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In 1955, while working to reduce the friction between a boat's hull and the water it traveled through, Cockerell came up with the idea of the hovercraft. His first model was made out of tin cans powered by a vacuum cleaner, and floated effortlessly over water and hard ground alike. The British government rewarded his idea by classifying it "secret", but didn't fund further development until they found out a team in Switzerland was working on a similar idea. He was knighted in 1969, but the government paid him only 150,000 pounds for his concept, and then only after a lengthy fight. Sir Christopher died in Southampton, England, at age 88 on June 1, the 40th anniversary of the launch of the first civilian hovercraft, which crossed the English Channel in just 20 minutes. From This is True for 30 May 1999 Suggestions for further reading:
The LCAC Military Hovercraft (Edge Books)  By: Kevin Jackson List Price: $11.99 Amazon Price: $11.99 Editorial Review: 'Discover the Hovercraft' takes you on a tour of the Hovercraft's secret world. Learn about the early days of cushion craft, modern day Hovercraft designs and try experiments to see the Hovercraft principle in action Model Hovercraft designer Kevin Jackson takes you on a tour of the Hovercraft's secret world. Tracing the history of this extraordinary craft through early ideas and designs to modern craft. Try your own experiments and demonstrate the Hovercraft principle by building and using the momentum curtain Hovercraft testbed described in this book. Discover the designs used for racing and large heavy lift craft as well as other applications of the Hovercraft principle. Find out about the design of the Hovercraft skirt, engines used to power the craft, and how lift and thrust are created. Learn how and where Hovercraft have been put to use all over the world in civil and military applications.  By: Pete FranksS. I. International List Price: $6.99 Amazon Price: $6.99  By: Anders Hanson List Price: $19.93 Amazon Price: $16.14  By: Lisa Bullard List Price: $6.95 Amazon Price: $6.95 |
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