully cushion bo~ne (krzors) veh~clcare due to ~ap~dlyincreasing alr diag and the effect of Water only I. Low-speed ACVs regulal or inadveitent Impact wlth the ~urfdce,the latter requll- (perhaps with rng attent~onIn ~espcctof emergency procedures, but also immersed sidc-walls tendlng automatically to 11m1t speed in relatron to sea state or water propellers) (a) Rivers 15-40 1-1,000 Manoeuv~abrht~of contempordry over-water ail cushlon (b) Open water 20-10 1,000-10,000 vehlcles is good in coinparrson w~thsh~ps On slde-wall craft diiect~onalchalacter~st~cs ale essent~allythose of a shrp ol Water with 2. High-speed ACVs liniited (normally clcar of slmllar size Vehicles clear of the water need to derlve manoeu- land surface) vrabllity fiom the~r all plopellers elthcr by swlvelllng or capability (a) Sheltered water 40-100 1-1,000 dlffeient~althrust Lacklng water leact~on,they are llable to (b) Open water 40-120 1,000-5,000 skrd In turns, and to drllt In wlnd so that visual reference, 3. Mixed-lift ACV::: 120-200 2,000-10,000 including the interpletatlon of nav~gat~onllghts, may sornet~mes Land 4. Over-land ACV 30-70 10-1,000 , be unconvent~onal.H~gh-speed turns can be executed by exist- possibly 5. Land vehicles 10-50 2-50 ing ACVs; 500 yards radlus at 45 knots has been quoted as with adaptcd for partial linlited or complete AC typ~calfor 12-15-ton vehicles water support (eg for use Stopplng d~stance of all marlne ACVs IS sho~tcompared capabilityy on soft ground) w~thsh~ps, slnce at least from modelate speeds ~t can be normal Land onlv 6. ACV for carriage Uo to I0 50-1.000 p~act~ceto let the vehicle down on the water In emergency, of heavy loads this can be done safely even at the veh~cle'smaxln~um speed 7 ACV for use on 150-400 20-200 A stop frcm 70 knots In 500 yards has been achleved In a special tracks controlled manner The hull shape 1s nolmally opt~rnrsedto1 -:' "Mixed-lift" here refers to the type of vehicle in which, at high hovering (this leads to a h~ghheam-to-length ratlo) so that drag speed, significant lift is derived fro111 aerodynamic sources. tends to be very hlgh as a d~splacenientvessel In thls latter 3. SURVEY OF B'HE PROBLEM term, a new forni of publ~ct~ansport vehrcle needs to orel a 3.1. Every form of transpolt vchrcle has, by virtue of rts level of safety s~milaito that whlch has becorne acceptable In nature, env~roninentand mannel ol operatron, a certain degree establrshed folms This general statemelit rs one target at whrch ol rnherent safety Th~srnhcrcnt safety requlles development, ACV regulat~onmlght reasonably be aimed: on the one hand and furthel safety must be contrived to complement rt so that rt sets a lower iimlt to acceptable safety, and on the othei hand an acceptable loim of transport can be achieved 11 acknowledges that absolute salety 1s impracticable Clearly, therefore, the scope ol the problem wrll be set by 4.2. B:onsistency of Safety the balance of qafety whrch must be c-ontrrved The following aspects of the ACV requrre consrdelatror~ In regulatrng the level 01 safety ol publlc transport, rt IS 3 1 I The ACV requrres no more than a few leet above the not enough to aim only at a good long-term accident record, suiface ol the water and ~t rs plactrcable lot "ditchrng" at baldnclng the higher risk of some journeys agarnst the lower speed, erther as a routrne opcrat~onal rilanoeuvre or rn an I rsk ol others The rndrv~dualpassengel may well not take such emelgency (eg 'ifter 11ft farlule) to be dccomplrshed sal'ely a broad vrew, and he has a rlgllt to evpect that hrs own par- trcular journey will be replcsenlative of a satrsl'actory standald 3 12 The air cushion vehrcle is more or less sens~trveto of safety we~ght The total werght IS lirnlted by the requirement for pel- lormance, so that there 1s a strong rncentrve to inlnrrnrse the Lnevrtably, however, many factors contribute to the varra- empty welght of the vehrcle The use of lrghtwcrght structulal brllty oi safety between opesallons, vehlcles and partrcular techniques, ptevrou\ly assoelated wrth aircraft, has become journeys Some of these lactors arc only pdrt~allypredrctable, usual at least for hrgh-performance ACVs The need for precrse so that In splte of eflolts to account for them, some consrder- and thelelore complex rules for structural safety tends to able vallatron In safety wrll cccur l ollow IIa>rng acknowledged th~svarrabrlity, rt IS coris~deledessen- 3 I3 The ACV has, in general, complex machinery The tlal that sl~ficientprachcable account is taken ol these varrable safety of thrs machrnery will requrre more or less attention lactors to ensule that no unacceptably ha~ardousjourney wrll dependrng on the partrcular type of vehrcle Iligh-perfolmance be undertaken Vnlrabllrty of salety, so far a5 rt 1s recogn~sable, ACVs tend to have the hrgh-speed rotdtrng parts (gas turbines, must be on the rlght srde of the acceptable mrnlmum shalts and propellers) plevrouslyy assoelated with a11 craft, The achrevement of an acceptable long-telm safety iecord IS together wrth an addrt~onalleature, the 11lt lan therefore necessary but not sufficrent The rntentron must be that no unacceplably hazardous journey will be knowrngly 3 14 The over-water ACV can plo\tde, perhaps more easlly undestaken wrthrn the regulations than the eyurvalent shlp, many ol the features whrch are re- qurred for marlnc safety These rnclude stopplng and turnlng 4.3. A Quantitative Target manoeuvrablhty, buoyancy reserve in the event of damage and to some extent ~nvulnerabilltyto certarn sorts of damage The requlred level of safety has so far been descrrbed relative to that of other forms of transpolt and ~t can be demonstrated 3 15 As w~thall vehicles, and particularly those operating that they do not drffer much rn Lhls lespect liowevel, much in a niarlne env~ronmcnt,atteritlon to fire precdutions In ACVs depends upon the yardstick used for comparrson Much mls- I., essential In common wrth other forms oi transport, the fire chref can be done, lor example, by the misrnte~pietatron of hazard depends largely upon the type ol fuel, and therefore figu~esquoted rn telms of trme or drstance for vehrcles of upon the type 01 englne used wrdely diffeirng speeds It lnay indeed be Important to set the 3 I6 The vulncrabrlrty ol a vehicle to adverse weather con- qualitatrve tatgct, derived In prevlous pa~aglaphs,relatlve to drt~onsdepends largely upon the lehabilrty of local forecast~ng, parallel forms of transport and on the trme taken to reach safety In this respect, the Except in retrospect, prec~sron111 th~smatter IS rnappropriate rclatlvely hrgh speed of the ACV IS IJI 11s favour However, cxperrence on arrclalt has shown that some desrgn 3.1 7. In opelatron, Lhe ACV mu\t generally shale 11s dec~srons demand a numrrrcal statement of the target even environment wrth other modes of transpolt DrfEcultres can though the factors Involved are npproxrmate Examples oi such alrse due to the characterlstrc dillerences In speed and conttol facto~sare the p~obabilityol farlure ot an engrne In a glven and In navlgatronal and communrcatlon technrques. perrod oC tlme, or the probable trme between the occurrence of 3 18. For land operatron, and particularly E~Ioperatron on condlt~onswh~ch rnrght endanger the vehrcle These factors will public roads, a major problem IS the provlslon of control and then drctate Lhe sarcty whlch must remaln In such events ~nanoenvrabrlrtyappropriate to the part~c~ilarenvlronrnents For transport arrcraft, the essence of thrs target is that the Clearly, there are Ceatures ol the ACV whrch requlre atten- probabllrty ol a latal accrdent occurring (re one rnvolvlng the tion and regulatron 11 the overall salety requrred of a transpoit latalrty of one or more passengers) should not exceed about vehicle IS to be achreved consistently A form whrch such 10-Qer hour of vehicle lravellrng tlme The achreved accrdent regulation mrght lake 1s drscussed In section 7 rate IS such that culrently about two latal acc~dents(defined as above) occur pel mrllron hours of scheduled transport flying, 4. THE AlBSO1,1JTE LEVEE OF SAFETY of wh~chabout half are due to the mannei ol operahon, rather than to deficiencies In the veh~cleitself Several aspects of level of safety will be drscussed, and six For ACVs, whrch by vrrtuc of therr speed, passenger capacrty sepal ate cond~tronsale del l\ed These are concerned wlth and route structure might be deemed srmrlar to some arrcrait, (I) A target level relatrve to other transport fo~ms this could be a reasonable numerrcal target The need fol pre- (11) Conslslency of safety crsion In the case ol less con~plexACVs mrght be less, and the (111) A quantitatrve target qualrtal~ve companson suggested carlrer (para 4 1) might be (IV) A target in the early stages of operation adequate (v) The functrori of lrle-sav~ngarrangements (VI) The salety ol thrrd partla 4.4. A Target in Ilie Early Stages of Operation The derrved conditrons are collected In the summaly of Wrth much experience gathered durlng the evolution of a recammendat~ons,section 8 partrcular form of tlansport, an acceptable lcvel of safety can be marntained by an Iterative process of adjustmcnt and demon- 4.1. The Target Level of Safety strailon Such rtelatron 1s based on the examrnatron ol past Users of transport expect a hlgh degree of safety 'Therr Idea trends and the predlctron of future demand In these crrcuni- of safety is based on the11 cxpelrence or rmpression of the likcli- stances, a target foi the near luture can be bet wlth confidence hood of accrdent DllTe~entlorms of transpoit convey different For a new type oi vehlcle. or one w~thnovel leatures, the rrnplesslons of the salcty whlch they offei, and this difference confidence of juvt meeting a target level of safety 1s much rs not always consistent w~ththe results ol a more careful lower, the achreved level may equally well be better or worse examlnatron In fdct, the lrltclihood ol a person berng rnvolvecl i\knowledgment ol thrs lower confidence need not, however, In an accrdent does not vary vely much between drffercnt be conlused wrth the delrberate acceptance of a lowel inrtral establr\hed forms of transport To be acceptable in the long ta~get The regulations must therelore be a~medat an acceptable 5.2. Classification according to Third Party Exposure to Risk level of safety In the early ~tages,rn sp~teor a small volume of For this purpose, thlrd pdrtles havc been defined in 4 6 as trafic Thls IS pait~cularlyImportant whe~ethe ACV 1s ofler~ng belng "persons nerthel actlvely nor rntentlonally lnvolved In the servrce In par allel wlth othe~101 nls ol lransport ope1 at~on01 the vehrcle" The major dlstrnctlon wlll be between vehlcles operatlng 4.5. The Function of' Life-saving Arrangements (a) ovel ~ateror land to wh~chthe public does not have It has been seen that the concept of an "acceptable level ok access, and sal'ety" inevitably acknowledges a fin~teacc~dent rate There (b) ovel water or land to wh~chthe public has access ~emalnsthe obllgat~onto reduce to a pract~cableminlmum the In the first case clea~lyno attent~onneeds normally to be consequences (pr~unalllyIn telms of safety of lrfe) of an accl- glven to thlrd party safety One exception 1s In relat~onto dent Llfe-sav~nga1 i angements are concerned wlth th~saspect, persons havlng lawlul access to pllvate prope~tybut not belng and Include measmes to protect passengers and rue1 tanks In lnvolved "actlvely or ~ntentlonally"In ACV operations whlch the event of ~mpact,fire cxtlnctroil, and Irfe savlng In the event inlgllt be taklng place there This IS belleved to be the responci- of emergency evacuation brllty of the ownel ol the propelty In common law and not dlrectly that oi the safety authorltres 4.6. The Safety of Third Parties In the second case, for opelat~on over water oi land to which the publlc has access, the target (as stated In 4 6) should The term "third part~es"1s defined lor the plesent purposes be that thlrd partles should be subjected to negllg~ble rtsk, as meanlng "pel sons nelthei acttvely no1 lntent~onallyInvolved ~egardlessol the puipose ol the opeiatlon The repelcusslons In the operation of the vehicle" of lhls target on the safety rules mrght depend upon the par- It 1s a fact that many everyday r~sksencountered by a person tlcular type of publrc land or wale1 In question, eg upon con- on the ground no longel apply when he becomes a passenger, stralnts arlslng f~ompopulat~on or traffic dcns~ty and therefole they can justifiably be replaced by a d~fferentset ol' ~isks~ncur~ed by virtue oi being a passenger Also, the 5.3. Classification according to Purpose passenger has voluntarily undeitaken a r~ckwhlch In a bload sense 1s known to hrm (th~sassumes the consistency of safety Thls folm ol classlficatlon wlll, through the rncdl~~rnof drscussed In 4 2) vehlcle purpose, define broadly the sorts of people (occupants and otheis" nho wlll be ~nvolveddr~ectly or lndnectly In ~ts Whereas reference to evelyday hazard allows a fin~terisk to operatron Dlstrnct~onbetween the followlng purposes muy be be defined for passengels, lt 1s not acceptable that a fin~terlsk needed rt 1s llkcly that varlous groupings may be appropr~ate to third partles should be defined except as belng neghg~ble lo1 partlculai purposes Thrs is an onerous reqtllrement in operatiolls over terrltoly to which the publlc has pccess It also confirms the assertron that (a) Publ~ctransport of passengels (lor thls purpose defined as "systematlc transport ava~lableto the publlc foi a lhe vehlcle should be operated In a manner compattble wlth publ~shedrare between stated polnts") othel trafic and pelsons aharrng ~tsenvlronrnent A more constr~ictlveaspect of the vehicle's relationsh~pwtth (b) Calrlage of passenger? To] remune~at~on(othel than by pubhc transport) ~tsenvironment is its posltlve contrlbutlon to the safety of lrre Its particular chalacterlqt~cs could make 11 a valuable asset In (c) "l3uslness" use carrylng non-[ale-paying passengers (eg company pelsonnel transport) the overall patte~riof assratarrce lo ve\sels In dl\tress, erlhcr as a specially deslgned veh~cle,or as a transport veh~clewhlch can (d) Carilage of cargo and mall (c) Prlvate use carrylng non-fare-paylng passengels (eg I apidly respond to emergencies wlthln a pract~cabledlstance domestlc transport) fr om ~tsroute. (f) Solo use (g) Speclal, w~thappropilate deslgnatlon (eg raclng and 5. THE CLASSIFICATION OF AIR CUSHION VEHICLES record attempts or "exper~mental") (h) Industrial use (eg as agricultural machinery) 5.1. Three Kinds of Classification (I) Publrc uttllty (eg fire, rescue oi ambulance selvlce) In conslderlng, fiom a sarety polnt oC vrew, a famlly of Lastly, and of a lather d~fferentnature vehtcles as drverse as that embraced by the definltlon (2 1) ~t (1) Demonstration of any of the foregoing types of vehrcle becomes clear that ~egulatlonapp~opr~ate to some types and to pr ospectivc customel s appllcatlons will not necessarily be appropriate to others In d~vldlngthe subject Into groups, a compromise must be made 5.4. Classification according Lo Physical Environmeut between the complexity of lndrvldual treatment and the ~nsensr- A broad classification on tcchnlcal conslderattons axrses f~oni t~v~tyof generallsed regulatrons It n~~ghtbe expected that some the need to prescribe some rundament'llly d~ffcientlules fol of the broad prrnclples established Sol other modes of t~anspolt such drflerent modes of opelat~onas over-watel and over-land will be largely appropriate Slncc pa~trcularvehlcles m~ghtbe capable of operatlng in 111o1e The followlng klnds of classlficat~on are thought to be than one such envlronnlent 11 will be necessdly to dlstlngu~sh necessary between cnvlronnients lathel than types ol craft In older to (1) As to whether or not, and posslbly to what extent, tlzzrd apply the rules appropr~ately ~~artiescould be exposed to rlsk as a result ot the opera- A proposed class~ficat~on1s as follows tion (a) Ovel -water operation (2) By purpose, eg whether for passenger t~anspolt,~ndus- (I) on open water, tr~alol othel uses Thls affects the extent to whlch (11) on congested or restricted wate~ peisons involved In the operat~on'~ho~~ld be p~otected (b) Ovel-water, with occasional over-land operatron (le (3) By the physical envzronment in whrch the veh~cle IS beachlng of a ma~nlyover-\? atel vehicle) used eg over watel, open land ol publ~croad Thls (c) Over-land, w~thoccas~onal over-water operatron (eg aBects some technical characier~st~csof the veli~cle,and crosslng of rlvers) the manner in which 11 must he operated In ordel to fit (d) Over-land operation into its envli onmcnt (I) on open spaces, Apart fiom the three bload classrficatlons above, many (11) on roads, partrcular aspects ol' legrslat~on(both construct~onaland opera- (111) on specla1 tracks tronal) w~llbe much s~tnpllfied ~f approprtate techrl~cal dis- The needs for this type of d~strnctlon will emerge more tlnctlons are made Surtable drscrimmants, eg vehlcle werght, clearly from consrderatlon of the klnds of protection, and hence vulnerabll~tyto mechari~calfallure, speed, etc, may be chosen the safety prescrlptlons, necessary In the valious clrcunlstances to descrlbe groups ot vehlcles to whrch parl~cular lules 01 Some aspects are dealt wrth In more dotarl In sectlon 7 g~oups of rules apply Only classrficatlons (I), (2) and (3) wtll be discussed In th~s ':' These people are actively or intentionally involved, ie "non-third- sectlon of the report parties". 