Hovertravel Freedom 90 - Further Information and Vessel Description The Freedom 90 is a hovercraft in operation for Hovertravel between Southsea and Ryde. Hovertravel's Freedom 90 is a type AP1-88 Hovercraft. The AP1-88 was developed jointly by British manufacturer Hoverwork, British Hovercraft Corporation and the National Research Development Council from 1981, with the first pre-production prototype being built and tested in 1982. The Freedom 90 is a foot passenger only vessel offering a frequent, speedy crossing in just 7 minutes.
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Hoverwork, the engineering company associated with Hovertravel is still producing hovercraft today, its latest production model being the 130 seater BHT-130, used on the same route as AP1-88's today. Located on the Isle of Wight this firm was founded in 1966 and has produced various models of the AP1-88 including Hovertravel's Freedom 90.
The AP1-88 Freedom 90 replaced the SRN6 for the Southsea to Ryde on the Isle of Wight route which had started operation in 1965 by Hovertravel. The craft is quieter, more efficient, had more capacity (88 seats and later 100 seats as opposed to SRN6's 38 seats) and were a revolutionary design change from the previous craft produced by BHC. The Southsea to Ryde crossing normally takes about 7 minutes, weather and traffic permitting. |
Hovertravel Freedom 90 Hovercraft Statistics
- Length - 21.5 m
- Breadth - 10.06 m
- Speed - Cruise - 45 knots: Top - 60 knots
- Engines - 2 x MTU V12 water-cooled turbo-diesels, 800 h.p.
- Entered Service - 1990
- Yard - British Hovercraft Corporation, Isle of Wight
- Power - 597 kw
- Propellers - 2 x Hoffmann 2.755 m dia. fixed pitch, Type HO-E-214P/D275BS
- Cars - 0
- Passengers - 100
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