Hovercraft Africa
Why Choose Us?
Leading Hovercraft Solutions in Africa
Hovercraft Africa is the leading hovercraft operator and dealer in Africa. We offer commercial & industrial access solutions, mud and shallow water rescue, tailings dam surveys and cleaning, film shoots & TV commercials, hovercraft charter and leasing, sales of new and used hovercraft, and everything in between that includes a hovercraft.
Training, Maintenance & First Flight Experience
We’re here to help you take your first steps into the amazing world of hovercraft. From test flight experiences and basic training to ongoing maintenance and servicing, we provide everything you need to get started and stay operational.
Hassle-Free Sourcing &
Environmentally Friendly Technology
Hovercraft Africa can source and import hovercraft from overseas, saving you the hassle of dealing with logistics. Our hovercraft are affordable, fast, easy to deploy, and environmentally friendly. They don’t need a quay, jetty, or slipway to launch, aren’t affected by underwater obstacles, and don’t release harmful gases or create wake disturbance.
Versatility, Conservation &
Wildlife Applications
Our hovercraft are trusted by marine conservation groups and various wildlife and environmental agencies. At Hovercraft Africa, we’re passionate about all shapes and sizes of hovercraft—join us and explore the limitless possibilities they offer.
Hovercraft are sometimes the only solution to get the job done!
Commercial work for various applications
- Rescue & recovery
- Civil-engineering
- Tailings and slime dam surveys and cleaning
- Pilling
- Excavation
- Boring
- Crane positioning
- Standby/safety cover
- Bridge & pier survey
- Structural
- Quarry/pit access
- Integrity/infrastructure access
- Mudflat, bog/swamp & marsh traverse/access
- Sediment classification
- Mine & dredging measurements
- Intertidal, shore/littoral access
- Crew-transfer
- Oceanographic
- Environmental/habitat monitoring
- Geo-tech/positioning environmental research projects
- TV/media support
VIP, event & activity hire
- Our hovercraft can be hired for special events & celebrations.
- VIP rides at a show, charity event, watergala or regatta.
- Our hovercraft provides a unique talking point and what better way to get your golf clubs over the lake at your charity event than by hovercraft!?
- Unique tender solutions for yacht/superyachts VIP island hopping without getting your feet wet!
We also offer:
- Sales of new hovercraft
- Sales of used (pre-owned) hovercraft
- Resale of hovercraft (we will sell your hovercraft for you)
- Procurement of specialist craft
- Driver (pilot) training
- Advice and guidance
What is a Hovercraft?
A hovercraft is exactly that...
A craft that hovers!
Hovercraft are unique and amazing vehicles, they can travel over pretty much any relatively smooth surface like water, sand, mud, ice, snow, short grass concrete and tarmac! And can easily transition between all of these surfaces. Because the skirt under the hovercraft is flexible they can also pass over obstacles. Small hovercraft can pass over small obstacles say 100mm high and big hovercraft can pass over bigger obstacles sometimes over a 1m high.
Hovercraft float on a cushion of air that is why they are sometimes referred to as air cushion vehicles (ACV’s).
Air is constantly pushed under the hovercraft hull with a fan and air is temporally held there by a flexible skirt that is attached around the hull, and because bottom of the skirt is open the air constantly escapes from under the skirt. However the air pressure under the hovercraft remains slightly higher than atmospheric pressure and so the hovercraft is lifted up and hovers!
As the air escapes from under the skirt it leaves a little air gap between the edge of the skirt and the surface it is floating on. Because the hovercraft is hovering it can move in any direction with very little friction.
A hovercraft is propelled forward with the aid of a fan or propeller. Some hovercraft designs usually small light hovercraft utilise what is known as integrated systems this uses a single powered fan for both lift and propulsion. Some of the thrust air is diverted under the hull of the hovercraft to create the lift. Some small hovercraft and large hovercraft use a dedicated fan for lift (a lift fan) and a separate fan for propulsion sometimes with two separate engines to run these fans.
As above, the hovercraft is propelled forward with a fan or propeller. The direction of the air flow is controlled by rudders behind the fan. The pilot of the hovercraft controls the rudders direction with either handle bars or a steering wheel. Some hovercraft even have ailerons like a plane to direct the air flow up or downward to help trim the hovercraft.
There are many variations on this theme and there are many different types, designs and size of hovercraft but they all use basically the same principle.
Because of the versatility of hovercraft they can be used in many different theatres of operation and have many different applications.
Hovercraft Africa now offer various services from simple advice over the phone to charters for light industrial applications.
Watch hovercraft in action!
Beware! This video is an hour long but you get to see hovercraft of all types and applications.
Hovercraft Africa
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