HO NG GRAFT & HYDROFOIL THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF AIR CUSHION VEHICLES AND HYDROFOILS KALERGWI PUBLICATIONS Steadying wings that skim through turbulent water Four of the six major U. S, hydrofoil projects now under way are using stabilizing equipment designed and manufactured by Hamilton Standard. They are tho U. S. Navy's PCH (Patrol Craft, Hydrofoil), the Maritime Com- mission's Denison, the Marine Corps' 35-knot Amphibi- ous Assault Hydrofoil, and also the 300-ton, 220-foot AG(EH) now being built for the U. 5. Navy. Hamilton Standard's capabilities in the hydrofoil field are backed by years of success in designing stabilization equipment for helicopters. If the stabilization of hydro. foil "wings" is your problem. write the United Aircraft !nternational representative listed below. '.I Sole overseas represeiltative for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft . Hamilton Standard . Sikorsky ~ircraft. Nof'den United Technology Centre . United Aircraft of Canada Limited. REPRESENTATIVE FOR HAMILTON STANDARD PROU~JCTSIN ENGLAND: UNITED AIRCRAFT INTERNATIONAL, SARL, 39 AVENUE PIERRE lev de SERBIE, PARIS 8e, FRANCE The new Westlal~dSR.NS hovercraft comrnerzced its initial 'als or1 the Solent on April Iltlz. Capable oJ carryirzg up to 1961 FOUNDED QCTQBEW elzty pcissengecr or 2 torzs of jreight, it has been designed rtse as 11 short rrrrzge pclsserzger ferry or for fire fighting First Hovering Craft ;& Hydrofoil Monthly in the Worl well rrs a search urici rescue craft NAVAL ARCH TECTS D SCUSS HOVERCRAFT AND HYDROFO r 1WO interesting papers were presented in London on March congratulation for its sincerity. ?'he author's film portrayed 25th I964 at the meeting of the Royal Institute of Naval a hovercraft behaving rather poorly, a fact which the author Architects, and are reproduced in full in the pages of this used to some advantage in presenting the major of the many publication. problems still facing hovercraft designers. The paper entitled "A Progress Report on Hydrofoil Ships" It is interesting to note that the Cinited Kingdom Cont~'ollirrg by Mr E. Ralph Lacey, Assistaut 'rechnical Director, Preliminary Authorities class the hovercraft as an airplane, while Mr Bing- Design Branch, Ship Design Division, Bureau of Ships, Depart- ham considers "seaworthiness" to be the most important ment of the Navy, aclequately met the aims of the author in characteristic. presenting a progress statement on United States Navy hydro- During the discussion which followed the paper, Mr Bing- foil craft. It is regrettable in many ways, although understand- ham expressed his disapproval of the suggestion that hovercraft able, that Mr Lacey was unable for security reasons to give might use a submerged foil arrangement where auxiliary lift more precise details concerning the performance of the USS and improved directional stability and control are required, "High Point". 'I'he paper successfully emphasizes the urgent having indicated in his paper that the hovercraft relies upon need for much theoretical and experimental work in the fields the surface for its support but endeavours to remain detached of seaworthiness (ability of a craft to operate on rough seas from it. at speed with maximum comfort and controllability) and One fact is certain, however, that hovercraft and hydrofoil hydroelastic stability. designs and applications must be complementary. The hydro- The paper of Mr A. 8. Uirrgham, Chief Designer I.iovercraft foil designer need be no more reluctant to use an air cushion Division. Vickers-Armslrongs (Engineers) Ltd, entitled "'The than a hovercraft designer need be to use a foil, should such a tiovercraft Ferry", must earn him unanimous approval and fusion of principles improve craft design and performance. IN THIS ISSUE --------- People and Pr~jects 4 Editor: Hovercraft Grand Prix 6 JUANITA KAIERGHZ The Hovercraft Ferry 8 HOVERING CRAFT AND HYDROFOIL is prodrrced by Kolerghi I'irblications, 53-55 Beak Street, London W1. l'eleplior?e: CERrard 5895. Printed in Great Britain by Aquavion's Aquastroll 18 Vi1lier.s Publications, London, NW5, Annzral srrb- scriptiorl : Five Guineas UK and equivalent overseas. A Progress Report on Hydrofoil Ships; 22 USA arid Carrudu $15. There are twelve Is.sues Contents of this issire are the copyright of Kalerghr Publications. Permission lo reproduce pictures and text can be granted only under written agreement. Extracts or comments ,nay be made with dne acknowledgernenl to Hovering Craft rrnd Hydrofoil. (4 forty-seat A yuclstroll 40-P. ~~rrlherdetails of this 'craft trppecir oil page 18 Ilzterior of the wheelhouse the Aqmuvio/t Aquu~troll40-P A new company, Scandinavian Hovercraft, Lid, has lust A inodel of a new British hydrofoil has been tested at speed been formed In Norway, and may, later on extend its activities in rough water. The craft, dcsig~~edby Mr Philip Castle and to othel Scandinavran Countrrcs. The company has already Major Michael Trasenter Incorporates a Delta aerodynamic