Where can I use a hovercraft?
Hovercraft can be used on land and water, in rivers, on bays and estuaries, on salt pans, mud, grass plains, and ice.
Small hovercraft do not take well to waves. Some more adventurous crafters can drive the smaller (3 - 4 metres) hovercraft over large waves and sand dunes but this takes practice and is not recognised by the Marine Boards or Waterways authorities for passenger safety reasons.
It has been said that it takes about 20 hours of driving to learn to operate a hovercraft - this is just the beginning, and the most exciting time of your life.
When starting out with hovercraft it is best to go to hovercraft club meetings and talk to drivers who have been using hovercraft for years. The Australian Hovercraft Federation can put you in touch with your local club. Some experienced drivers will possibly take you for a ride on their hovercraft during recreational meetings.
You will probably have to get permission to use hovercraft in certain areas due to environmental sensitivity and other considerations like noise and safety, etc. Get permission from the owners/managers of lakes or land where you wish to operate.
In the beginning don't go out by yourself, if you break down or get injured you may be in an area where you cannot easily be rescued.
After a small practice, (3 hours), I took my 2 daughters with me across the mud and sand flats.
After about 5 Km (2 miles) I decided to turn around and go home--- W R O N G ---I did not know how to turn with other people on board and the craft flipped over, and rolled over on us, with the engine still going, pushing us all into the mud, face down.
Well after righting the craft, and disassembling the fan to remove a broken blade and the opposing blade, without dropping the bolts into the mud, 1 1/2 hours later we were off again as the tide rapidly came in.
Do you think I could get my daughters to ride home with me --- NO WAY --- they wanted to walk the miles across the mud, anyway, to cut the story, we got back just before the tide swamped the car, they haven't been with me since.
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