A hovercraft with wheels?

[X.]

From the website of the Geneva Car Show:

RINSPEED/AC SCHNITZER/GASMOBIL - Splash





Full speed ahead on land or water!
The latest extravagance from the Swiss manufacturer: a vehicle
that drives, swims and glides. Powered by a 2-cylinder 750 cc engine
producing 140 bhp and running on natural gas, the Splash can reach speeds of
200 km/h on the road, 50 km/h in water and 80 km/h above the water.






...and it's a car :-OOO... it seems it can even fly...
Will it send you all home?


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[Frank Damp]

Nothing new under the sun!

Back in the prehistoric times for hovercraft (late 1960's) there was a
guy who worked for Birkenhead City Transit. Birkenhead is a city
across the River Mersey from Liverpool. Maybe it was Wallasey. FanMan
might know.

This guy, whose name is lost in the mists of memory, was a Search and
Rescue volunteer. The Mersey estuary has a large area of mudflats,
which entice people to go out gathering cockles at low tide.
Unfortunately, the tide comes back in at a rate that exceeds the
running ability of most people, so the S&R guys ended up going out two
or three times a week, usually with less than successful results.

The bus driver came up with a hovercraft design that was similar in
overall size to Barry's Explorer, except that, instead of a propulsion
propeller, it used wheels. The engine he used was from a Renault
Dauphine (850 cc, 35 hp on a good day). In its automotive version, the
Dauphine was a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive configuration and he used
all of it - 4 speed transmission, differential and wheels. The skirt
and cushion kept it afloat on the mudflats and the wheels provided the
propulsion, acting as paddles when it was fully afloat and digging
into the mud when the water went very shallow.

As far as I recall, there was only one craft built, but it was
successful in resuing 10 or more people.


Frank Damp

[Terry]

I looked up this splash car and here's a link kinda crazy and what do
we do with the front hydrofoils when your driving fold them up and
stuff them in the trunk?
www.rinspeed.ch/pages/cars/splash/prd-splash-fotos.htm

Terry

Post by Frank Damp
Nothing new under the sun!
Back in the prehistoric times for hovercraft (late 1960's) there was a
guy who worked for Birkenhead City Transit. Birkenhead is a city
across the River Mersey from Liverpool. Maybe it was Wallasey. FanMan
might know.
This guy, whose name is lost in the mists of memory, was a Search and
Rescue volunteer. The Mersey estuary has a large area of mudflats,
which entice people to go out gathering cockles at low tide.
Unfortunately, the tide comes back in at a rate that exceeds the
running ability of most people, so the S&R guys ended up going out two
or three times a week, usually with less than successful results.
The bus driver came up with a hovercraft design that was similar in
overall size to Barry's Explorer, except that, instead of a propulsion
propeller, it used wheels. The engine he used was from a Renault
Dauphine (850 cc, 35 hp on a good day). In its automotive version, the
Dauphine was a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive configuration and he used
all of it - 4 speed transmission, differential and wheels. The skirt
and cushion kept it afloat on the mudflats and the wheels provided the
propulsion, acting as paddles when it was fully afloat and digging
into the mud when the water went very shallow.
As far as I recall, there was only one craft built, but it was
successful in resuing 10 or more people.
Frank Damp

[Dave Schneider]

Bizarre! I wonder how often you need to grease the wheel bearings?

Post by Terry
I looked up this splash car and here's a link kinda crazy and what do
we do with the front hydrofoils when your driving fold them up and
stuff them in the trunk?
www.rinspeed.ch/pages/cars/splash/prd-splash-fotos.htm
Terry

Post by Frank Damp
Nothing new under the sun!
Back in the prehistoric times for hovercraft (late 1960's) there was a
guy who worked for Birkenhead City Transit. Birkenhead is a city
across the River Mersey from Liverpool. Maybe it was Wallasey. FanMan
might know.
This guy, whose name is lost in the mists of memory, was a Search and
Rescue volunteer. The Mersey estuary has a large area of mudflats,
which entice people to go out gathering cockles at low tide.
Unfortunately, the tide comes back in at a rate that exceeds the
running ability of most people, so the S&R guys ended up going out two
or three times a week, usually with less than successful results.
The bus driver came up with a hovercraft design that was similar in
overall size to Barry's Explorer, except that, instead of a propulsion
propeller, it used wheels. The engine he used was from a Renault
Dauphine (850 cc, 35 hp on a good day). In its automotive version, the
Dauphine was a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive configuration and he used
all of it - 4 speed transmission, differential and wheels. The skirt
and cushion kept it afloat on the mudflats and the wheels provided the
propulsion, acting as paddles when it was fully afloat and digging
into the mud when the water went very shallow.
As far as I recall, there was only one craft built, but it was
successful in resuing 10 or more people.
Frank Damp

