A Royal demonstration from Hovertravel as Princess Anne visits

As part of Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal’s visit to The Hovercraft Museum yesterday, Hovertravel’s Solent Flyer performed a series of manoeuvres designed to demonstrate the hovercraft’s unique abilities.

Princess Anne was visiting the world’s only hovercraft museum to celebrate the 50th anniversaries of the naming of the giant SR.N4 hovercraft The Princess Anne by HRH in 1969 and the start of the continuous cross-Channel services from Ramsgate and Dover to Calais and Boulogne by the Swedish owned Hoverlloyd and British Rail owned Seaspeed.

The visit also marked the 60th anniversary of the first Channel crossing from Calais to Dover on the experimental SR.N1 hovercraft with the inventor, Christopher Cockerell, on board.Before receiving a painting of the hovercraft, and unveiling a plaque, Her Royal Highness toured the museum where she met nearly 100 people from eight organisations associated with the early days of the development and operation of the hovercraft, through to those involved with the construction and operation of the modern day machines, of which Britain is still the world leader.

Brought in especially for the visit to sit alongside The Princess Anne was one of Hovertravel’s modern 80 seat passenger craft used on the Southsea to Ryde, Isle of Wight, route, and the state of the art Griffon 995, both manufactured by Griffon Hoverwork of Southampton.