6. C1,ASSIFICAlION APPLIED TO SAFETY 6.3.3. Special arzd ,5010 Vehicles REGULATION The minimuln of legislation should be applied to operation 6.1. Introduction tor purposes defined under 5.3 (1) and (g). These may be Decis~onsto prov~desalety npp~oprlateto the pulpose can covered by "special" categor~esw~th due regard to thlrd party only be implemented through requirements relatrng to opera- protection. Here, agarn, vehicles produced for sale to the publ~c tlon, constructron and crew lrccnslng Such prescrlpt~on1s best for solo use might reasonably he expected to meet the simple based upon a requrred level of salety Only ielatlve levels oi reqrllrements proposed unde~6.3.2. safety (as between vehicle purposes) will be d~scussedIn thrs sectron; the absolute level ol safety lor publ~ctranspoit IS 6.3.4 Other Purposej d~scussedIn scction 4 For some ~ndustr~aland utility pulposes - 5 3 (h) and (I) - the level oC safety m~ghtbe sacrificed to some extent in the 5.2. Current Practice in Other Fields of Transport ~nterestol effectiveness, and for lndrvldual cases mrght become Current practlce relating to the levels of safety legally re- the srlbject ol' negotratron betaeen the applicant and the safety qurred Tor occupants ol vehicles appeals to be as lollows author~ty Sun~llarly,lor demonstrailon purposes -- 5 3 (I) -the safety 6 2 1 A h~ghlevel ol safety rs apphcable to lalge passenger- level approprtate to the vehicle's eventual purpose may not yet carrying ~ich~clesie a~rcraftove~ 12,500 1b (commonly cqulva- have been established However, negot~atlonbetween the applr- lent to abcut twelve passengers), ships accommodat~ngmore cant and the safety authorrty mlght lend to appiovdl Sol par- than twelvc passengers, and publlc scrwce vehicles wh~chcarry trcular purposes of demonstl dt~on e~ght01 mole passengers (hut to wh~chthe requlrcments apply rrz full when accommoclat~on1s provrded lo1 more than twelve 6.3.5. Crew Sajcty : All Vehicle Purposes passengers) , For the crew, ~t IS thought that the current piactice, as 6 2 2 For vchrcles calrying fewel than about twelve passen- descrlhed in 0 24, is approprrate Sol ACVs It is necessary, gers, a sl~ghtlylower level ol safety appears to be acknow- howevei, to ensure, In cases where crew safety is not adequately ledged, rn lecogn~tlonof the implact~cabil~tyof prov~cirng,In covered by precaut~onstaken to p~otectthird partres, passen- a smaller veh~cle,some of the equipment or qual~tieswhich gers or calgo, that other spec~alprotect~on rs rn lact enforce- contr~buteto the lnttlnsic salcty or large] ones Thls might in able whe~eappr oprrate pract~cebe juqtrfied to a greater or less extent by the compen- sating Ieatures assoc~atedw~th smallei vehrcles, such as passen- 6.4. A Proposed Framework for ACV Safety Regulations ger plotectron and eabe of abandonment As d~scussedIn 6 3, the technical content oC regulation applo- 6 2 3 Less clear is the attltudc taken towards the calllage prlate to a vehicle will depend upon rts purpose and the of non-fare-payrng passengers, but in plinc~pleno dcrogat~on environment In which it will operate wems to be accepted, unless the operation IS clearly a plrvate matte1 Also, the appl~cah~htyof partrcular regulations will depend upon whether rt rs necessary to protect only the occupants, or 6 2 4 Regarding the safety of the crew, many aspects 01 thls whether th~rdparties must also be protected, and th~sis shown are adequately coveled by ~rccdut~onstaken to protect thud In 5 2 to depend prrmarlly upon the extent lo whrch the publrc partles, passengers 01 calgo Otherw~sespecla1 protection IS has access to the area of operdtron glveu hy apploprlate safety leg~slatron(eg machinery guards, Most technrcal regulat~ons can be dist~nguishedas between load Ilnes, crew exlts, secu~~tyof hcavy objects, duty pe~lods) those des~gnedto protect the occupants of the veh~cle(eg con- wh~chmust not, however, compromrse the abrl~tyol the crew structlon and peirormance; I~le-savingarrangements, and navl- to opeiate the veh~cle safely Certa~noccupatronal risks are gatron) and those des~gnedto protcct both occupants and lhrrd norrlially accepted, in effect as agreed cond~t~onsof employ- patties (eg controllab~l~ty,collision avo~dance;and competence ment of drivers and crew) There are also a le~vfields of regulat~on a~medsolely at protecting third parties ~(egpubhc protection at 6.3. Relative 1,evels of Safety Proposed for ACVs base?; containment of rotating masses to wh~chthe occupants The following 1s a propored outl~nefor levels of salety are not vulnerable) applrcable to the varrous pulposes, and is thought to he not In the case of regulations providing ~nseparableprotection to rnconslstent w~ththe broad prrnc~plesd~splayed by othc~fields both occupants and th~rdpart~es, applicab~l~ty is d~clatedby the ol :ransport. need oC both or e~thei,so that th13 type of protection must, tor example, apply to the carnage of pasqengers even on prlvate 6.3.1. Nan-Privcite Pcrssengers and Nan-lndwtrial Cargo terntot y Vehicler These relat~onsh~psbetween purpose, public access and For peisons icferred Lo ~n 5 3, and lor purposes defined by applrcab~lityof regulatrons are summarued In the Collowlng 5 3 (a) to (d), the maximum practicable level of safety should table apply, w~ththe proviso that, lollow~ng current pract~ce as descrrbed in 6 2 2, the level of safety achreved in p7actlce foi 7. THE TECliNICAL CODES AND THEIR smaller veh~cleamay be lowe1 than £01 larger vehrcles Where REi,ATIONSHIP for practical reasons thrs mu~tbe acknowledged in the salety 7.1. Four Major Codes codes, a d~strnctronIS proposed between vehrcles carrying mole than twelve passengels and those carrylng twelve or le~ver Legislation should provide for the application of technical codes in respect of the following major fields: 6.3.2. Private Vehicles (1) Operating safety. This is the principal code which will describe the manner in which ACVs should be operated While In prrnciple no mandatory regulat~on(other than that according to their purpose and environment and possibly necessary to piotect th~rdpartres) should he appl~edto prlvate other discriminants. Essential to this code will be the operation, 5 3 (e), rt 1s recognrsed that dlffrcult~esarlse In the requirements for compliance with codes concerned with: adm~n~stratlonof such a prrnciple The regulat~onof all ACVs (2) The intrinsic safety of the vehicle and its equipment; carrying more than twelve passengers 1s thought to be dcs~rable (3) The qualification of operating personnel including crew In pract~ce,and the level of salety should probably In many and maintenance personnel; and respects be as h~ghas for passengel transpoit (6 3 1 above) (4) The provision ol facilities, which are needed where Even small vehicles pioduced for sale to the pubhc lor appropriate to complement the other codes, eg operating private use shculd be expected to meet srmple requirements base arrangements and navigational aids esseilt~alto occupants' safety, as well as causrng negl~g~ble These ccdes arc complementary and together their appli- hazard to thrrd part~es Adv~so~ycodes mlght be publrshed lor cation must ensure that the required standard of safety is the lormer, the latter needs enfo~cementwhere approprrate achieved. The extent to which they must be maintained distinct Applicability ol ACV Safety Codes aceordirrg to Vel~icleUse

I'ubl~c Accevr to A~~plzcnbzlltyof Codes Oper all or^ (a) to protect occupurztr (b) to protect t/?rr d pal tlcs

Non-pr~vate passengel a11d Yes In lull, but modified 101 vehlcles In iull non-lndustl la1 cargo (5 3 with accommodat~onCol twelve (a) to (d) also (e), but see or lewe~ Relaxed'

Plrvatc veh~cles(5 3 (f), (g) Yes Provls~onally not applicable (per- In Cull and (e) ) w~thaccommo- haps publlshcd advlsoly codes) datlon C~Itwelve oi fewel Relaxed*

Indust~ral(5 3 (h) ) Yes In Cull wheie plact~cablc; other- BY wlse cornpensato~y, eg esco~t, negotr ation No Relaxed*

Publlc i1t111ty (5 3 (I) ) Yes Applrcable, but posslbly ela axed In full whcle pi actlcable, other- whele neccviary In relat~on to wlse compensatory, eg esco~t, the particular applrcatron No Relaxcd*

Demonstl atron (5 3 (1) ) Yes By agreement based on compen- In full lack of establrshed safety satoly realures, and expllc~t cornpensated by addltronal crew informallon of passengers as to skrll veh~clestatus Relaxed*

*The wold "ielaxed" has been used In all cascs for legulatron des~gnedto p~otectthiid patties whele there 1s no publ~c access As discussed In pala 5 2, the deglec of relaxation wlll depend upon the p~otcct~onneeded fo~pelsons havlng lawful access to piivatc plopelty An lllustratlon of thrs s~tuatloniq the clvll aerodsomc whlch, though pllvate propcrty, has a considciable population of "thlrd paltles" w~thinthe prec;ent definition

