60'sHovercraftPrinceton early hovercrafts at Princeton

3814   11 years ago
tiger103 | 0 subscribers
3814   11 years ago
more at http://scitech.quickfound.net/aviation_news_and_search.html/nThree early hovercraft are shown:/n- "Flying Scooter" is the Princeton University GEM X-2 Air Scooter./n- "Flying Doughnut" is Princeton University's P-GEM (Princeton --Ground Effect Machine), 20 feet in diameter, which resembles the Avro Avrocar, but has a single seat and a tail with a tail rotor./n- "Air-Car" is the Curtiss-Wright Model 2500 Air Car GEM./nPublic domain film from the National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original)./nhttp://www5.verticalgateway.com/museum/Aircraft/byManufacturer/Princeton/tabi.../nPrinceton GEM X-2 Air Scooter...This is an experimental Ground Effect Machine (GEM) from the 1950's. A nose fan supplied air to the air cushion contained within the peripheral curtain around the 8 ft. diameter platform. Ground Effect Machines are very successful and are used as ferries to carry cars and passengers across the English Channel./nFan Diameter 2 ft
Peripheral Diameter 8 ft.
Speed 10 mph.../nhttp://www.transchool.lee.army.mil/museum/transportation%20museum/gem2.htm/nTHE PRINCETON GEM Between 1959 and 1962, the Army agree to help fund ongoing testing of a ground effects machine (GEM) which had been developed by Princeton University. At that time the U.S. military had to type-classification for aircushion vehicles, and this became known simply as the Princeton GEM./nThe saucer-shaped GEM was constructed of steel tubing and aluminum ribs and covered with fabric. It was 20 feet in diameter. The aircushion was created by a main vertical-lift engine which drove a horizontally-mounted four-bladed wooden propeller. The propeller drove air downward through a 19 foot nozzle in the saucer's bottom to create a peripheral air curtain. A smaller engine and propeller in the horizontal tailfin provided forward propulsion. Though never produced by the Army, the craft provided a wealth of information about the mechanics of air-cushioned flight.
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