Classic British Flight Sim

Hi Pete

Not knowing anything about hovercrafts and being curious.........how would one overturn?

Would that be a combination of speed and strong wind getting underneath and flipping it.

I have seen pic of Hovercraft that have overturned but looking at them they are relatively low and flat.

Garry

Hi Garry,
It's always seemed unbelievable to me that it did overturn. I've never seen the accident report - although one must exist - but if I recall it was caused by a lethal combination of the wind, sea state and the craft's manoeuvres. Having seen film of one of 012's sister-craft from Hovertravel shooting the most incredible rapids on a trip up the Amazon without apparent danger, whatever the combination of factors on the day of the accident were, they must have been most unusual to tip something with that stability and low c of g over.
Best
Pete

Thanks Pete

Amazing really but the unexpected can happen!

Garry

Many thanks Pete.

I was in no doubt that the incident happened and your March '72 date seems much nearer the mark to me. My partner along with one of those that perished lived in Rogate at the time. My partner was 11 and can remember having pancakes with the victim which also confirms some time around shrove tuesday and '72 as the year.

While trying to investigate it recently I was surprised that so little information exists given that it was such a major tragedy, so your input is much appreciated. I'm sure that most operators would rather not remember it but it does seem strange to me that so little data is apparent even given that it was 30 odd years ago.

Again thanks.

Hi John

Strange indeed that little has been said

I does not seem to feature in the disaster books or on TV.

Really odd in that :think:

In fact it's almost been forgotten

Garry

OK got bored with work so this is what I found:

It gets a brief mention in this document.
http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/lrgtxt/rp5 ... report.pdf on pages 12/21

Marine Accidents Investigation Branch (like AAIB for boats) only has 1990 info online.

Story in: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/graham.alland/mypage2.htm (also HS748 incident)

http://www.hovercraft-museum.org/craft.html has list of hovercraft built but the link to 012 no longer exists. But the Wayback machine produced:

"The craft was used for a while by Hovertravel, and on 4th March 1972 overturned off Southsea while on the service." from:
http://web.archive.org/web/200111180141 ... 2/012.html

ferryman wrote:There was another SRN5 service to the Isle of Wight in the 1960's. It ran from a slip near Crosshouse Hard (opposite the old Supermarine site) in Southampton to Cowes. Can't remember who ran it, but had many Sunday outings to the Island on it.

yep, that was another BR-Seaspeed service.
Incidentally the terminus at Cowes was the former storage site of
the Saro Princess, although on occasions they (both Cowes hovercraft routes) used the Red Funnel pontoon in West Cowes, as did Hovertravel.

Oh and there was a private sidewall hovercraft route from both Cowes and Ryde to the Vickers shipyard in pompey.

ttfn

Pete

As hinted at above, I've found the video of an SRN-4 taken in 1993.

Approaching Calais, coming up the ramp and cutting engines.

A lot of wind noise from the "breeze" blowing across the flat sandbanks.

Hope the quality is ok (beware 10Mb filesize - will try to improve on that tomorrow).

Edit: link taken down to make use of web space

Garry Russell wrote:Not knowing anything about hovercrafts and being curious.........how would one overturn?

Garry,

Whilst at uni I lived with a hovercraft nut for a bit! He told me that its not unusual for hovercraft to flip. He said (although I wouldnt be able to explain the exact physics or mechanism that would cause it), that it was theoretically possible for it to happen to any size craft (even something as big as the SRN4) if it was handled incorrectly under certain conditions.

There are a variety of different skirt designs and even some methods for assisting the turning of the craft by deflating one side and increasing the pressure at the other (causing banking rather than just yawing). I would imagine that one or more of these designs might be more predisposed to instability than others, factoring in weather and sea-state conditions as previously mentioned and of course the way the craft is being handled.

Toby

Great footage of the SRN-4 and below some SRN-4 memories of mine...

My first 'flight' was from Pegwell Bay to Calais on Hoverlloyd (complete with Triumph TR7 and girlfriend...). The tide was out and, the first couple of miles were across the sand at 60 (or so) mph, sitting at the front with no spray to spoil the view until we reached the Channel itself. It seemed like something out of a sci-fi film...

Another memorable trip was with a Hoverspeed SRN-4 from Dover to Boulogne on an early Summers day and, having reached the French coast (Cape Gris Nez?) we sped parallel to the land to Boulogne easily overtaking many smaller but fast leisure craft - including speedboats - along the way.

Some miscellaneous info (only folklore perhaps?) - Whilst guess there were size and other differences, apparently the control system layout on the SRN-4 was based on the same design, as that for the Saunders Roe Princess Flying Boat.