SR.N8 - FINISHED

[PR19_Kit]

Looks like a 'normal' length Mk I or Mk II from the proportions, but it's a lot wider of course.

Yes, those skirts a pain to build, not helped by Airfix's 'Let's make it out of many parts as possible!' philosophy.

[Rheged]

Have we previously discussed the possibilities of a Caledonian-Mac Brayne  Scottish island hovercraft service?   and if so, did anyone manage to source an appropriate tin of Humbrol tartan paint in the correct shade(s) to paint the skirt/kilt?

[PR19_Kit]

We did, yes, but Humbrol have long deleted the tartan paints from their listings. Spoilsports. 

[zenrat]

Never travelled on one but when I was a student in Portsmouth in the late 80's/early 90's I used to occasionally go down and watch them "landing".  Very impressive in rough weather as they launched it off the top of a wave onto the concrete ramp.  Wouldn't have wanted to be inside.

I never thought to take any photos.  No camera phones then of course.

[NARSES2]

I crossed the Channel on/in one once. Didn't like it at all, very uncomfortable and I'm a good sailor. Much preferred propping the bar up on a ferry 

[AndrewF]

I took the hovercraft a couple of times to and from France - I moved here in June 2000, but I went a few times before that. I took the car each time. It was impressive driving into the thing... I remember once the Channel was calm enough to actually walk/stagger around in the cabin to get some coffee. But as others have mentioned, not much of a view during the crossing. The best unusual voyage I did was one of those ex-Soviet Meteor hydrofoils from Yugoslavia to Venice, across the Adriatic, in the 80s. It was spectacular - we started off slow until we were out of the harbour, then they just opened up the engines and we were flying across the sea at God knows what speed; the whole boat was surrounded by hundreds of tiny rainbows from the sunlight refracting through the spray. It was really beautiful, and actually a smooth ride.

[PR19_Kit]

Not a hovercraft, but a high speed sea vessel....

I went to Ostend and back once aboard the P&O Boeing Jetfoil, sailing from Tower Pier in the middle of London! I thought it would cruise down River to Southend or somewhere while hull borne and then lift up on the foils, but not a bit of it! They lifted off about 200 yards downstream of Tower Bridge and we 'flew' down the Thames at about 25 or 30 knots some 6-8 feet off the water! 

It was very interesting to me as it leant into the turns, in a similar fashion to the APT-E train that I worked on, and at about the same angle too, 9-10 degrees. I tried to talk to someone about the system but either they didn't know anything, or didn't want to engage in anything too techie. 

P&O gave it up after a very short while though, and that Jetfoil is in Macau now I think.

[Rheged]

The navy tried the Jetfoil, and I believe found it a "fragile" piece of kit that needed lots of maintenance and fairly restrictive operating conditions. 

[Hobbes]

My first UK vacation was too late to do a hovercraft crossing. I did use the hoverport terminal: the high-speed ferries (catamaran/waterjet, 40 kts/70 km/h IIRC) left from that part of the harbour.

[PR19_Kit]

The navy tried the Jetfoil, and I believe found it a "fragile" piece of kit that needed lots of maintenance and fairly restrictive operating conditions.

That was HMS Speedy, and she too is now sailing around Macau. 

[McColm]

Just out of curiosity are jetfoils easy to whiff/build from a donor kit?

[PR19_Kit]

Maybe.................

The only kit I know of a Hydrofoil is the very ancient 1:84 scale Aurora USN Tucumcari, one of which I had umpteen years ago. That has a similar foil arrangement to a Boeing Jetfoil, ie a single strutted leading foil, and twin aft side foils, all of which hinge up and down in the kit IIRC. But the superstructure of a Jetfoil is much more 'boxy' than the Tucumcari, which looks more like a warship of course.

Looking on Scalemates shows up many more foils, but they're all in MUCH smaller scales.

[Hobbes]

The foils themselves are easy enough to scratchbuild: use some plastic sheet stock, cut to size and sand/file a wing profile into it. Then you have to modify the propshaft.

[PR19_Kit]

Or take it out completely.

Both the Tucumcari and the Jetfoil used water jets for propulsion.

I just found out that the Tucumcari used a Bristol Proteus as its main engine. 

[Dizzyfugu]

IIRC, Hobby Boss has recently released a series of (rather pricey) 1:200 scale modern hydrofoil patrol boats.