Buying hovercraft? Buy a hovercraft info.

Here are some tips that might help you at your decision about your first hovercraft purchase. All information about hovercraft sales at one place.

Here are 4 important things you need to know about hovercrafts before purchase a hovercraft:

1. Hovercraft flotation

2. Hump speed time

3. Weight factor

4. Demo rides before hovercraft purchase

1. Hovercraft flotation

Hovercraft flotation is very important factor if you plan to ride hovercraft on open waters or rapids, or if you plan to use hovercraft as fishing boat, or hunting boat in swamp. Flotation means if you turn the hovercraft engine off, hovercraft is impossible to sink under water level no mater what, even if water brakes into a cockpit. Our hovercrafts have special hovercraft plenum chamber design, that completely separates buoyancy material from the air canal, dirt, etc. Plenum chamber is installed all around the hovercraft  bottom, so it gives maximum and optimum buoyancy force to the hovercraft. Our hovercrafts are impossible to sink under water, no matter what.

Important questions to ask hovercraft manufacturer:

1. What is the buoyancy of a hovercraft?

2. What material is used for hovercraft buoyancy?

3. Where is buoyancy material placed in a hovercraft?

4. Is buoyancy material protected from outside environment?

5. What happens if water brakes into hovercraft cockpit?

6. Is engine protected against water in case complete cockpit is flooded by water?

2. Hovercraft hump speed time

Firstly... What is hovercraft hump speed time?

Hump speed is time, that is  necessary to beat the hump barrier. With simple words, if we make hovercraft  stop on the water, hovercraft start floating like a boat. If we want to ride again, we must beat the hump barrier first, than hovercraft can start hovering above the water level again. So hump speed is time that is necessary to get out of the water and start hovering again.

Our hovercrafts are able to beat the hump in 5 seconds, what is the fastest time of all commercial and leisure hovercrafts on market, except the racing hovercrafts, that have about same hump speed time. Want a video prove? Take a look a demonstration video clips of our BUFO hovercraft beating the hump:

play HOVERCRAFT VIDEO - Beating hump with 1 person

play HOVERCRAFT VIDEO - Beating hump with 2 persons

Most manufacturers hide information about hump speed time, because most of commercial leisure hovercrafts on market need from 10 - 25 seconds time to beat hump barrier, and get out of water - sometimes they even do not make it, what looks very ugly.

Reason for bad hump speed time is simple

• old hovercraft air canal designs

• too heavy hovercrafts

• low power-to-weight ratio

• bad disposition of hovercraft balance

Questions to ask manufacturer:

What is the hump speed (in seconds) with one person on hovercraft?

What is the hump speed (in seconds) with two persons on hovercraft?

What is the hump speed (in seconds) with three persons on hovercraft?

What is the hump speed (in seconds) with four persons on hovercraft?

Can we see that in live demo?

3. Hovercraft weight factor

This part is easy to learn... light and strong construction hovercrafts are good hovercrafts.

Two person hovercraft is considered to be light when complete with engine, weigh of hovercraft is between 130 - 150 kg, depends on other applications installed on hovercraft.

Three person hovercraft is considered to be light when complete with engine, weights from 160 - 190 kg, depends on other applications installed on hovercraft.

Strong hovercraft construction is considered a composite sandwich reinforced hovercraft.

With heavier hovercraft as described, you will be only able to glide over flat and smooth surface - forget grass taller as 20 cm, forget up and down ride on smaller hills, forget high performance, forget hovercraft jumps that can be 10 - 15 meters long,... in that case hovercraft is more slider as hovercraft, because it can only slide on flat area with mud or cut grass, ice or water,...  and that is all it can do. Real hovercraft is able to do much more than that...

Heavy hovercrafts are also hard to maneuver, that is the reason they need so called reverse thrust system, to correct the mistake of being to heavy and too hard to operate and bad disposition of balance.

Question - how fast can move such a heavy hovercraft? In specification is written over 45mph... but... did you ever see any of hovercraft going so fast? Answer is NO and you never will, because they are not able to do speed like that or they are simply to dangerous at higher speeds.

Our hovercrafts are light fast, and easy maneuverable, and yes, they can ride faster as 45mph anytime, anywhere. Take a look at video at you tube BUFOcraft hovercraft at race in Italy - Pordenone

Only light and well balanced hovercrafts are easy controllable, maneuverable and safe to operate at high speeds.

Questions to ask hovercraft manufacturer:

What is the weight of complete hovercraft they manufacture and sell?

What is the top hovercraft speed they can demonstrate - LIVE?

Of course there are some other things that are also important, like hovercraft engine, hovercraft skirt, hovercraft spare parts, warranties,... but this are only 3 most important things for the start and to remember before doing most important thing before hovercraft purchase.

4. Demo ride before hovercraft purchase

... most important thing before your first hovercraft purchase is to test at least 3 different hovercrafts from 3 different hovercraft manufacturers...

When you decide to do the testing of different hovercrafts, do not forget about us, we have demo hovercraft always ready for you to try.

... and than we will ask you witch hovercraft you think is the best... we are sure you will know the right answer!