Oldies

Airplane Pictures from the 60's & 70's

- "Surfing" the waves -

Hovercraft SRN6 Hovercraft SRN6 Hovercraft SRN6

Hovercraft SRN6
Hoverwork Canada Ltd.

Hovercraft SRN6 infront of Montreal Harbour Hovercraft SRN6 infornt of the USA pavilion
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No the Hovercraft Is not a plane. Yet, it can go over land or water. The ones shown here were in use during Montreal's EXPO 67.
Hovercraft SRN6 going under the Concord bridge Hovercraft SRN6 going towards the Concord bridge
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The Hoverwork contribution to Expo '67 gave everyone a chance to discover a revolutionary craft. This craft moves by generating an air cushion at the time, this idea was relatively new. Invented in 1956 by Christopher Cockerell, and improved in 1958 by the addition of a flexible underskirt to retain the air-cushion this principle permitted the SRN6 to securely move passagers at a maximum speed of 56 knots, a mere ten years later. Many Hovercrafts found use as ferries.

Hovercraft SRN6 going under the Concord bridge

This principle is still at use by the Canadian Coast Gard on the St-Lawrence River and its tributary rivers, a hovercraft then being used as an icebreaker. If the wind generated under the craft isn't sufficient, it is stopped and the weight of the craft then breaks the ice.

Enlarged version image 5 1024X649 pixels ~232 Kb

Hovercraft SRN6 (pont Victoria in he rear) Hovercraft SRN6
Hovercraft SRN6 at Cité du Havre Hovercraft SRN6 at Cité du Havre
Hovercraft SRN6 at Cité du Havre Hovercraft SRN6 at rest
In the pictures above, you can observe Hovercraft coming in for a "landing" near Habitat 67 in Montreal Harbour. Heavy rubber mats on the ground protected the underskirt when the Hovercrafts were parked. The underskirt would collapse under the aircraft weight when air was not forced under it.
Hovercraft SRN6 (inside) Hovercraft SRN6 front access
Hovercraft SRN6 front access
Enlarged versions
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Passengers would gain access to the cabin by a front door opening upwards.

The trip from the Montreal Harbour to LaRonde would take only a few minutes but this short trip left great memories for my 16th birthday...

Text : Jean-Pierre Bonin © 1999-2003
Some parts of the text found in : BP Facts About Hovercraft, circa 1967.


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About the author

Web site conception and production , text, pictures and illustrations : Jean-Pierre Bonin     © 1999-2003
Send suggestions and comments to : djipibi@hotmail.com
Web site created on August 8th 1999
This page was created in 1999. Completely reviewed on January 3rd 2002. Last update June 24th 2003

If you use my pictures or illustrations, please send me your web page address by e-mail.
If you use these images for a school research, then don't forget to mention the source of your document (and I wish you a good grade!)

 Autres sites du même auteur /
Other web sites created by the author

Pédagogie / Pedagogy [in French only]
http://www.collegeahuntsic.qc.ca/services/spdp/spdp.html

Techniques d'électrophysiologie médicale /
Medical Electrophysiology Techniques
[in French only]
http://www.collegeahuntsic.qc.ca/Pagesdept/epm/

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