Cargo Business Newswire

Friday, March 14, 2014

Hovercraft emergency response vehicle doubles as a boat (video)

A Canadian invention called the Amphibious Trimaran with Aerostatic Discharge is part fan boat and part hovercraft. It can cruise over water, up the beach and across the earth, and the men who built it say can cruise at 75 mph over snow.

The ATASD usually works like a hovercraft, floating on a cushion of air contained in its rubber skirt. "Aerostatic discharge" is the layer of air created beneath the vessel to reduce friction with the surface below.

Interconn designed it for search-and-rescue operations, and Canada has certified it as an emergency response vehicle. The cabin is removable and can carry one pilot and six seated passengers. In emergency situations, the ATASD can carry up to a dozen standing occupants and two snowmobiles or two eight-foot rescue stretchers.

Floating on an air pocket works well on solid surfaces like asphalt and over a marsh or placid lake, but doesn't work well on choppy water. Interconn Development, the company that built the ATASD, added three pontoons that deploy on command, allowing the ship to handle waves up to 6.5 feet high.

The engine is the same 2.0-liter Ford Duratec that's installed in the Focus and other cars. It's good for 140 horsepower and drives the main propulsion fan and two smaller fans that provide lift during hovercraft mode.

The rig weighs 1,190 pounds and can carry almost that much weight. The company says the machine can travel 55 mph on water and 75 mph on snow, carrying three to five people during testing.

For more of the Wired story and video: wired.com