from each other will depend upon the arrangements made for concerning scales of life-saving equipment, radio, anchors, and their appl~cation.EIowever this may be, their formulation and subdivision oC buoyancy chambers. applicatron must be consrdered as a whole, in older to ensure compatibility in aleas where they must blend together. 7.2.3. Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 7.2. The Principal Code - Operating Safety This matter has been consideled from the navigational point of view by the Air Cushion Craft Committee of the Ministry of Transport, which first met in Octobcr 1962 and has, by Apart from requiring coivlpliance with codes relating to virtue or some common membership, made its recommendation design and construction, opeiating pelsonnel and iacilities, the available to the Air Cushion Vehicle Co-ordinating Committee. operating safety code will need to cover other matters, on Certain implications of the Collision Rules concerning con- which some tentatwe proposals have emerged. ~truction and eq~~ipmentale of common interest to both Comn~ittees. Compatibrlity of a vehicle w~thother trafic must depend The aspect5 of classification dealt wlth In sectlon 5, togethel upon compliance with a consistent set of collision rules. The ~viththe levels oi safety ploposed In sectlon 6, represent the use of different rules (except perhaps in matters of detail) has undellylng princrple.; of regulatron Futthermole, detalled class]- not been recommended in the case of marine ACVs Funda- fications are required as an ard to technical admlnlstlation mentally, in this respect, ~t is thought that an ACV should Some of these will be necessary In the operat~onalcode, others, behave as a power-driven vessel, according to the Intelnational to surt particulal featu~esof devgn, arll be mole surtable to Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, as revised by the the code lor const~uctionand equrpment International Conference on Safety of Lile at Sea, 1960. In partrcular, ~t may be appropriate to the operating code to set out the means ol dlffelentiatrng between one solt of The cushion-borne ACV, apart from being able to opcrate marlne envlsonment and another wlth respect to probable sea at high speed, has, when cushion-borne, several other features cond~trons,wind, and ava~labrlltyof lescue facllltles It has not of behaviour distinct from conventio~ialships. Among others yet been establrshed whether the class~ficatlons(smooth, par- are its comparatively high manoeuvrability and its susceptibility trally smooth waters and sea) ds scheduled rn the Merchant to wind-induced (as opposed to current-induced) drift. It has Shlpping (Construction) Rules will be appropnate for ACVs therefore been recommended that an ACV should carry an For example, Eeatules associated with shoal waters and some amber flashing light as a means by which it can be distin- sorts of shoieline mlght not be unfavoulable to ACV safety guished from other conventional power-driven vessels. Navi- Also, the hrgh spced of ACVs puts a dlflerent emphas~son gation light arrangements (eg masthead heights) might be their abll~tyto avoid sevele weathel rather than to survlve ~t examined from a practical and functional poiivt of view. Thls fundamental abpect of opetat~onalclasslficat~on could, Lastly, it has been suggested that the Rules 21 and 27 of the together wlth that of purposes outlined In section 5 3, provide Steering and Sailing Rules should be strengthened with respect a framework for much of the technrcal regulation Suitably to the discretion needed where vessels of widely differing speeds chosen, it mrghl also serve In matters of detarl requirements are concerned. of exlstlng iecommendatlons (eg the Wllson Report) where Reglstratlon is necessdry 11 rt 1s desl~cdto malntaln the lelevant However, such standards tend to be pc~mrssrve as ~dentityof a vehlcle throughout its lrle Thls need may arlse well as restrlctlve, dnd cautron IS needed rn relation to ACV as a necessary adj~rnct to administration, by approprrate operntron In pleviously inaccessible areas The problem IS pel- authoirties, ol the c,afety codes haps most dppropr~atclydealt wlth by the local bye-laws or the In connectlon wlth the operatnlg satety code, rt 1s l~kelythat pcssrbrlrty of c~vrlactron 5ome part.; of such a code might become In elfect part of c~vll 7.2.8 Noise - Srrfety Aspects law, so that legistratlon 1, needcd as a means of dete~rn~nlng ownershrp and legal responsrbll~ty lor the conduct of the All the "regions" lrsted In 7 26 co~lldto some extent be vchlcle ~nsulatcdflom each other Insulat~onof nolse sources would be The need also arlses lo1 reglstrat~cn(or at lcast ~dentlfication) ideal, but most machrnery, and pnrtlcularly p~opulslonsystems, of the vehrcle as a means of correlating the varlous docurnenta- are not susceptible to complete silencrng Also, as In the case of lion whrch might be assoc~atedwlth, say, a larger vehicle on SOLlnd communrcat~onr,the need for ~nsulatlon and exposure passenger opelatrons In partrcular, the maintenance, inspection are conflrctrng and renewal ol approval wrll be pellod~cprocesses, records oi Of the safety problems hsted, two are perhaps outstanding: whlch wrll lequlre assoclat~otrwrth the part~cularvehrcle Also, mod~ficatlonsto the vehicle or ~tspurpose, whlch might affcct (I) EFFECTON CO~IMUNICATIONS 11s status In thc safety codes, would need recordrng agalnst the Use of the marlne colhs~onrules, fog, and warnrng facllltles iderlt~tyof the vehrcle suggesta that the crew of an ovel-watel ACV should be at least Purely from the salety polnt of vlew, the need lo1 legislra- as capable of recelvrng sound srgnals as 1s the crew of a shrp iron IS ]elated to the purpose and env~~onmentof the vehrcle Whlle the amblent nolse level (and clew enclosure) of some as set out In Table 2 ol section 6 L4cco~d~ngly,reg~stratron 5h1ps I.; already causlng conceln m thls respect, the ACV and would not be reyuned lor prlvate use on private territory The other h~gh-performancevessels are likely to plesent a more natule or markrngs would depend upon the need to protect severe problem. The necessity 01 round signals, arld poss~ble occupants or thud part~es In the latte~ case standards ol altelnatrve ai i angemcnts, needs considcratlon m the Cast-craft vrs~b~lrty(~e srze and posltlon ol malklngs), perhaps related to context It IS worth notlng the high amb~cntnolse level does vehlcle slze and speed, would be ~ncludecl In the operating not pieclude the sending of sound slgnals, this at least ensures salely code a warnrng-of-approach to other vessels 7.2.5. Liobiliiy uncl Ilirururiee Measures to detern~~nelrah~llty and to effect rnsulance agalnsl Whrle ~t IS difficult to reduce external norse, much of which llabrllty should have no lnflucncc on the measures taken, rn the 1s produced by propellcrs, sound rnsulatrol~ of passenger and salety codes, to provrde piotection Lor occupants and thlrd crew compartments is much easler A low level of nolse in the partles In practlcc, how eve^, reference to the satety codes clew compartments IS deslrdble both to reduce fatlgue and ~n~ghtbe made In determining lrabrlrty, and the efect~veness to facllrtate ~ntcrcommunrcat~onbetween crew members. Stan- of the non-mandatory safety codes m~ghtbe enhanced by the daids for thls should be rncluded, at least lor transpolt vehrcles, prezsure apphed by insurers lor compliance wlth them Further, In the ~ehlcledesrgn and constructrou rules whlle the efforts ol ~nsulersare almed at accurately analysrng r~skrathe] than mluimlsrng rt, the effect 1s llkely to be beneficial 7.2.9. Radio Communication In drscourag~ngthe outstanclrngly bad rrsk The pr oblem of radro communlcatlon equipment requlred for various categorres oi vehicle and opeiat~on,and associated pro- 7.2.6. Noise cedures and warnrng, are the subject ol work In progless. Both socral and salety aspects ol norse may requlrc regulat- mg, and slnce measures to reduce nolse could ~nteractwrth 7.3. The Code for Intrinsic Safety of the Vehicle a~icl satety rules on deslgn and operation, some attentlon to the Equipment 1 subjecl IS appropr~atcto the report 7.3.1. The Provisio~icrlRequirements It 1s uselul to conslder several d~stinctiegrons In the veh~cle and ~tsenvironment, and the problerns wh~charlse In them due Except In polnts of detall, the Comrnrttee lecommended to nolse conhnued use of the Prov~sronal Brrtlsh Clvll Alr-Cushlon Salety Requrrements, Februaly 1962, plepaied by the Technical Region 1 -exterior to the vehicle, including various sorts of Stecrlng Commrttec ol the Hoverclalt Industry, In collabola- private and public property, as well as other vehicles in the tlon wlth rhe AII Regrstratron Hoard ares : Two aspect5 of the above documents requrre emphasis they (a) Receipt of sound signals by other vehicles; are prov~slonal In so la1 as they are presently under develop- (b) Noise nuisance to