By David Ponce
We used to think Hammacher-Schlemmer was a peculiar sort of retailer, somewhat similar to SkyMall… How wrong we were. They’re selling a $190,000 Flying Hovercraft. Now, let’s pause for a second on its name. We take a small issue with it being a flying hovercraft. If it’s flying, it’s not hovering, but whatever. This particular vehicle has a 130HP twin cylinder liquid-cooled gasoline engine — turbocharged and fuel-injected — that can propel it to 70mph. It’s able to rise up to 20 feet off the ground, allowing it to access places regular hovercrafts just can’t get to. “Its low center of gravity and composite fiberglass/PVC hull enable it to operate in winds up to 25 mph and waves up to 6′ when in flight. Two nine-gallon gasoline tanks provide a 160-mile range.”
It’s a nice piece of kit. We imagine you might need a pilot license, though we can’t be sure. And it needs to be registered as a boat.
[ Product Page ] VIA [ BornRich ]
I think its altitude ceiling may put it in the ultralight bracket… however, you’d still need a license if you intend on carrying passengers.
It’s a WIG (wing-in-ground-effect) plane, a.k.a. ekranoplane: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekranoplane