We expected flying automobiles, but what we received was a flying hovercraft. Aircraft that can land on the water have existed for a long time. Meet the “Flying Hovercraft” from Hammacher Schlemmer, which can travel over both land and water.
What is a hovercraft?
An amphibious craft known as a hovercraft or an ACV (air-cushion vehicle) can move across a variety of surfaces, including water, land, mud, sand, and even rocky terrain. It was developed in the late 1960s after being created in the 1950s. For many years afterward, especially in terms of public transit, it was widely regarded as the luxury amphibious vehicle of the future.
The hovercraft is still in existence, even though plans for the transportation of people and commodities didn’t precisely work out. The VonMercier Arosa, a luxury sports hovercraft, has been under development for almost ten years. Hovercraft-based transport devices are also in the plans of coming.
Hammer Schlemmer’s flying hovercraft
The flying hovercraft from Hammacher Schlemmer can travel 113 km/h and hover 6 meters above the sea.
The futuristic-looking hovercraft has a 130-horsepower turbocharged twin-cylinder gasoline engine that can travel up to 250 kilometers at 113 km/h and six meters above the ground.
It operates on sand, dirt, grass, ice, or snow up to a 30% inclination and in fresh or saltwater. It can leap over obstacles that are half a meter tall on land or in the water, thanks to its wings and horizontal elevator.
How to operate the hovercraft?
A joystick is utilized to run the elevator and three vertical rudders of the hovercraft. A twist friction-lock throttle and a variable drive system that manages the lift fan allow for simultaneous control of forwarding speed and hovering, respectively. The pilot must decrease the lift fan’s RPMs in order to push the brakes. Ultimately, the hovercraft can cautiously get back to the earth thanks to Kevlar blended landing skids.
Pricing
The hovercraft, which costs $190,000, may be bought from the Hammacher Schlemmer website’s luxury product section. However, considering its robust specifications, owners need a boat license to operate it.
The Golf Cart Hovercraft
If the Flying Hovercraft’s price is too high for your budget, perhaps Hammacher Schlemmer can persuade you to consider a Golf Cart Hovercraft. Yes, if you enjoy golf, you need this for skimming over fairways, sand traps, and water hazards. In this hovercraft, cross-water shoots are a straightforward practice.
The amount of time this saves you will allow you to play another round with ease. Four passengers and two golf bags can fit inside. And it costs a lot less than a flying hovercraft. You simply need to pay $58,000 for this. That is unquestionably within reach of affordability. After all, if you can consider the Flying Hovercraft, this cart should be a piece of cake.
About Hammacher Schlemmer
Hammacher Schlemmer was a particularly New York company for a significant portion of its history. Although the company still operates its sole physical location on East 57th Street in Manhattan, its corporate offices were moved to the Chicago area in 1981 by merchandiser and collectible-plate magnate J. Roderick MacArthur (a member of the MacArthur “genius” grant family). Chicago was an obvious choice for the country’s most prestigious provider of mail-order media because it was the hometown of catalog pioneers Montgomery Ward and Sears, Roebuck.
It has long been a Hammacher Schlemmer policy to take brand names and product emblems out of their catalogs. This was just one of the retailer’s oddities in the 1980s and 1990s, a hazy nod to the privilege of ignorance.
However, there is a more helpful explanation now. Director of merchandising at Hammacher Schlemmer Stephen Farrell oversees the group of buyers tasked with completing the company’s varied inventory.