the public. ment and, as is stated In the Foreword, the ARB hay agreed to Region 2 - occuplcd by passengers wlthin the vehlcle ure them as a startlng polnt lor the d~scussionof the lntrinsrc safety aspects of any arr cushlon vehrcle wrth whlch 11 may be (c) Comlort 01 passcngels, concerned (d) Efrectlveness of "passengel address" system tor safety rnstructlon It 1s therefore accepted that much lulther development 1s requrled before the constructional lequirements reach the rela- Regron 3 -- occup~edby the crew wlthln the vehrcle trve maturrty of those relatlng to conventional alrcraft, sh~pr (e) Rece~ptol extcrnal aound slgnals by clew; and load velircles (1) Intercommumcatron between crew; Thc essential role of the vehicle code is to ensure that no (g) Comfort and eflic~encyof crew unacceptable hazard is crealed, in operation, due to faults or deficiencies rn the vehicle itself. In addition to the design and Regron 4 - indrviduals of the crew : w constructron rules Lor the vehrcle, lnformatlon wlll tlierelore (h) The need for personal hcadsets be needed to enablc the opcratoi or clew Rcgion 5 - noise sources within the vehicle : (I) to avo~d operat~ng the vehrcle outside 11s ~ntended (I) Separate ~nsulatlon whe~ep~acticablc, wlth due regald cnv~ronment (or such varlatrons lrom the rntended to efficlerrcy, accessrbrlrty and ventilation environment as ale deemed to be w~thlnan acceplable probability of occurrence); 7 2 7 Norse -.Social aspect^ (2) to avoid operating the vehicle in a manner not allowed The two problems, passengel drscomlort and norse nu~sance, for in its design (ie outside its operating limitations); are not prlmarrly safety p~oblems, although measules taken (3) to maintain the vehicle in a safe condition; Lo alleviate them may afTect salety The publrc aspect mlght (4) to equip the vehicle effectively, according to the require- become the subject ol publrshed standards, and account taken ments of safc operation. 7 hesc related aspects wlll be consrdcr ed sepal ately Togethe], The filst type leprcsents a large r~rcgula~pertulbat~on on they comprrie the contents oi the Operatronal and Marntenancc what 1s otherwrse a ~egula~pattern Some such damage wrll Manuals, provlslon lo1 wh~chIS made In the current rcqurre- inevrtably result in the vch~clcberng unable to comply wllh the ments condri~ona ul-tdcl whlch rt was apploved It is likely that, ds w~thd~rclaft, no pclmancnt eKccl of abnolmal dcteriolat~on / 3 2 1 /le Interzdcd Ellvll(~ll~2~1lt ~houldbe tolelated the veh~clemilst be rernslatcd on to the Clcarly, In the case of rnnrlnc vehrclea, theie IS a broad range rcguldi pattern created by detertorat~ontype (2) togethci w~lh of water and other environmental condrt~ons to be encoun- the appr oprratc malntenance pr oceduie tered In the intereit oS combrn~ngsaSety and cccnomy 11 must The appioach taken rn respect ol the t~me-dependenttype be possthle to construct and equip a vchrcle to opciatc in only ol deterlor allon (2) wrll depend on rnany l actoi s; maintenance a pa~tol Lh~s range A problem extsts In dcfining the houn- costs and veli~cle~obustncss ccLn in general be exchanged to da~1es pioduce the same atandnld ol saCety As exccpllonal robustness So fa1 in AC\r regulatron, Peimlts to Fly, rssucd In lespcct or srmplicrty has to be purchased wlth lowcr vchrcle perlo~rn- of a particular veh~cleon a partrcular loutc In a paltlcular ance, the cchedule choscn wrll be a matter of pracllcal admlnl- period ol trme, have specified prec~sely,but a llttle arb~tralily, siiat~on and ccoocmlcs, conslytent w~thnot permittrng the maximum wave hcrghts and wrnd speed5 in wh~chthe operdtron vehicle standard to la11 below an cstablished safe msnimum could be conducted These lrmlt~ngcondlllons are not arbrtrary The condltlon of the vchrcle 1s monrto~edby the inspection flom the polnt 01 v~cwol steady condit~ons(they ale based on assocrated wrth the lenewal of 11s approval, whlch may be based demonstrated pcrlolmance) but they do lack a rat~onalaccount c~iherupon a slngle lnajor rnspect~on,or alternatively upon oS the probabll~ty(In rclatron to the level oS safety lequlred) ol evroeu?ce 01 contrri~edsatrslactoly ma~ntcnanceth~ougl~out the weather detersviation, or comblned events involving deterlora- per~od ol val~drty The pciiod or validity and the basls ol tlon of weather and vehrcle This aspect wlll become of grcater appioval may depend upon the cosnplex~tyand appllcatlon of Importance a5 route lengths ~ncrease the vehrclc Two other objections to the present arrangements can be made one is that the ciitlcal condrtlons depend on othel, more 7..1..7. Equipment complex parameters such as wave length, wlnd drrect~on,tide, The scale or operat~onalequ~pment and ~tsfunctron IS a etc matter Tor the opc,ratlonal code. the su~tablllty for a glvcn A second objecllon 1s that, to he useful, a vehicle IS lrkely to lunctron and manner of ~tsrnstallatlon 15 the concern oi the be vnanufactuied in some quantsty, and offered as bang su~table constructional code There IS also equlprnent whlch IS lelated lor ce~taintypes of operatron The sntended envlronment must to the vehicle ~tselliathei than to rts operatron, and this also be par1 of ~tsspec~ficat~on The lequrrements must plovrde for \vrIl he the conccln of the constluct~onalcode thls Thus, ~n apploving a vehlcle as bang su~tablelor a pal- IJerformance g~oupsare currently part of the ~equrrcd Ilame- Lrculal type ol operatlon and erlvilonmenl (as stated In the work; they specrfy the ablllty oi the vch~clcto proceed follow- Operat~onalManual) the rcspons~bleauthor~ty must also ensurc Ing failuie of a powel un~tThis descr~bcs one aspect of its that provlslon rs made fol the scale of equipment appropilate vulnelabslity to deteriolatrng weather to such an operailon Such groups of equipment rnclude 11le- savlng equrpmenl, radro communrcatlon and navigatronal equrp- 7 3 Z The Manner of Opevatzon n~cnt, anchors and geai Provision must also be made lor A vehrcle cannot be judged acceptably sale wrthout makrng operation In rclng, sand 01 other partlcula~ types of adverse assumpt1on.s as to the manner In whlch it will be drrven Not ciivrlonment where thew ale not outssde the scope of the only must the veh~clebe restricted to cond~t~onswell wlthln vehlcle as declared In the Operatlonal Manual ~tsultlmate capability, rt must also malntarn acceptable depend- ab111ty rn emergencll Most common among such ass~~mptronsIS that there 1s a The scale of lrle-savsng equrpment requ~iedwlll depend upon lnaximum speed zelatlve to the sulface (water or land) Th~s the opelat~onalenvrronment, the lntegrrty and buoyancy subse- applied llmrtatron rs typical of vehicles whsch are capable of quent to damage, and the degree of plotectlon provided agalnst ach~evlngan unsare speed e~thelin absolute telms or telatlve fire 1t IS suggested, for example, that, as wrth conventional to the smmedlate condlt~ons(eg roughness, turbulence, t~afic) sulldce shlps, the scale of Me-saving equ~pmentshould be Other assumed lrmrtatlons are olten necessary In relatron to [elated to the p~obableseverrty ol condltrons, the plobable partlcula~desrgn leatures dpplrcatlon ol" helm at speed, pas- per~odof cxposurc and thc p~oxrrn~tyof assistance sengel oi cargo arrangements (cent~coi gravrty ccnt~ol)are Also, a vehicle olfcrlng high ~nteglrty, subiequent to a cxamples Equally essentral ale Iim~tatrons on the rotat~onal prcscr rbed "maximum" accident, rnlght reasonably I equlre less speed of Tans or engrnes whrch, lesrstant to gross nilsuse :bough conlprehens~vcI~le-savlng ariangernents, but only so long as 11 for short perrods, may kc vulnerdble lo longer-term mrsuse cannot be ~cndeledunter~able by fire lcad~ngto faslu~es whrch 111 the case ol turbrnes could be The balance between these factors must be found, different dangel ously dlsruptrve optrind may cmerge lor dlfe~eritclasses oC vehrclc 11 IS llkely Mcasules to enable the crew to opelate the vehlcle sn its that Irle-jackets wrll be rcquilecl lo be avarlable for 'ill occu- intended mannei must be cleally desclrbed rn the Operatlonal pants and, except wherc opelatlons ale in close piox~m~tyto Manual the llrnrtat~onsnlilst be rn [elms slniple enough to be asvstdnce and in other favou~ablecontlrtrons, 11fc-rafts provrd- clear to the least qualified crew allowed, wlth~nthe clew Ing ~atcdout-ol-watcl capacrty 101 all occ~~pantswrll also be licensing system, to opelate the vehicle Paltrculat attentron IS ~equiled lhe ube 01 ~nflatablclrfe-tafts as a broad policy 1s necdcd, In thls ~espcct,to the ariarigements fo~veh~cles owned ddvocated srnce they are Irght, easy Lo stow, deploy and board privately by non-tcchnlcal persons lion1 he watcl Then- efficacy has been demonstrated In avia- 7.3.4. Maintenance find in spec ti or^ tion and In some shrps In all