Maverick Hovercraft (early 1970's)

Hovernorth · Site Admin

Maverick
Every one of the machines that were built were different in weight.
The guy who shot the glass into the molds never did it the same and some of them were extremely heavy, and just the opposite in some of the other
craft. There is an exact # of finger skirts for the front, side and rear,
along with the drag flap and if it has the 440 it will fly fair to ok with
2 persons, on a windless and cool day. Also due to age , I would replace
the multi-wings, they dont hold up from ageing. Had it happen-no fun! The front corners, were Hanks design it added more cushion area, in the
low pressure area to help eliminate or help reduce "plow in." I found it
works, better than most stream lined hovers, like scat or neoteric. This
hovercraft is also underpowered like most are. It should have no less than
a 503cc engine.
There is also an exact measurement for the finger attachment under the
craft, the fingers need to be attached with a 1.25 to 1.50 inch loop to the
hinge point on the hull using the zip-ties! Do not pull the ties up tight
to the hull! This stabilizes the craft in perfect plenum pressure on the
bubble, with you at the controls, everything else will fly in center of
lift behind you.
There are no patterns available for the fingers, they are actually
very simple to make, or take them to Alaska tent and tarp to build them. Or do it your self.
You must have 15 front fingers, 17 side fingers, 12 rear fingers of which 4
that must make the corners. 18oz rubber coated vinyl, Polyester
reinforced, any of the colors are as good as black!
Try to reduce low bag flying, these facts will bring the craft up to it's
best flying performance values without any modifications, and the operator should be able to fly it, and it not fly him anymore!
You can find the link for multi-wing on the help page. Taper lock original
SHx1-5/8
3/8x1/16 keyway
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CEO, Hovercraft Alaska

Hovernorth · Site Admin

I can only elaborate on cons, it had many. The builder first built a Fan-Tastic I, 8 or 10hp of my design, and then progressed to a Fan-Tastic II, which used a 16hp engine, and then "25hp" Onan engine. It is very likely that there were earlier craft in AK.

As far as I know, the next craft was the tigershark, and I sold about 40-50 propeller blanks for the craft. I test drove the craft near Anchorage, and now with a VW air cooled 1600cc engine, the craft could be generously described as two place. It had a centrifugal fan, which produced too little cushion air, and both rotors were driven by the single engine. The last time I saw one was on the Skykomish River in WA about 1983, struggling up the river, but the operator would not stop, possibly concerned about getting restarted.

The hull shape guaranteed ejection of the operator and passenger if the craft were dropped sideways, or maybe an upset.

Barry Palmer, for Sevtec