The Airboard is the first commercially-marketed single-person hovercraft/hoverboard. A U.S. Navy hovercraft attached to the Amphibious assault ship Kearsarge (LHD-3) A hovercraft, or air-cushion vehicle, is a vehicle or craft that can be supported by a cushion of air ejected downwards against a surface close below it, and can in principle travel over any relatively... A hoverboard is a skateboard-like vehicle seen in the films Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III, and video games such as Hoverboard ASDF, EyeToy: Antigrav, and Rocket Power: Beach Bandits. ...

In the movie Back to the Future: Part II Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is being chased by a gang of hooligans on hoverboards. These hoverboards look like flying skateboards that have some kind of magnetic propulsion system. They don't look like conventional hovercraft at all, but the hovercraft depicted in that movie served as an inspiration to Kevin Inkster, who has invented the world's first commercial hoverboard scooter, called the Airboard. Back to the Future Part II is a 1989 film and is the second part of a trilogy, coming after Back to the Future and followed by Back to the Future Part III. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. ... Michael J. Fox in his earlier days. ... A modern skateboard. ... Magnetic levitation is the process by which an object is suspended above another object with no other support but magnetic fields. ...

The Airboard operates just like any other hovercraft, which is basically a vehicle that is supported and propelled by a cushion of air. In the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics, Inkster showed off his space-age looking Airboard by riding it around the Olympic stadium. This article is about the year 2000. ... The Summer Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event held every four years, organised by the International Olympic Committee. ...

How it's built

The Airboard is just a small version of a conventional hovercraft that is ridden standing up. It uses the same air cushion principles to glide just above the ground. However, there are some differences; for instance, the Airboard is unable to hover over water like the hovercraft, and it uses a drive wheel, which touches the ground, to accelerate. A drive wheel is a wheel in an automotive vehicle that receives power from the power train. ...

The components

• Shell - The fiberglass platform used for the rider to stand on
• Engine and fan - Suspended under the shell to provide the air cushion and thrust
• Rubber skirt - Used to form an air cushion under the vehicle
• Friction drive wheel - A wheel that comes into contact with the ground to provide added acceleration
• Handlebar - Includes two control levers, one for engine/fan speed and one for the friction drive clutch

For the land-speed record breaking car, see ThrustSSC and Thrust2 For the computer game, see Thrust (computer game) Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newtons Second Law when a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction to propel a vehicle in the opposite direction. ... This article is about an automotive technology. ...

Specs

Dimensions

• Diameter: 1.6 m (6 ft 3 in)
• Height incl. handle: 1.2 m (4 ft 0 in)
• Deck height: 30 cm (1ft 0 ins)

Control & Performance

• Top speed asphalt: 25 km/h (15 mph) subject to conditions
• Incline/ascent: 30 degrees
• Fuel: 5 liter (1.3 US gal) gasoline (85 Octane unleaded)
• Total payload, including rider: 120 kg (220 lb)
• Operating time: 1 h on full tank

Gasoline, as it is known in North America, or petrol (abbreviated from petroleum spirit), in many Commonwealth countries (sometimes also called motor spirit) is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ... Octane is an alkane hydrocarbon with the chemical formula CH3(CH2)6CH3. ...

Controlling the Airboard

The fan underneath the shell of the vehicle provides both the cushion of air and the stream of air that exits through the back of the vehicle to provide thrust. To accelerate, the rider shifts his or her weight forward to allow more air to exit the back of the vehicle. By shifting backward, the rider will activate the drive wheel. The drive wheel actually contacts the ground to move the Airboard forward.

Controlling the Airboard is done by shifting your weight from side-to-side, similar to how you would ride a skateboard or surfboard. By varying the amount of weight transfer, the driver can make sharp or soft turns. Sliding and 360-degree turns are also possible.

In order to stop, you simply release the levers on the handlebar, at which point the board will slide to a stop.

External links

• The Airboard Website
• Arbortech