vehrcles nt~lnslcsalety valre~w~th trrne Except In the vciy early stages of operatron thrs var~at~on1s adve~seand may, lo1 convenience, be broken down rnto two classer IJotentrdl souices of fire haza~dale the power plants and (I) Dete~~o~atrondue to damage, to a shortconi~ngIn design thcrr iuel systems, the electrrcal iystem, and m~scellaneous cr to misuse causes due to passengers and calgo Precautrons to reduce the (2) Deterioration due Lo lair weal and tear", whic1.1 can hazard should pllmarlly be a~niedat prevcntlng file In the be conti olled by an appropl late sequence of mamtcnance event of lault or damage, howevcl the~e1s bound to be a operatrons ~csrdualI rsk of file, and thrs must be catered lor by mcasules It IS essential that the veh~cleshall at no t~mesbe opeiated to detect, contaln and evtlngursh ~t The Lechnlque used on whcn ~tssafety has bccome unacceptably low due to the com- any parl~culai veh~clc or iype of vehlcle can put valious hrned effects of the above types ot d:terioiatron degrees of eriiphas~son delcct~ou,contarnmcnt and exhnctlon. The cholce of tcchnrque sho~~ldthus be based upon the It 1s also suggested that the quallficat~onsreclu~led might be follow~ngcons~dcratlons : lelated to the class and applrcat~onof vehlcle and pos~rblyalso (I) The s11uatron oi the veh~cleas afrecting the posslbrlrty Lo the alca of opelairon. of evacuatron Fol a~rcraltin fllght this poss~brl~tydoes A more detailed study or th~ssubject IS in prepaiatlon An 11ot exlst, lor sh~psat sca lt IS possrblc b~rtdangerous attempt 15 made to lnt~oducesonie of the precrsron needed fol Due to 116 shape, an ACV on watci may be easlcr than a llcenslng system The pr~nciplesshould be consistent wrth a shrp to evacuxte qurckly and thoroughly, and this may those laid down m sect~ons5 and 6 (~eclassrhcatron, ihlid reduce the tlmc for whlch an ~nextingulshablefile need pariy, and occupant protcctron), and attentlon should be glven be confined to qual~ficatlonsloi over-land operatlon (11) The passenger dens~ty,as auectlng the speed ol evacud- tlon and the extent to wh1c1-r fire lenders the vehrcle 7.5. The Code for PDrovisiomnof Facilities ~~ntenablc A code lor practice rn th~sfield has been p~ltlorward by (111) The possrblc rate ol sprcad of the fire; the consequences the I-lovercraft Technrcal Steerlng Comnirttee. ol delay rn dctectlng and ~xtlngt~lsh~ngit The matte1 has also alrsen du~lngdlscusslon ol related Consrdelatron of the causes and effects of fire, m the cases aspects In the Co-ord~natrngCommrttec, and attentlon 1s drawn of ships and aeroplanes, has led to d~stinctapproaches to these aspects as aLTectlng over-water vehrcles . In alrcialt the fire must be detected and extlngurshed very (I) Shore-base 01 offshore-base design Fol sate operatlon, yurckly and certainly, slnce the occupants ale totally vulnerable In partlcular plotectlon ol passengers and the genelal to lallure ol the system Ncally all el'fort 1s concentlated on publlc Lrom movtng vchicles stalvat~onand cxtmctron, tempolary contarnment 1s armed at (2) facilrtatmg extinction lathel than as a distrnct technique Protectloll o: passengers, clew and th~rdpartres rn ~espectof mechanical damage, hre, and control I~m~ta- Because the lncorporatlon of heavy fire-les~stantstlucture 1s Irons of the vehrcle, and haza~dsdue to the storage and not a severe penalty on sh~ps,and because ol the d~fic~iltyIn tr ansler of luel reachrng ihe seat ol fire In some bulk cargoes, the emphasrs IS on contalnment ol file, but even so, bulkhead resistance lor (3) Trafic control, signals, guidance and local con-rmunrca- tior1s sixty minutes only IS requlred Clearly. no practicable degree ol containment can altogether ~eplacedetectron and ext~nc- (4) Vehicle-to-base communlcatron facllltles tlon; all systems must eventually comblne the thsee funct~ons, (5) M alntenance facilitres and the optlmum comb~natronwrll depend on the pa~ticular (6) En route fac~lrtics, eg rescue, shelter, moorrngs, appllcatlon ACVs bull1 on alrcialt prrncrples, wlth arrcraft g~~ldance ~nachrneryand Tuel, are llkely to reyuire an emphasis on raprd (7) Meteorologlcdl l olecasting for route detectron and lelrable extlnctlon The use of substant~allynon- (8) General problems arising f~omthe sharing of base (eg tovrc cxtlngurshants 1s recornrnended harbour) facilities with other forms of transport. The combrnation ol prevent~onand extrnctlon must be suffl- Over-land operations have not yet been more than briefly clently dependable to make evacuatron very rarely a necessity considered. Further, evacuat~onmust have a good chance or success The use ol petrol as a maln fuel In large marlne ACVs IS con- 8. ADMIYISTRATLON : SOME CONCLUDING srdeied to be lnconslstent with the above requirements It rs REMARKS lecommended that a l~mrtat~onsuch as, lor example, twelve passengerb should be put on the use of low flash-polnt fuels 8.1. It wlll have beer] apparent from eall~ersectlons of the A flash-porn1 defined at 73' F would allow the use of all report (and has been, many tlmcs durrng the Commrttee's d~s- grades of kerosene It should be noted that the twelve passenger cussrons) that the technrcal and the administrative ar~angemenis hn-rrt 1s not Intended to lndrcate a derogat~onof level of safety cannot be considered In ~solatlon Nor can admrnlstratrve lor small passenger vehrcles, but 1s an approximate lndrcat~on alrangements be made w~thoutsultable legislat~on,essential to of the total quantrty or fuel l~kelyto be present, and of the whrch 1s the permanent allocatron ol "esponslbillty lor the rclatlve ease wlth wh~cha few people can bc evacuated varlous aspects of safety This must rnclude the overall lespon- In addrtlon to the recommendat~onsoutlrned above, attentlon stbrlrty for admrnlstenng the prrncrpal (operatronal) code, and may permrt the dclegatron of mole specialrsed actlvrtles to 19 drawn to the need to l~mltthe use of vehrcles carrylng more than a certa~namount of low Bash-polnt fuel In relatlon to the other approprrate bodles where thls IS advantageous ope~atlonand facrl~tresplovrded 8.2. It IS consrdcrcd that the regulation of the all cushror~ On ovel-land vehlcles, provls~on of' adequate exits mrght vehrcle need not be unw~eldy.o long as the pnncrples are allow the use ol pet101 rn vehrcles of greater passenger capa- I ecognlsed, clearly stated, and followed m plactrce Thrs funda- crty Ilele agaln the rmportant crlterla ale total amount of fuel mental approach rs particularly rmportant In the eally stages carrred, and ease of abandonment when the ~elatlvelysmall volume ol operatron would not just~fy heavy adm~nrstratroncosts Whatever arrangements are made 7.4. The Code for Crew Qualifications sho~lldmake use ol the experience that 1s avarlable Kccommendatrons have cmelged, as a result ol operating 8.3. It has become clear that, due !o the dlvelse natule of the alr cushron vehrcles, no srngle exlstlng regulating system experrence to date, concerning the general qualrficat~onsdew- able foi the dr~versof marlne all cushron vehlcles These have among those relatlng to arrcraft, sh~ps01 road vehrcles 1s SLII~- been dlv~dedInto qual~tresrelatrng to able lu 11s present form, even rn partrculal cases when the (1) Pelsonal characterlstrcs general health and manlpu- envrronment IS ~dent~cal latrve skrll, eyes~gbt (~ncludrngcolcu~ vlslon), hearrng 8.4. It IS thcreforc ie~ommendedthat legrslatlon should be (bearrng In mlnd use of ,ntercom and R/T) created which establ~shesthe all cush~onveh~cle, In all Lorms, (2) Technical knowledge all cushlon prrnclples, constl uc- as a d~st~nctform of transpoll veh~cle tlon, control systems, englne and Ian chalactelrst~cs, Thrs IS not to say that much regulat~oncxrst~ng In respect vehlcle lrmltat~onson englnes, fans, pe~tolmance ol other forms of transport will not be found largely applicable (3) Seamanship Tnternatlonal Rules lor the P~eventronol (eg the "colhsron rules"), but that unprelud~cedconsrderatron Colllsron at Sea, general seamansh~pand boat-handlrng should be grven to lts su~tabrlrty Thrs reflects urgently upon accotdlng to vehrcle and route the need for legislairon, IC only to rclreve the asr cushlon vehicle (4) Route knowledge knowledge oi local segulatlons of the rnappsopllate pasts of legrslat~o~rrelat~ng to alr navlga- governrng the operatlon of sea-go~ngcralt generally and tlon, load t~afficand merchant shrpprng Also, 11 IS urgently ACVs rn partlcular, ol trdal systems, culrents, termlnal necessary to provrde guidance fol the couits to prevent the app~oachesand tac~lrtiesincluding lrghts and s~gnallrng growth of arbstrary precedent Broad regulatrons, supported by systems, a knowledge of route navrgatlonal hazards such more deta~ledcodes of pract~ce,could achleve this for the trme as sand bars, buoys, wrecks and obstacles berng In