been In contact with groups Interested in starting regular hull of shallow "V" section and narrow sharply swept fuiiy hovercraft passenger services in Western Norway, pa~tlcularly submerged main foils. Great stability is achieved duc to a new with vessels carrying twenty passengers at a speed of 62.5 to simple incidence control system in the bows and the wide 75 mph. beam aft. The craft can be easily beached, berthcd or used for landing alongside. A large manned model is in the process of being burlt. Sir Eric Mensforth, chairman of Westland Aircraft, has re- turned from a visit to Japan where he had talks with Mitsu- bishi concerning the manufacture under licence of Westland An increasing number of overseas buyers are showing intcr- hovercraft by Mitsubishi plus a general interchange of tech- est in the Aquavit 30 knot hydrofoil manufactured by Inter- national Aqi~aviotiof London. An agency has becn formed nology on hovercraft. to cover the Argentine and Uruguay The firm, called Tracia SA of Buenos Aires, has taken one of the craft for operating a passenger ferry service on the River Plate. Another agency has been formed in Bombay entitled AFCO The technical licence agreement concluded nearly a year ago Ltd, an association of Duncan Macneill and Co. A number of by Mitsoi Zosen with co-licensors Vickers Armstrongs (Engin- Aquavits are in service, on order, and on demonstration In eers) and Hovercraft Development Ltd, regarding the manu- Borneo, Malaysia and Pak~stan. facture of air cushion vehicles has now been formally approved by the Japanese Government. Under the agreement Mitsui has the exclusive right to sell Vickers Armstrongs hovercraft in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Okinawa and the Philippines, The first hydrofoil passenger ship designed as an English and can also export vehiclcs to any other country on a non- Channel ferry is maklng its maiden crossing. T11e craft, an exclusive basis subject to the licensor's consent. lnten~atio~~alAquavion Aquastroll 40-E' wbs built at a ship- Hovercraft models to be manufactured under licence are yard in Papendrecht, Holland. Development has cost about VA-1 (experimental); VA-2 (five to ten passengers); VA-3 260,000. The craft will go to the Orkney Isles for one month's (twenty-six passengers); VA-3B (100 passengers); VA-4 (140 trials with tho Orkney Island Shipping Company, and if the cj tons, can carry thirty-two cars plus 130 passengers); VA-5 (300 trials are satisfactory it will be used for passenger services tons); VA-6 (33f tons, for military use); VA-7 (230 passengers). there. Pull details of the craft are given on page 18. LENGTHY and detailed article on "The Next Steps in A River Shipbuilding" printed in the February number of IPyechawy Transport, monthly journal of the Ministry of the River Fleet of the Russian Union of .Federated Socialist Re- publics, contains some interesting inforlnation on Soviet in- tentions in relation to hovercraft and hydrofoils for the cur- rent year. During 1963 experiments were carried out with a new type of hydrofoil, the "Chaika", designed and developed by the Krasnoye Sormovo shipyard. This vessel with a draught on foils of 1.1 metres (3 ft 7 in) carries thirty passengers at a speed of 86 kmh (nearly 50 knots). Its distinctive features are high powcr/passcnger ratio (30 bhp per passenger) and the sub- stitution of water-jet propulsion for propellers, the latter rendering thc vesscl less vulnerable to damage when cruising in shallow waters. Trials carried out with this vesscl on the river Oka showed, however, that a craft with such small foil- immersion and such high speed is unsuitable for use on shallow rivers because it is incapable of negotiating at full speed the numerous sharp turns which are a normal feature of such rivers, and because the consequent frequent reductions of speed (often to the point where the craft becornes a displacement Tlze new Dritish hydrofoil model described on the opposite vessel) imposes intolerable strain on the diesel engines. Another puge disadvantage for a vessel with such small foil immersion is that when it encouriters even small waves such as those set up by vessels passing in .the opposite direction, the shock experi- enccd is intolerable for the comfort. of passengers and crew. It was therefore decided not to proceed with the project of putting the "Chaika" type vessels into serial production. As a result of this experience, it is intended during 1964 to concentrate on tile development oT hydrofoil vessels of the Rakcta type for fast passenger service on shallow rivers. These craft (which were described in detail in the October 1962 issue of Hoveritlg Craft urzd Hydrofoil) will be modified to have a In the rneant~me the Leilingrad Experirnc~ltal Shipyard is foil immcrsion of only 1.2 metres (4 ft) with a consequent re- developing a small hovercraft carrylng only ten passengers on a duction of their speed from 40 knots to 31 knots, and of their totally different prlnc~plcfrom both mcntloncd above.