Hoovercraft

Had it out on the ice yet Dave K. ?

Hey Terry !!!

No ice here yet !!!

I have been flying in on the water and some fields .. Dialing it in so I am ready for the ice….

Believe me I will be ready.. and for sure I will post up here when that day comes !!

Dave , What did you get.
I remember Bri and I going on our buddy Charles’s hover.
Tooo Cooool!!!!

Custom made UH PT 15…
She’s gunna fly nice !!

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Nice!
Thin ice or no ice on the way no problem for you!!

Just curious, what are the benefits of using a hovercraft for ice fishing? I have been seeing more and more of these showing up on Craigslist so people must be using them more frequently now.

Are they safer than using a 4 wheeler or snowmobile? I assume they can be run over thin ice and even slush?? What about open water?? Since I am not an ice fisherman maybe I missing the obvious benefits of using them.

I look forward to seeing a report from team IDO on the benefits and how-to’s of using one of these Hovercrafts.

it’s all about the ability to “GET TO” a tough spot in early/late season conditions, they can easily go over thin ice, open water, etc, you just need to have thick enough ice to stop/park on and then get out and fish on.

The biggest issue I see is that it’s unlikely you’ll be able to tow anything with them, so you’re extremely limited with space for gear, let alone another person…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

The biggest issue I see is that it’s unlikely you’ll be able to tow anything with them, so you’re extremely limited with space for gear, let alone another person…

Hover trailer! Problem solved.

make sure it floats oh and that it’s tied down securely, I’d hate to see a ice fishing yard sale blown all over the ice

I opened this thread expecting a picture of Debbie on a raft.

Dave will this float without the motor running? I know as a kid I watched the sherrif or DNR out trying to rescue a deer on bad ice and ended up ripping a few of the air chambers and barely making it back to shore. That was a few years ago and I am sure a lot has changed since.

DB,
She does float on water with all engines off…
One of my first flights with the craft was out the boat landing and up the back channel… slowed her down to a crawl and then stopped the thrust motor… hovered there for a few minutes and then lowered the lift motor to idle… then shut her down completely…

I stood up and rocked her back and forth to see just how buoyant she was going to be and was extremely impressed !!

I fired both motor back up and took off back down the channel…

I did the exact came thing with a passenger and had zero issues !!

Did you get her ready to fly, or did you build it with a kit?

Always wanted one. As stated, cargo hold is the biggest issue with them.

very expensive hair dryer for the wife

I bought mine in early Oct. 2012. I fish the Mississippi River system in Pools 8, 9, and 10. Ice fishermen use hover crafts to access back water areas that are difficult or unsafe to get to by foot or by some other machine.
The hover crafts I see most typically used have two separate engines, one drives a lift propeller and inflates the skirt and lifts the unit off whatever surface it rests on. The second and usually larger engine drives a pusher propeller to push the craft forward. They easily travel over open water, slush, and ice. Yes, we park them on ice thick enough to get out and walk on. Often we run over a couple of miles of open water to get to remote back waters.
In late Winter they are useful to get onto good ice once access from shore deteriorates.
Mine easily handles two adults, I have seen 3 and even 4 adults in one just like my Star Cruiser. I would not take mine onto lakes with pressure ridges. They are not good on loose, fresh snow as the lift engine blows the loose snow everywhere and sucks it back down again, and the pusher engine sucks that loose snow back through the cockpit. Trailering in Winter is problematic due to salt, sand, and wet. While not a perfect solution to every situation, they are a useful tool that has added mush to my fishing.

when you are ready to shoot a hovercraft show, im in for hauling gear or a person. Mississippi river ice fishing/hovercraft show.

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So are you actually in the air
, no part of machine touching the ground. If so you could cross a slice of private property, and fish a private lake ? just thinkin.

Hey Dave nice rig. Are you going to be running a shuttle service with it? I’m having hip replacement surgery on Friday and was worried about how I was gonna get out on the ice this year. I gotta get one of those things.

Stan,
I have had both hips replaced…you’ll be back on your feet in no time!!!

And a knee too !!!!

I hope so Dave. I really don’t like the idea of missing out on ice fishing this year. I’ve given up way to many things the last few years because of this hip.

Dave,
No Go-Pro shots of the maiden voyage?

epg,
Nope…no maiden voyage video. ..

We just finished the trailer and and I wanted to take a quick spin on the river before beer and pizza !!!

Soon though !!!

I sure hope so anyway! !