Tome cases (loi example whele the welght teller on a 9.4. Classification Applied lo Safety ltegl~latio~r load vchrclc 1s only pa~tr~tl,and conventronal methods of Thls 1s dealt wrth In detall in pala 6 3 and Table 2 control alc ~etarned),all cush~onvehicles inay mole appro- The mammum plact~cablelevel of safety (le at least pliately be controlled by the legulatlons dppllcable to estab- 9 4 1 that summar lscd In par a 9 2) 1s T econiinended lo1 all non- lrshed forms of transport, wlth possibly a lew mod~ficat~ons prlvate passenget and non-industrral cargo veh~cles Whlle 111 8.5. It 1s ~ecommendcdthat the UK safety codes and admlnl- prrnciple no mandatoly ~egulatlon(othei than that necessaly stratwe arlangements fol ACVs sho~~ldbe developed, at least to plotect thlrd partles) l;hould be applled to pilvate operat~on, to the extent that they mrght bc useful In ~nte~nat~onaldiscus- ~t IS recognlsed that dlficultles airse In thc admii~~strat~onof slon.; It IS thought applop~iateIn thls case that an established U1< system shoi~ldlolm a basis upon whrch olhel countlles such a p~inc~pleThe regulat~onof all ACVs carlylng more than twelve passengers 1s thought to bc desllable plactlce m~ghtwlsh to develop surtable adrnln15tlatlon The mutual m cornpatibll~tyol such systeinb 1s nlosl desrlable and should be Y 4 2 The ~mpractlcabll~tyoC achrev~ngthe maxlmuin level cons~deledat an early stage In small veh~cles1s acknowledged, a drst~nct~onbetween vehicles car~ylngmore than twelve passengers and those carlylng twelve 9. SIJMMARY OE' RECOMMBNDPBTLON9 ARISING or lewei 1s ploposed FROM rB'ltIE STUDY Y 4 1 Regulatlonc, whrch are necessary lo plotecl thlrd Whe~eposs~ble In the follow~ngI~st, rcfc~ence is nlade to parties should be appl~cabletor all opelations on terrltoiy to detailed ploposals Other recommendallons are abstlacted tr om whlch the publrc has access the body of the iepoll, references are made to the app~op~late paragraph whele the recommendation 1s dlscussed 9.5. The 'B'ecii~raicalCodes and their Relationship (para 7.1) 9.1. Definition of the Air CusX~ionVek~icle Y 5 1 11 IS recommended that lour n~ajoltechnical codes ale consti ucted . A recommended definllror 1s (1) The pr~nclpnlcode - Operating Salety "An all cushion vehrcle (ACV) is a vehicle capable of belng (2) The Intrrns~cSafcty ol the Vehlcle and rts Eq~llpment operated so that ~tswclght 1s paltly ol wholly suppolled by a (3) The Qualificatron of Ope1 allng Pelsonnel cont~nuouslygenelaled c~~shlonol all that IS dependent 101 its (4) The Prov~sronof Facilities efTect1vencs5 on the proxlrn~ty of the su~faceover whrch the vehicle opeiates, whether at rest or in motlon " (Pai a 2 1 ) Esscnt~alto the Opclat~ngSalety Code should be a requlie- Should the above definrtlon be used a. a bas19 Cor the ment for compliance with the other three legulatron of ACVs, prov~s~onshould be made fol the exemp- tlon from such regulatron oC Lhose all cushlon vehlcles wh~ch 9 5 2 The Opertitlny Jufrty Code (para 7 2) would more applopr~a,blybc controlled by regulations applic- (1) Continued attenl~onIS recommended to the problem of able to establ~shedloims oi transpoll classlr ying martne envlronrnents, lo] the defin~tlonol operating Notice should be taken of iecommcndatioiis relatlng lo the limitations (Para 7 2 2) class~ficat~onof ACVs (parab 9 3, 9 4) \vhe~ethe appl~cabrl~ty (2) On collls~onavordance, the Comlnlttce has been gurded of safety legulatlons to the fundamentally diffelent types of by the Boald of Trade Alr Cush~onCrart Commrttee, whtch vehicle embraced by the defin~tronIS dlscussed has agreed that all cushlon veh~clesshould comply with the Intelnatronal Regulations Sol Prevent~ngColllsrons at Sea ds 9.2. Level of Safety though they wele powel-drlven vessels The latter Comm~ttee Y 2 1 The level of salety offeled by all cushion vchlcles loi also agreed that alr cushion vehrcles should carry an ~dent~iy- publrc transport should at least be srmllal to that wh~chhas Ing flashing ambei l~ghtwhen opcratlng over watel at nlght ol become acceptable rn othei, established forms of transpoll in condrtrons of poor visrb~llly (Pala 4 1) The Techn~cal Steerlng Coinm~tlce of the Hovercraft ln- 9 2 2 The achievement ol an acceptable long-term satety dust~y,whlch tepresents the majollty of di~verexpelience rn lecord 1s a necessaly but not suficlent target The rntentlon the field, subscribed to the above recommendations of the must be that no unacceptably hazardous journey wlll be know- Board 01 Tlade Commlttee riigly undeltaken wlthln the legulatrons (Para 4 2) The Boald or Trade Comrnlttee has been instrumental in Y 2 3 Whe~ea quant~tativetarget IS needed, that used fol ievlsrng the telms (Malch 1965) of the Adm~raltyNotice to auci dft should be used, le the probablllty ol an accldent occul- Marrners No 444 of 1961: whlch sets out the navlgat~onal ling wrth the l~kelihoodoC causlng the fatallty of one 01 mole aspects ol ACV operatlon In UI< wateis It has supported the passengers should not exceed about 10-'J pel hour (Para 4 3 ) suggestlon oi the Boald of Trade that the lattel should try to 9 2 4 The regulations must be armed at an acceptable level obtarn a measure of ~nternat~onalagleernent on the role of of safety In the early stages, 111 sprte of a small volume of ACV operatlon wrthln the context of the International Regula- 11 afic (Para 4 4 ) tlons for P~eventlngCollls~ons at Sea 9 2 5 Reqclrrements for Iile-savlng arrangements, lncludlng The Co-ord~natlngCornm~ttee supports such eiro~tsw~thln precautions taken to plotect dccupants In the event of an that context accldent, are an essential part of saPety reg~ilatlon (Paia 4 5) (3) Attention in thrs code 1s also recommended to the need These ~111lnclude, for example, requ~rementsleldtlng to file lo1 ~eglstratlonand marking (para 7 2 4), lldblllty and lnsulance ext~nctlon,emergency evacuatron, and speclal plecaut~onstaken (para 7 2 5), to the pioblems of now (paras 7 26-8) and to to protect fuel tanks agarnst rupture, and to protect passengers rad~ocommun~cat~on (pala 7 2 9) Plom Injury In the event ol an Impact 9 2 6 The hazard to Lhud parties ("persons nerthe~actrvely 9.5.3. The Code for Intrinsic .Sufety of Vehicle crrzd Equij~merzt nor lntentlonally involved In the operatlon of the veh~cle") should be negl~giblc (Pal a 4 6) (I) On design and construction, the Commrttee acknowledges the work 01 the Techn~calSteering Commlttee of the Hovel- 9.3. Classification of Air Cushion Vehicles cralt Industry In collaborat~onw~th the A11 Reg~stratlonBoard, Fol the pulpose of salety regulatron, three mdjoi lcrnds of In producing the Plov~s~onalBrlt~sh Crvil Alr Cush~onVehlcle classlficatlon ale proposed Safety Requ~rements,Februal y 1962 (See pal a 7 3 1 ) (1) Accordlng to whethe1 thlrd partley could be exposed to The Comm~ttee conslde~sthat the current plovisional re- llsk (Para 1: 2) qurlements are provlng to be an applopr~atebasls Fol vehlcle (2) Accoldlng to purpose, eg calnage of passengers, private deslgn and approval In particular the advantages of a "Code use, industrial use, etc (Para 5 3 ) for Intrrnsic Safety", wlltten w~thspecial reference to the ACV, (3) Accordlng to physlcal envllonment, eg ovel-land and have become cleal durrng the delrberatrons ol the Comlnrttee over-wate~ (Para 5 4 ) These advantages arlse trom the follow~ngcons~delat~cns Techilrcal d~scl~m~nantsmay be useful In the development (a) Current veh~clesand, so fa1 as can be predicted, large1 ol detall lequirements whose appllcabrlity may vary, eg wrth vehlcles In the future will requlle some form of 11ght- the numbel of engrnes weight constructron (b) No definltlve lo~mhas yet been leached for such con- Appendix 1 stluct~onFuture development wrll demand Rexrbrl~tyIn the constructional rcqurlements LEST OF ALL CONTRIBUTORS (c) Such flexlblllty may not be achreved rf exrstrng require- ments approp~rateto other forms ol tlanspolt are made The lollowing persons havc attended nleetings of the Com- fully applicable Inlttec : (d) It 1s thought that a 3atrsfactory level of lntrlnslc safety can be achieved wlth a mirllmuni cconomlc penalty, only Chairmiirz . Mr. W.Tyc (Air Registlation Board) ~f app~ops~ateconstr~lctronal ~equirements are wirtten spcc~ficallyfor the ACV Mini~try of Trnnspori (2) In addltlon to requirements 101 desrgn and construction, provrslon should be made In the Vehrcle Code To1 definrng Mr C R Chailton (a) envrronrncntal lrmltations (pala 7 3 2); Bi~gad~esN E-I L Chesshy~e (b) operating ltn~~tatrons(para 7 3 3), Mr J Cowley (c) marntenance procedul es (par a 7 ? 