A hovercraft use a fan to push air underneath the craft and create an air cushion, and on a specially designeg skirt to keep the air cushion contained. The hovercraft will then be suspended with virtually no ground contact by that cushion, pretty much regardless of the speed it's moving at.
An air boat at speed might manage to ram some air underneath its hull due to the wide, upturned front, but will settle solidly onto the ground the moment it slows down.
a hovercraft hovers and an airboat floats
Hovercraft is das Luftkissenboot in German (lit. air cushion boat)
Basically, an aircraft flies, a hovercraft doesn't. An aircraft relies on aerodynamic lift, a hovercraft is "lifted" by a cushion of pressurised air trapped in the plenum chamber.
That would be a hovercraft. However, hovercraft are not really boats and can travel on both land and water.
flying air.
Air fills the skirt, and the thin layer of air escaping the skirt creates a nearly frictionless layer between the craft and the ground. Another fan, much like an air boat, propels the craft forward
There are fans in the hovercraft that direct air downwards. The air is 'trapped' by the flexible skirt around the edge of the craft - this creates a cushion of air strong enough to allow the craft to float.
Because a hovercraft rides on a cushion of air, there is less contact between a hovercraft and water, so there's less friction to slow it down as compared to a regular watercraft.
The word aircraft - refers to any vehicle capable of flight - of which are hovercraft, gliders, planes and helicopters. The word airplane - relates only to fixed-wing aircraft.
A "maglev" or "magnetic levitation" train is suspended over the magnetically polarized rail. A hovercraft is more like a low-flying helicopter, using fans to blow air down underneath the vehicle. A hovercraft is sometimes known as a "ground effect vehicle", because it compresses air between the ground and the hovercraft. Hovercraft do not require tracks, and are equally able to "fly" over land and water.
How does the flow of air reduce friction of the hovercraft in motion?
compressed and purified air can act as a lubricant . it provides the elastic cushion to the hovercraft .
A hovercraft is an air cushion vehicle which floats on a cushion of air. Their power source can sometimes be gasoline or sometimes electricity.