Hovercraft Preflight Instruction

Welcome to Hover NYC, a Hovercraft instruction and sightseeing experience.

We request that you please pay attention to this briefing for your own safety. The first part will cover how to pilot your hovercraft. The second part will cover the rules of the road on the Hudson River.

Please be aware that each vessel is also equipped with a marine grade fire extinguisher and air horn. These are for emergency use only. Your guide will also have a first aid kit and is CPR certified. If you experience an emergency get the attention of your guide for help.

Flight Instruction

The controls are a bicycle handlebar with a throttle grip, which you would associate with a break lever. However, there are no brakes on a hovercraft. To increase life and thrust gently pull depress the handlebar grip. When increasing or decreasing throttle please lean your body backwards to help the machine transition between speeds. If you release the level completely the hovercraft will settle into a floating position in the water and you will gently move forward from the reduced thrust from the fan. You will still have the ability to steer when floating.

When piloting as a solo pilot in this craft, the position you should be in is on your knees.

If there are two or three occupants then assume a more natural sitting position as if you were on a bicycle.

90% of steering a hovercraft is body weight.

You will steer this hovercraft and it will turn the desired way, but it will keep travelling the way it was going originally, just sideways!

Now to assist the craft in turning you need to create friction between the ground and the skirt. This is best achieved by shifting your body weight in the direction you wish to turn.

If you steer left, then you lean left. The more you lean the more friction you will create and the sharper the turn you will achieve. The best way to do this is to lift your opposing knee from the floor of the craft, this way you know you are giving the craft the best possible assistance to steer. This is not about racing but more about accuracy. The slower you go the easier it is to turn, the easier it is to turn the best experience you’ll get, the better the experience the more fun!

Simple. Now for the fun part, stopping!

As previously mentioned, there are no brakes on a hovercraft. Therefore, when it comes to stopping, we have a few tips for you. Situated on the bottom of this craft are 2 skid plains. These are designed so the craft does not land on its hull but in fact the 2 “skids”. These protrude from the bottom of the craft by about 1 inch. If you are travelling in a straight line, then please feel free to release the throttle and the craft will come down and slide along the ground on the skids.

If you find yourself travelling sidewards then please be aware that if you release the throttle, then the craft may catch the ground with these skids and stop suddenly. The faster you are travelling the violent the reaction, ultimately ejecting you from the craft. If you need to stop urgently then please just release the throttle, however, for safety if you have time, please try to straighten the craft as best you can.

And it should go without saying but if it’s spinning really fast and it’s really loud please don’t stick your fingers or anything else in it.

If there is a medical emergency signal your guide, they have CPR training and a first aid kit, and the ability to call for more help.

If you experience a mechanical problem signal your guide. We do regular maintenance but machines are machines and sometimes they hiccup.

RULES OF THE ROAD

Leaving the Marina

We will leave the marina at idle speed. This is for safety and noise reduction to be neighborly. If you feel you are lagging behind or your engine needs a touch of help gently tapping (NOT PRESSING) the throttle will do the trick, a mild pressure is all it takes. As we maneuver out of the marina itself there will be a no wake buoy, after this buoy we will be able to apply throttle and lift off the water to really get moving.

We share the water with many other marine vessels and craft. There will be ferries, jet skis, small boats, and tankers. Traffic can sometimes be very congested and other times almost none at all. It is important to keep your head on a swivel while you’re having fun.

Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty

When we get to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty you will see small white buoys, the have a RESTRICTED marking on them. They mark out a restricted area around both island, please stay on the outside of these markers. We will be able to stop briefly by Ellis Island and in front of the Statue of Liberty for photos. We will then proceed around the back of the Statue of Liberty, keeping Red Buoys on our right and avoiding Restricted areas, where you will have a few minutes to experience more of what your hovercraft can do. When your guide signals you we will head back toward the East side of Ellis Island and back to the marina. Follow your guide and their directions. Below is a picture of our route (the green line) for you to look over.

Once back at the marina your guide will first dock and then assist you. Stay in your hovercraft until your guide has instructed you to shut off the engine and disembark.