1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174 
Hovercraft lift will save lives
Page 24
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
xi The latest product from tail-lift and demountable specialist Ray Smith Group Is literally a life-saver
To speed up the response time of call-outs in Morecambe Bay, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution has gone mobile with a demountable ground-loading hovercraft platform. Previously, the coastline length was too much for the hovercraft to cover, but it can now be carried by truck to within range of the stranded person and collected when the mission is complete.
The platform, one of three ordered by the RNLI for faster rescues on marshes and wide estuaries, has equipment panniers and a powerful air compressor to inflate the hovercraft's sponsons so that it can be flown into action as soon as it is lowered to the ground. The whole operation takes around six minutes.