Airboat
An airboat (also known as a planeboat, swamp boat, bayou boat, or fanboat) is a flat-bottomed
Airboats are a common means of transportation in marshy and/or shallow areas where a standard inboard or outboard engine with a submerged propeller would be impractical, most notably in the Florida
.Overview
The characteristic flat-bottomed design of the airboat, in conjunction with the fact that there are no operating parts below the waterline, allows for easy navigation through shallow swamps and marshes; in canals, rivers, and lakes; and on ice and frozen lakes. This design also makes it ideal for flood and ice rescue operations.[1][2]
The airboat is pushed forward by the propeller, which produces a rearward column of air behind it. The resulting
Stopping and reversing direction are dependent upon high operator skill, since airboats, like most boats, do not have brakes.
The operator and passengers, are typically seated in elevated seats that allow visibility over swamp vegetation. High visibility lets the operator and passengers see floating objects, stumps and other submerged obstacles, and animals in the boat's path.[1][4]
In the United States, a typical good-quality airboat in 2004 would have cost between $33,000.
Soviet airboats and aerosleds
Airboats and airboat-like craft have been used in the
History
The first airboat was invented in 1905 in
First prototypes
The earliest ancestors of the airboat were waterborne vehicles for testing aircraft engines. The first airboat was the Ugly Duckling, an aircraft propeller testing vehicle built in 1905 in Nova Scotia, Canada by a team led by Dr. Alexander Graham Bell. Ugly Duckling was a catamaran-type boat propelled by an "aerial propeller" hooked up to a water-cooled aircraft engine weighing 2,500 pounds (1,100 kg). The makeshift raft-like vessel was unable to obtain a speed faster than 4 miles per hour (3.5 knots), though the "rapid rotation of the propeller" led Dr. Bell to believe that the vessel could have had a theoretical top speed of "thirty or forty miles an hour," comparable to some modern airboats, if drag was completely eliminated.[15] Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont built a similar catamaran vessel for testing an aircraft engine in 1907, which he termed a hydrofoil.[16]
The
Early airboats
The first airboats to see any real use date to 1915. The
Following the war, Lambert airboats were used as ferries on the shallow waters of the
These early European airboats were significantly different from their modern counterparts. Compared to the airboats of today, early European airboats tended to be somewhat larger, had higher
for steering.Early American airboats
Airboats began to become popular in the United States in the 1930s, when they were independently invented and used by a number of Floridians, most living in or around the Everglades.
An improved airboat was invented in Utah in 1943 by Cecil Williams, Leo Young, and G. Hortin Jensen.
The purpose of Williams, Young, and Jensen's airboat was to help preserve and protect bird populations and animal life at the world's largest migratory game bird refuge.[28] The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge near Brigham City, Utah is a wetlands oasis amid the Great Basin Desert and an essential stopping point for birds migrating across North America. The need for a practical way to navigate a challenging environment of wetlands, shallow water, and thick mud helped inspire Williams, Young, and Jensen to create the flat-bottom airboat, which they initially called an "air thrust boat."[27] Designs and subsequent improvements and practical use of the air thrust boats appears to have been a collaborative effort. LeeRue Allen, who worked at the Refuge since 1936 appears to have also been involved and helped to document a history of the events.[29]
Many of the early airboats built at the refuge in Utah were shipped to Florida. Early records show it cost roughly $1,600 to build a boat, including the engine.[27]
Over the years, the standard design evolved through trial-and-error: an open, flat bottom boat with an engine mounted on the back, the driver sitting in an elevated position, and a cage to protect the propeller from objects flying into them.
Manufacture and design
Airboat manufacturers tend to be small, family run businesses that assemble built-to-order boats. Most airboats are manufactured in the United States, although they are also built in
]Modern, commercially manufactured airboat hulls are made of aluminum or fiberglass. The choice of material is determined by the type of terrain in which the vessel will be operated; airboats intended for use in icy conditions will have sturdier polymer coated aluminum hulls while airboats intended for use in marshes will have lighter fiberglass hulls, for instance.[5] Standard hunt/trail boats are 10 feet (3.0 m) long with a two- to three-passenger capacity. Tour boats can be much larger, accommodating 18 passengers or more.[3]
Engines are either an air-cooled, 4- or 6-cylinder aircraft or water-cooled, large-displacement, V8 automotive engine, ranging from 50 to over 600
Most of the sound produced by an airboat comes from the propeller, although the engine itself also contributes some noise. Modern airboat designs are significantly quieter thanks to mufflers and multi-blade carbon-fiber propellers.[citation needed]
Safety
As with any vehicle, the safety of an airboat is dependent on the training and skill of its operator and the use of safety features like seat belts and
Over 75 airboat accidents happened in Florida between 2014 and 2017, resulting in seven deaths and 102 severe injuries. Most (five of seven) deaths were drownings, and 90 percent of accident victims were not wearing
Most airboat accidents—64%—are the fault of the operator, according to a 2017 analysis by the Miami New Times, almost always due to one of three factors:[3]
- a lack of boating education or training;
- a lack of safety equipment, such as seat belts or flotation devices, or a failure to properly use safety equipment;
- or reckless behavior, including drug or alcohol consumptionand improper lookout.