4), Mr C J Cunnrngham (d) scalcs ol equipment (pala 7 3 5) Captain M J Edwards (3) In spec~fylngthe functional requ~rementsfor 11Ec-savlng Mr H D Fawell cqu,pment, ~t 1s recommended that 11fe-rafts oC an inflatable type should bc among those acceptable MISSS W Fogarty (4) The technique oi raprd dclect~onand extlnctlon rs recom- Captarn W A Harm unellded fol ACV fire precautions Prolonged fire contarnment The late MI W G Hunt on ACVs IS thought to be difficult (Para 7 3 7 ) MI J W L Tv~my (5) For nlarlne ACVs, the use of low flash-pornt luels (eg petrol) should be iestllcted to small vchrcle5 (re vehicles wlth MI P J G Mack acconln~odatronlor twelve 01 Cewer passengels) Thrs number Mr D R Mulray-Smith may be much hrgher Tor over-land vehrclcs Mr H E Robson MI L P Wh~teawdy Y.5 4. The Code for Crew Quulifieutioris r Mr A T Wlllens Thrs IS dealt wrth In genela1 terms In para 7 4, and a mole dcta~ledsludy of the subject IS rn prepalatron Ministry of Aviation. 9.5.5. The Code for Provision of Facilities Mr G H. Capsey Exlsting work on thls subject needs collectron and assess- ment Further work may be necessary A llst of problems IS Mr W. E. B. Grlfiths glvcn In pala 7 5 as l ollows Mr J. Karran As affecting over-water vehlcles Mr R. A. Shaw (I) Shore-base or offshore-base deslgn for safe ope~atlon, In partrcular the separat~onor passengels and the genelal publrc from movrng veh~cles Inter-Services Hoverouft Triuls Unit : (2) Protect~on of passengers, crew and thlrd pastres In respect oC mechanical damage, fire, and control Ilm~ta- Z.ieut-Cdr F. A. H. Ashmcad tlons ol the vehrcle, dnd hazards due to the storage and Captain J. F. S. Bidgood , transfer of luel Sqn Ldr J. E. Burton (3) Traffic contlol, slgnals, gurdance and local communrca- tlons (I) Veh~cle-to-basccomn~umcatron lac~lrties Hovel craft Inrlus/r y (afilicitlon ar at lart attendance) (5) Maintenance facrlrtres Mr A E Blngham (Hovelcraft Techn~calSteeslng Com- (6) En route Cacrl~tres, eg rescue, sheltel, moorings, mrttee) gu~dance Mr L Rcddlngton (Hovercraft Polrcy Committee) (7) Meteorolog~calForecastrng Tor loute (8) General problems arlqing from the shdrlng of base (eg Mr L R Colquhoun (Ilovercraft Operat~onalRequirements harbour) facrlrt~cs w~thother lorms of transport Panel) OVCI-land operattons have not yet been more than briefly MI D Hennessey (Natronal Reseasch and Development ~onsldered Corpol ation) MI S R Hughes (I-lovercraft Technrcal Steerlng Comm~ttee) MI C F Morlls (Hovercralt Technlcdl Steer~ngCommrttee) Some lecommendatlons on adinrnlstratrve matters havc Mr J E Rapson (Natronal Research and Development merged during the technical work ol the Committee, and Corpol ation) these are noted in section 8. The major points are as follows: 9 6 1 Legt5latlon rs needed whsch allocates responslbllrty Commander L A Sweny (Ilovercraft Polrcy Comrnlttee) lor the varlous aspects of sarety, and thus allows effectrve admln~stratronof the technrcal safety codes 9 6 2 The ACV rcqulres a fundamental approach, rndepen- Air Regz~trntiorzBoard : dent of regulatron applied to other lorms ol transpost Th~s Mr L S. Edwards dces not deny the value of iclerence to exlstlng regulation, Mr D M. Jameson nor does rt preclude the use, at least rn the early stages, of exlstlng admlnrstrat~veauthocltres Mr D R. Murrin 96 3 It 1s. recommended that the UI< safety codes and Mr P. F. Richards adm~nistratlvearrangements for ACVs should be developed, at least to the extent that they may he uselul rn international drscnssrons Secretary : Mr G. A. Cropper Turgis Court I had the advantdge of another trlp on the Raltlc In anothel Stratfield Turgis type ol hydrolor1 when the wcathel was absolutely calm and Nr Baslngstoke ~hcsea smooth, and we had no drfficulty in golng between 40 Elant4 and 50 knots On my return to England I have taken up once agaln wrth October 6th, 1966 the Adnlrralty tlie suggcstron that we rnlght at least buy one ol the Rus5ran hydlololls Lo see 11 they would work In our waters, or alternat~vely have one deslgned In thls countly T should have thought that, as a h~gh-speedpatio1 boat 01 a subluarrne chdw, tli~swould be a vely Inexpensive ddd~tlonto oul Fleet 13ear Editor, Su~elywe ought not Lo concentlate all our energres on the ho\ercsalt, but should pay some attentron to d sirnple mechan- As a keen dlnghy sallor srnce I was a boy 1 have always ~caldesrgn whrch relies only on one prlrnary unlt of powel fo~ been lnte~estcdrn planrng d~ngh~es,and I have always thought [is speed If the Russlans have 900 hyclrororls dashrng about - there should be a method ol lrltlng boat5 out ol the wate~to ihelr wateis, surely there 1s scope for them somewhere around obtaln hlgher speed As a catamaran owner I have been lm- our coasts? plessed by the Increase In speed that can be obtalned by the use ol light mate1 lals and two hulls Yours since~ely, 4omc years ago 1 apploached the Adnnralty and asked one or two quest~onsrn I'hrlrament as to why we were not rnak~ng u5e of hydroforls lor Defence purposes 1 had an rntervrew wlth my fl~endlan Orr-Ew~ng.who was then Clvll Lold of the Admiralty, and he had an ~rnprcss~vearray ol adv~scrswrth h~mI was told then that hydr olorls m the11 slmple form would nct be much use in the No1 th Sea and they would only be 8 Llarbor View Drive workable 1~1thsome k~ndof senslng device I tr~edlo arrange Atlantic Ellghlands, N J .hat a contract be glven to a yacht desrgner, Mr Erlc Manners, Oclober 3rd, 1966 so that he could develop his rdeas lo1 hydrololl c~altlor the Admilalty; but unlortunately suitable cornn~c~c~alarrangements could not be nude Hearlng that research Into hydrcfo1l.i was Dear Editor, berng lelt by the B~~trrhNavy to the Arnellcans and the Canadldns, my Interest In the mattes then rather faded As a subscriber Lo you1 fine alagdzirie and a Coimer hydlotorl However, it was all rev~vedagaln the other day I went on a p~lot,1 711 wlstl ully reading ol improvements and mnovatrons crurse down the Danube, and ended up at lsma111a I saw a rn both hydroforls and ACVs Lhroughout most ol the wosld, r~umberof Raketa chaslng up and down the Danube 1 wanted w~thvery llttle berng accomplrshed In my country - the Unrted to get to Odessa on the Black Sca, but round thele was no States ordlnary shrp ava~lable So I had the splendld opportunrty of Probably there rs more gorng on In both fields than one gorng by one 01 the Russ~an hydloforls (a Meteor type) a would suspect, as much prlnted matter deals with altel-the-fact dsslancc or some 160 nxles between the two polts lesults sather than the plannrng, Ananclng and olgan~satlonthat precede the I'abrrcahon 01 utrlrsdt~on ol erther ol these naval I assumed that our tr~pon the Rydloioil was going to be across smooth wates Pal from it Thelc had becn sevcle crart it rs for thrs reason that I am wrrtrng to you - the only ihunderstorma dut~ngthe n~ghtarid the Black Sea was In yu~te knonn soulce ol commun~cat~onwrlh a prospectrve hydrololl an angry mood 1 judged the waves to be equal to about Force or ACV ope1 ator 1 should lrke Lo assoc~atemyself w~thany 6 they certainly seemed about 4 It hrgh, and had not cnly ~ndrvldualor colporatron who lntenda Lo operate a hydlololl whlte horaes but whrte rnanes as well or ACV In the Un~tedStates It was my plcasu~eto be the prlot ol Our hydroioil made two stops In the journey; but 11 ploughed the submerged for1 thlough the waves 01 the Black Sea at what I ludged to be hydroroll Enletprcce In New Yolk Harhour IV~IL~was celtrfied by thc Coast Guard to carry passengels lor hrre about 30 knots The voyage adniittedly was bumpy, but the Dullng celtrfi- calron I passed [he Codst Guard verbal and plactlcal tests lor boat .;krmmcd through and over the Lop oi the waves 111 masterly fashron Celtalnly 11 could take a pourldlng equal to opcra~lonol thrs type vessels Halt ol my lorly-srx yeas have been spent as a Master Marlner, mostly on rnland or coastwrse most ol the weather one finds In the North Sea Thc voyage of 160 mrles had ~ndeedtaken 5; hours rnslead of 4a hours as wat~rs Although most oi' my expellence has becn on larger and slowel c~alt, have an av~d~nterest In both hyd~ofo~lsand scheduled, lncludrng stops, ~ndrt wrll be seen that an aveldge I ACVs Although marrled, my lamlly is glown and 1 arn free ot over 30 knots was niamtarned t or the whole jo~nney io (ravel or relocate, 11 rndrcated I am quite vc~llrngto lecerve Thrs experlencc opened my 1i1lnd once agarn to the possi- ichool~ng01 tralnlng. or to selvc as operator 01 ~nstluctor I brl~tlesof hydroforls wlli be happy to niarl a resum,: to any intc~cstedparty 1 went to the Mar~tnneMuseum at Odessa and saw models i m7i5h to thank you for assisting rrle lo leach your specialised ol ihe Russran hydrololls They have a yulte s~mplelor1 deslgn readers. ind the llnk between the So11 and the boat was lo~ncoltlmns In the bows, and lrkewlse In the stern the llnk between the fo~l Very truly yours, and the boat was loul metal st~uts,thc shrp ltselS be~ngdrrven by two propellers and two dlesel engrnes totallirlg about 1,200 hp, as 1 was told