[HN Gopher] What happened to giant hovercraft? [video]
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What happened to giant hovercraft? [video]
Author : simonebrunozzi
Score : 11 points
Date : 2022-06-24 15:28 UTC (7 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.youtube.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.youtube.com)
| midislack wrote:
| They still exist in Russia of course.
| lostlogin wrote:
| I'd love to see an Ekranoplan do some flying (or is it sailing?
| Ekranoplaning?).
| drcongo wrote:
| Semi-related question: The VO on that video pronounces "hover" as
| "huvver" - is this a normal thing in the US, or regional? I ask,
| because I must have heard podcast ads for hover.com maybe 50
| times before I eventually realised that it was "hover", and even
| then that was only because I saw them mentioned on here.
| ljp_206 wrote:
| As a West-coast American, I have only ever heard 'hover' as
| "huvver."
| mikestew wrote:
| I've lived all over the U. S., and I can only offer a question:
| how else would you pronounce it if not "huvver"? Rhymes with
| "over" or "stove" is the only alternative I can come up with,
| and that can't be right (having never heard that pronunciation
| leave anyone's lips).
| tjader wrote:
| https://youtu.be/13Eefjvd1A4?t=2269
|
| Here's an example of a pronunciation with a more open first
| vowel.
|
| Wiktionary says that's usual in UK, /'ha.v@(r)/ vs /'h^.v@/
| in the US.
| the_biot wrote:
| The video goes along with what you might assume of a hovercraft:
| that you're calmly floating to your destination on a cushion of
| air, like a flying carpet from a fairy tale.
|
| In reality they were super loud and everything vibrated, the
| entire time. Not so much flying carpet, more like getting
| strapped to the outside of an airplane.
| xattt wrote:
| A similar issue re: NVH comfort is noted with open-sea high-
| speed catamaran ferries.
|
| Conventional ferries can tackle the Cape Breton-Newfoundland
| route over 7-12 hours, depending on the destination port (Port-
| Aux-Basque vs Placentia) and weather conditions. Spending this
| long on a boat with nowhere to go is brutal and feels like you
| are back in the 1800s.
|
| In 2000, a high-speed catamaran ferry (MV Max Mohs) was
| commissioned to make the shorter run over about 3 hours. It was
| short-lived as many passengers were intolerant to the
| vibrations (and probably cost of running was much higher).
|
| I am not sure what I would like: much shorter time onboard but
| being slightly uncomfortable, or being stuck in one spot for a
| long time.
| jeffreygoesto wrote:
| You're not taking about "The CAT, saves you 1200 driving
| miles!", are you? It did not go right after the remains of
| Hurricane Floyd went over Nova Scotia and we knew _exactly_
| how many extra miles that meant =:-D. Moncton (oh no, not
| again)...
| the_biot wrote:
| That sounds similar to the tradeoff of hovercraft/jetfoil vs
| ferry: uncomfortable but shorter, vs. longer put potentially
| seasick. The latter can ruin your whole day.
|
| Honestly all of those were obsolete on the English channel
| the day the tunnel opened, and it's awesome!
| simonh wrote:
| I only went across the channel in one of these once, but loved
| it. Much more comfortable than the catamaran for example, which
| I found much more juddery.
|
| In any case the massive mechanical cool of these things was
| awesome to see. It was like stepping into the world of
| Thunderbirds. No video can give the same experience.
| the_biot wrote:
| There was a catamaran? And I thought I'd done them all
| (ferry, hovercraft, jetfoil, tunnel, airplane)!
| leephillips wrote:
| You didn't swim it? Lame.
| eesmith wrote:
| I don't think "lame" is an appropriate slur. Especially
| as John Maclean, a paraplegic, swam the Channel back in
| 1998.
|
| What other regularly schedule commercial services have
| there been? The last airship service probably stopped in
| the 1930s.
|
| Helicopter passenger (scheduled, not charter) was a thing
| in the 1960s and 1970s, but the closest I've found to the
| Channel was a Penzance/Scillies route from the 1970s at
| https://www.ashpole.org.uk/british-airways-helicopters-
| penza... .
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_helicopter_airlines
| doesn't list any current services.
| leephillips wrote:
| Oooo, joke gone bad.
| simonh wrote:
| That, or a straight faced knowing continuation of the
| gag, to hilarious effect.
| CommieBobDole wrote:
| I don't know about other people's giant hovercraft, but mine sank
| after it was somehow filled with eels.
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