Is a hovercraft an aircraft or a boat when levitating over water?

Answer 1

Generally, an air-cushion vehicle, or hovercraft, is an amphibious aerostatic craft capable of slight vertical lift regardless of forward speed.

aer·o·stat (âr'ō-stăt') pronunciation, n.
An aircraft deriving its lift from the buoyancy of surrounding air rather than from aerodynamic motion.
Note the word aircraft in the definition.

Answer 2

Having been on one 20 or so years ago from Calais to Dover, I wish I had a better answer than the following.

Some thought tells me that the hovercraft, despite having many components common to aviation, at only several inches over the surface it levitates over, is only applicable to law governing aircraft in that the components that are borrowed from aviation are likely largely maintained to aviation specs for amphibious aircraft.

The primary purpose being to travel over water very fast by not touching the water, I'd have to wager that they're considered watercraft by the governing maritime bodies. If the hovercraft has an engine failure, it and it's passengers are going to be in the water and the rescue of survivors will likely fall to local marine patrols.

Since you're in intimately close proximity to the water during most stages of operation, marine quality construction and safety preparations are the rule of the day. Presumably, they're constructed to float in the event of a total system's nightmare, which would relegate them to watercraft.

You'd need the typical maritime emergency equipment, such as radios, flare guns, life jackets for all souls and life boats, again relegating it to a boat.

The best I can come up with is that it's a boat, governed by the bodies that govern boats, and it just doesn't know it unless something goes terribly wrong.

Answer 3

Good question so lets try and sort it out. Everyone knows that a boat travels on water. No boat travels on land . A plane that was designed with skis enabling it to land on water was called a flying boat. What does a hovercraft do? it creates a downdraught which gives it lift, simular the the action of a helicopter, would you call a hellicopter a boat,? obviously not so if one had to make up ones mind I would go for an aircraft, because despite the fact that it is only a foot off the ground it is still travelling in the air.

Answer 4

If used over water, it is considered a boat and must comply with all the laws that regulate boats. If it is used over land, it is governed by the laws that apply to ATV's, including a red flag flown from the vehicle like a bike or ATV.
Over water, if in a restricted "no wake zone", the hovercraft must be operated at reduced speed like a boat, even though the hovercraft generates no wake in hover mode. Both Coast Guard and State police agencies will take action against the operator for violating the boating laws in such areas. The hovercraft must be registered with the state DMV as a boat, it must display numbers like any other boat, and it must display a HIN (Hull Identification Number) issued by the state that complies with the USCG requirements, like any other boat. So, I would say it is a boat.

Answer 5

Hovercrafts travels on water so it means that it is not an aircraft, because aircraft is any machine that is capable of travelling or flying in the air. If you can make hovercraft lift over water with its own power, then it would only be the time you can call it an aircraft.

Answer 6

It is not an aircraft because it is incapable of flight more than a few inches above the ground. In fact the hovercraft requires very close vicinity to the ground in order to operate. Because of this limitation, it is not capable of true flight.

However it is capable of travelling over land as well as water, so it is technically not strictly a boat either. It seems to belong to a class of its own.

Answer 7

It's still a hovercraft. Now if it's engine should stall and it floated on the water....... Who knows? I think it would still be a hovercraft.

Answer 8

Check out ekranoplans. They fly in ground effect, rather than by blowing air out the bottom. They're not aircraft, either. Nobody except the Russians knows what the heck they are.

Answer 9

since hovercraft come under Coast Guard / MCA / IMO / SOLAS regulations, and carry boat navigation lights (plus a special light for hovercraft), and are not registered / administered / regulated by aviation authorites, it's a boat.......

if it looks like a duck and flys like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, its probablly a duck

Answer 10

It not fish or fowl. Falls under maritime regs however. They are a separate class of vehicle altogether. WIG's are treated the same way.