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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2009 16:55:19 GMT 1
Hi Folks, Not sure where to put this - non-aviation, or history and memories from further afield! Anyway, courtesy of my wife's late father, who was a very keen amateur photographer and even did his own slides (from which these are scanned), here are three photos of a British United Airways hovercraft, tagged as being taken at Wallasey, 29th July 1962. Enjoy! Cheers, Dave    |
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Post by buspilot on Mar 20, 2009 18:41:09 GMT 1
 British United Airways V.A-3 Hovercraft This photo-postcard shows the world's first hovercraft passenger service, which operated between Rhyl, in North Wales, over to Wallasey on the Wirral. The cruising speed was 60mph, and could carry 24 passengers. It was scheduled to run 12 trips a day for an experimental 2-month (59-day) period. It even took post between the two destinations, becoming the world's first Hovercraft Postal Service. Unreliable engines and bad weather were factors leading to the service only running for 36 days of this 59-day period. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2009 18:44:58 GMT 1
Brilliant - thanks for that Buspilot.
Cheers,
Dave
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Post by coaxingtin on Mar 20, 2009 19:52:18 GMT 1
I saw that thing once. It was incredibly noisy! There is a plaque commemorating the service on display in Wallasey Town Hall.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2009 20:00:54 GMT 1
It seems to come with a lot of mechanics!
Cheers,
Dave
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2009 22:36:19 GMT 1
Following this experiment wasn't there talk of introducing a service to run from the airport to the Pier Head or was that a later trial?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2009 23:08:57 GMT 1
Found another photo....engine maintenance certainly seems somewhat labour-intensive! Cheers, Dave  |
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Post by Biggles on Mar 20, 2009 23:36:57 GMT 1
Living only a short walk from the operating point of this I recall as a teenager, the noise whch was deafening, I also recall the mechanics leaping onto the engines at every landing and pre departure. I now have the RNLI modern day equivilant garaged not far from me. Again good on sand and calm water even so many years later.
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Post by RICEY on Mar 20, 2009 23:45:53 GMT 1
the rnli ones are alot smaller and most prob quiter arent they biggles. i think only hovercrafts left in the uk are between ryde and portsmouth
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Post by buspilot on Mar 21, 2009 8:42:02 GMT 1
 The last commercial hovercraft service, operated by Hovertravel, in the UK....Southsea to Ryde In June 2007, Hovertravel launched a third and larger craft to the cross-Solent service. The new BHT 130, 70 tonne craft was the first hovercraft to be designed and built entirely by sister company, Hoverwork. The BHT 130 is capable of speeds in excess of 45 knots and seats 130 passengers. The two other craft in operation are two diesel AP1-88/100 hovercraft, each capable of carrying 95 passengers across the Solent. |
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Post by ronturner on Mar 22, 2009 9:24:34 GMT 1
I certainly saw this hovercraft operating from the Wirral several times. I seem to remember the landing point was somewhere near Moreton or West Kirby, rather than Wallasey it self.
Can anybody confirm this or correct me.
At around the same time, the popular magazine Aeroplane, brought out a sister magazine called "Air Cushion Vehicles" in which the new service featured. Does anybody else remember this?
RT.
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Post by calflier on Mar 22, 2009 11:14:54 GMT 1
Nice pics Dave,I for one, miss the hovercraft, I made a couple trips on the SRN4s,they had proteus engines(Britannia) and sounded great,I heard that there was going to be a service around Rio de Janiero,but looks like the Isle of wight is the last hovercraft service anywhere,must get there one day.
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Post by ronturner on Mar 22, 2009 18:16:17 GMT 1
The large Hovercraft which used tp ply between Dover and Calais were great to travel on. A bit noisy but very stable, very quick transit and rapid embarcation and disembarcation. Cancellations due to weather were infrequent, and certainly less frequent than the catamarans which superceded them.
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Post by calflier on Mar 22, 2009 19:20:11 GMT 1
I agree,Ron,they were superb to travel on,and that noise,I remember awaiting one summer morning at Dover,it was quite foggy,and the hovercraft service was a bit delayed because of the vis,but only about 30 minutes or so,whilst we were waiting an Srn4 was coming in and one was going out of Dover harbour,the noise was amazing,eight proteus engines,brilliant,but I guess it was the cost of maintaning these engines etc was the hovercrafts downfall,at that time Hoverlloyd was the operator and Princess Margaret the name of the SRN4 I travelled on that day.I think they have a couple at the hovercraft museum on the solent,again must get there sometime,until then I have my AIRFIX 144 scale kit of an SRN4,which are now very rare.
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Post by RICEY on Mar 22, 2009 20:57:06 GMT 1
theres 2 at the hovercraft museum. princess anne and princess margret. i think the reason they got taken out of service was fuel costs were too high
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