You will find listed here the Conferences that have been loaded to the THS Members Library.
The conferences are listed in reverse date order, and so the most recent first.
A very short outline is given here.
Each Conference has a page where detailed listings of the papers are given.
Links to each paper, available as a pdf are included in the paper titles.
Current update : 14.01.2025
Fifth International Hovercraft Conference 2003
Held at The Hovercraft Museum, Lee-on -Solent, Hampshire, 14th and 15th October 2003
Sponsor: THS and RINA
Papers : 12 plus a keynote address
Summary: This Fifth International Conference by The Hovercraft Society includes another important group of technical papers, and by locating at The Hovercraft Museum enabled delegates to visit the exhibits including key craft forming part of the development history in the UK, most notably an SR.N4 cross channel hovercraft.
27th Joint International Symposium on Air Cushion Technology
16 – 18 September 2002, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA
Sponsor: CACTS
Papers : 25 contained in single volume
This Symposium, the 27th in a series by CACTS included presentations and discussions on hovercraft in the rescue role, as well as sessions covering both Light Hovercraft Technology (11 papers) and Commercial and Military Hovercraft (14 papers)
Paper 95/17 Presented to The Hovercraft Society
Presentation given 16th May 1995
Title: The First 21 Years’ experience of Hovermarine Craft Operations in Hong Kong.
Peter J Hill, Managing Director, Hovermarine International Ltd
David Ho, Hong Kong Ferries Ltd
Summary: This paper gave an overview of the evaluation, purchase, build and delivery followed by service experience of the fleet of Hovermarine SES operated by HYF in Hong Kong, the largest customer of Hovermarine.
The paper can be accessed by clicking on the Title above.
The history of Hovermarine as a company is documented in a book published in 2021 that can be seen on our books page.
Fifth International Hovercraft Conference
Held at The Forte Posthouse Hotel, Southsea, England on 13th November 1993
Sponsor: THS
Papers : 6
Summary: This conference gathered key players involved in design and production as well as operations of hovercraft. Summaries of operations at Hovertravel and with Canadian Coastguard are given together with an overview of the US LCAC programme, and 25 years of SES developments globally. The development of the Hovercraft Museum at Lee on Solent is described, and an introduction to the latest expeditions organised by Mike Cole.
Proceedings of Seminar on Hovercraft to the Rescue
Held at University College London on 18th April 1989
Sponsor: THS
Papers : 8
Summary: This conference gathered key players involved in design and production as well as operations of hovercraft in remote areas and for rescue duties and SES for harbour firefighting.
Joint International Conference on Air Cushion Technology
Held at Radisson Annapolis Hotel, Annapolis, Maryland, USA
on 27th to 29th September 1988
Sponsor: The Unites States Hovercraft Society, Canadian Air Cushion Technology Society and Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute
Papers : 14
Summary: This Conference presented a total of 14 papers covering design expertise and operational experience with Hovercraft and SES through the 1980’s. Subjects covered ranged from SES development with the US Navy to Commercial SES development, the LCAC cold weather testing and the operating manual published by the USN, to hovercraft in Antarctica and analysis of skirt geometry.
Fourth International Hovercraft Conference
Held at the Polygon Hotel, Southampton, England, from 6th to 7th May 1987.
Sponsor: THS
Papers : 12
Summary: This two-day conference covered the main developments in design, production and operation during the mid-1980’s. Included is an industry status report published by Hovercraft Development Limited that was presented at the conference
Proceedings from Conference – On a cushion of air
At Wellcome Lecture Hall, The Royal Society, London, Wednesday 11th December 1985
Sponsor: THS and The British Association for the Advancement of Science
Papers : 8
Summary: This half day conference presented and discussed the achievements from the first 25 years of Air Cushion Technology development. The conference presentations give an overview of the status in 1985, and views of the future potential as seen at that time. In addition to large and small amphibious ACV’s and the development of SES, the application to industrial load movement is covered.
Papers from 1985 Joint International Conference
Held at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Rockville, Maryland, USA, in September 1985
Papers : 5
Summary: This conference presented the ‘Larus’ Arctic ACV from Wartsila, and development of the Air Cushion Equipment Transporter by Bell Aerospace Canada, together with three papers on skirt materials technology and skirt/cushion dynamics.
These papers are presentations made to THS meetings held during 1982.
There are three papers in this collection at present, as listed below.
Sponsor: THS
Papers : 3
Summary: The three papers are Hovercraft Contracts and the law by Roderick C W Wilkins, The technical evaluation of commercial hovercraft – the first twenty years by Anthony J English, and Twenty-one years of military hovercraft by Brian J Russell
Third International Hovercraft Conference
Held at the Polygon Hotel, Southampton, England from 16th to 18th November 1981
Sponsor: THS
Papers : 19
Summary: The first day included sessions on Basic technology and Research (6 papers), and Design and Development (5 papers). An evening presentation was also made on Canadian ACV R&D. The second day continued with Hovercraft Operational experience (4 papers), and Marketing and Commercial aspects (4 papers)
This is a collection of papers presented at evening meetings of THS during 1980 and 1981
Sponsor: THS
Papers : 10
Summary: This collection includes much thought provoking discussion of model testing, trials techniques, Sidewall Hovercraft (now referred to as SES) ride dynamics, hovercraft noise and its abatement, Air Film equipment, and hovercraft operations in the Channel and in Hong Kong.
Second International Hovercraft Conference
Held 14th to 16th April 1971 in Southampton
Sponsor: The Institution of Production Engineers, Southampton Branch together with
RaeS, RINA, ImarE, ImechE and The International Air Cushion Engineering Society (precursor to THS)
Papers : 19
Summary: First day sessions covered R&D (3 papers), Manufacture Design and Propulsion (3 papers), User Experience (3 papers). The second day had two sessions on Manufacture, Design and Propulsion (3 and 2 papers) and a final session on Industrial Applications (4 papers).
International Hovercraft Conference
Held at the Skyway Hotel, Southampton, Hampshire, England on 4th and 5th April 1968
Sponsor: The Institution of Production Engineers, Southampton Section
Papers : 15
Summary: Prior to inauguration of The Hovercraft Society, a group of ACV engineers was active within the Institute of Production Engineers, Southampton Section. Research carried out at Hovercraft Development Ltd, British Hovercraft Corporation, Hovermarine, and Vosper formed a cornerstone of the technical advances, while ferry operations provided feedback on commercial practicality. The Interservice Hovercraft Trials Unit provided unique feedback on ACVs in military use through trials in the Solent, and experimental deployments throughout the world.
Symposium on Ground Effect Phenomena
Held October 11th to 13th 1959 at Princeton University
Sponsor: Princeton University Department of Aeronautical Engineering in cooperation with US Army TRECOM
Papers : 30
Summary: This is the first formal conference known to have been held by a technical institution and gathered a significant number of the most influential minds engaged in the research at that time from the Americas and Europe.
Notable together with pioneers from the USA such as Willliam Bertelsen; Christopher Cockerell and Richard Stanton Jones attended from the UK; and Toivo Kaario, a key pioneer from Finland attended. Kaario had been building GEM craft from the 1930’s that were the forerunner of Wing in Ground Effect machines (WIG) developed in USSR in the 1960’s.
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