[Ralph DuBose]

Post by Terry
I looked up this splash car and here's a link kinda crazy and what do
we do with the front hydrofoils when your driving fold them up and
stuff them in the trunk?
www.rinspeed.ch/pages/cars/splash/prd-splash-fotos.htm
Terry

Thanks for the link. Personally, I want to watch what happens when
the whole apparartus hits a submerged sand bar at planeing speed. It
would provide the whole world with a quick, brutal lesson regarding
the difference between a hovercraft and everything else.

Post by Terry

Post by Frank Damp
Nothing new under the sun!
Back in the prehistoric times for hovercraft (late 1960's) there was a
guy who worked for Birkenhead City Transit. Birkenhead is a city
across the River Mersey from Liverpool. Maybe it was Wallasey. FanMan
might know.
This guy, whose name is lost in the mists of memory, was a Search and
Rescue volunteer. The Mersey estuary has a large area of mudflats,
which entice people to go out gathering cockles at low tide.
Unfortunately, the tide comes back in at a rate that exceeds the
running ability of most people, so the S&R guys ended up going out two
or three times a week, usually with less than successful results.
The bus driver came up with a hovercraft design that was similar in
overall size to Barry's Explorer, except that, instead of a propulsion
propeller, it used wheels. The engine he used was from a Renault
Dauphine (850 cc, 35 hp on a good day). In its automotive version, the
Dauphine was a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive configuration and he used
all of it - 4 speed transmission, differential and wheels. The skirt
and cushion kept it afloat on the mudflats and the wheels provided the
propulsion, acting as paddles when it was fully afloat and digging
into the mud when the water went very shallow.
As far as I recall, there was only one craft built, but it was
successful in resuing 10 or more people.
Frank Damp

[Ken Roberts]

Post by Ralph DuBose

Post by Terry
I looked up this splash car and here's a link kinda crazy and what do
we do with the front hydrofoils when your driving fold them up and
stuff them in the trunk?
www.rinspeed.ch/pages/cars/splash/prd-splash-fotos.htm
Terry

Thanks for the link. Personally, I want to watch what happens when
the whole apparartus hits a submerged sand bar at planeing speed. It
would provide the whole world with a quick, brutal lesson regarding
the difference between a hovercraft and everything else.

ralph,

to most of the world, being able to go over sand bars is not natural. how many
people do you talk to about hovercrafts who just don't get it?

i still vividly remember my first hovercraft ride. every transition was a
nail-biter.

when i was growing up, driving a boat meant almost constant focus on the fish
finder, making sure there was enough water to float the boat. now i never
wonder how deep the water is, since it doesn't matter.

[Ralph DuBose]

Post by Ken Roberts

Post by Ralph DuBose

Post by Terry
I looked up this splash car and here's a link kinda crazy and what do
we do with the front hydrofoils when your driving fold them up and
stuff them in the trunk?
www.rinspeed.ch/pages/cars/splash/prd-splash-fotos.htm
Terry

Thanks for the link. Personally, I want to watch what happens when
the whole apparartus hits a submerged sand bar at planeing speed. It
would provide the whole world with a quick, brutal lesson regarding
the difference between a hovercraft and everything else.

ralph,
to most of the world, being able to go over sand bars is not natural. how many
people do you talk to about hovercrafts who just don't get it?
i still vividly remember my first hovercraft ride. every transition was a
nail-biter.
when i was growing up, driving a boat meant almost constant focus on the fish
finder, making sure there was enough water to float the boat. now i never
wonder how deep the water is, since it doesn't matter.

I can relate to this. I used to play with sailboats. Worrying
about water depth was second nature. After I got into hovercraft, I
virtually ignored my boat. Eventually, it needed to be moved to
expedite its sale. So I quite naturally took a short cut across a
shallow area near shore. Hopelessly stuck until the tide rose.

[X.]

I 'm sorry for the attached gif file. I used cut&paste, so I deleted the
vehicle image but I didn't notice that one.
I think that posting with attached files is forbidden on this newsgroup.

[Terry]

Woops after lookin at the pix again looks like the front foils fold up
against the front doors!

Terry

Post by X.
I 'm sorry for the attached gif file. I used cut&paste, so I deleted the
vehicle image but I didn't notice that one.
I think that posting with attached files is forbidden on this newsgroup.