The engine and propeller of an airboat are enclosed in a protective metal cage that prevents objects, such as tree limbs, branches, clothing, beverage containers, passengers, or wildlife, from coming into contact with the whirling propeller, which can cause traumatic injury to the operator and passengers or devastating damage to the vessel.[5] Safety cages do not always work perfectly, however: people have had their fingers sliced off by airboat propellers, and tree branches entering safety cages have wrecked airboat propellers and sprayed the operators and passengers with woodchips and other shrapnel.[3]
Airboats are prone to capsizing and sinking because they are top-heavy, unstable, and extremely shallow draft. This makes them especially dangerous on the
In 1999 the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's
Regulation
On March 30, 2018
Florida state law also stipulates that airboats must have an "automotive-style factory muffler, underwater exhaust, or other manufactured device capable of adequately muffling the sound of the engine exhaust" and an international orange flag that is at least 10" by 12" flying from a mast or flagpole that is at least 10 feet taller than the lowest point on the boat, in order to increase visibility and reduce the odds of a collision.[37]
Airboat operators, pilots, or drivers in Florida must be 14 or older.[38]
Rescue
In recent years, airboats have proven indispensable for flood, shallow water, and ice rescue operations. As a result, they have grown in popularity for public safety uses.
During the flooding of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, August 29, 2005, airboats from across the United States rescued thousands of flood victims.[39] Thirty airboats crewed by civilian volunteers evacuated over 1,100 patients and 4,000 medical personnel and family members from four downtown New Orleans hospitals in less than 36 hours.[40] This "Cajun Navy" morphed into a grassroots volunteer search and rescue organization that has deployed to rescue people during Hurricane Harvey,[41] Hurricane Florence,[42] and other natural disasters.[43]
Numerous articles have been published in fire-rescue trade journals such as Fire Engineering and National Fire and Rescue Magazine describing the advantages, capabilities, and benefits of using airboats for water rescue operations, and providing in-depth description of actual water rescue incidents, including the flooding of New Orleans.[1][40][44][5][45][46]
Airboats are particularly effective at water rescues in shallow, marshy, or icy winter environments. Airboats are partially amphibious and can therefore navigate effectively over obstacles, such as partially submerged buildings and wreckage or sea ice, that would stop a normal boat. In ice rescues, use of airboats cuts the average rescue time from 45 to 60 minutes to seven to 12 minutes, according to data from Minnesota fire departments. They are also faster, larger, safer, and more durable than other small boats used in ice rescues.[5]
Though airboats are highly effective at water and ice rescues, airboats and helicopters do not work well together. Rotor wash from low-flying helicopters can push and even capsize airboats. During post-Katrina rescue operations, a helicopter's rotor wash was reported to have capsized one airboat, and many airboats were blown into the sides of buildings, standing utility poles, and bridge pilings by low-flying helicopters.[40]
Military use
Airboats are used by various militaries and border patrols around the world as well as by the
During the
Airboats are also used in Texas and Iraq for border patrol.
In 2013 the Iraqi Ministry of Oil purchased 20 airboats for use as personnel transport, patrol, and cable laying and light cargo boats in the rivers and marshes of Iraq.[7]
Tourism
Airboat rides have become popular as a ecotourism activity in several locations including the Florida Everglades and the Louisiana bayou. A typical airboat tour lasts between 60-90 minutes and carries passengers at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.[53] Most tour companies employ experienced captains who are able to point out alligators and other wildlife and flora from a safe distance. Most companies promote a very high chance of seeing an alligator on their tours.[54]
See also
- Hovercraft
- Hydrocopter
- Hydroplane (boat)
- Jetboat
- Rotor ship, a similar type of vessel using a vertical "pipe" to propel the air
Notes
- ^ In early aviation history the term airboat was applied to seaplanes or flying boats, i.e. aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water surfaces. Early airboats were known as "hydroglisseurs" (airboat in French, lit. "water slider"), hydroplanes, hydrofoils, or other names. See e.g. Flying Volume 4 (1915-1916) and Cercle du Mononautisme Classique Archives historiques Archived 2016-03-13 at the Wayback Machine (in French).
- ^ The source cited states the price of an airboat as $25,000 to $40,000 in 2004, which is equal to between $33,000 and $53,000 in 2018 dollars.
- ^ Lambert refers to their manufacturer, the De Lambert company of France, and "Hydro-Glisseur" means "airboat" in French.
References
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- ^ a b c d Kirk, Dennis (17 February 2011). "Airboats simplify swampland surveillance". Charlotte County Florida Weekly. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ a b c Anderson, Lars (October 21, 2010). "Lars Anderson: Talking Airboats: Can You Hear Me Now?". The Gainesville Sun. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
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{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Park, Everglades Holiday. "Everglades Airboat Tours | Airboat Tours and Rides". www.evergladesholidaypark.com. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ "New Orleans #1 Swamp Tour". Ragin Cajun Airboat Tours. Retrieved 2022-03-18.