RNLI HOVERCRAFT TRIALS

- Mon 14th Jun 2004

THE Royal National Lifeboat Institution plans to trial a state-of-the-art rescue hovercraft at its Hayling Island station


<%image(20040614-griffon4.jpg|300|201|Picture of the Hovercraft)%>The £135,000 craft, which has a top speed of 30 knots, will arrive at the station on Bracklesham Road some time in the autumn.




The hovercraft will undertake a series of tests to determine how suitable it is for the coastline around Portsmouth, Langstone and Chichester harbour.




If the hovercraft becomes a permanent fixture at Hayling, it would be only the second such craft to operate in the area.




Hovercraft can operate in areas of shallow water and mud which conventional lifeboats cannot reach.




The Hovercraft invented by Sir Christopher Cockerell was originally designed and built on the Isle of Wight.

By forum user, Bruce_Bennett