HOVERCRAFTING STAFF REVIEW
Experience Days Hovercraft Staff Review
We recently had the pleasure of taking part in a hovercrafting experience in Leicestershire! On a cold wintery weekend in November, we headed up to Leicestershire to take on this rather futuristic style of driving.
Arriving at the centre, we were welcomed by our friendly instructor Chris who got us geared up in helmets, ready to take on these incredible machines. Admittedly, we weren’t sure what to expect as we made our way out to the field, but Chris was confident that we’d pick it up soon enough.
The field was set up like a race circuit, with the track being marked with tyres. This was our challenge of the day – don’t hit the tyres! Chris demonstrated how to use the hovercraft with a lap round the track – then it was our turn… We had a few practise runs to begin with by zig-zagging through obstacles. This was to help us get used to steering the hovercraft – which was certainly harder than it looked! As the vehicle was so large, we had to put as much pressure on the direction we wanted to go in by putting all our weight on that side whilst steering. The heavier you are, the easier it is to steer. This definitely proved difficult for us girls. A few of us ended up a couple of yards off of the course by not having our steering correct!
Once we were done with the practise rounds and felt confident enough to take on the full track, we set off! One at a time, we followed the course of the track for 1 and a half laps on the first go. We had to try to avoid obstacles such as the barrels marking the edge of the track, a horse manure pile and even a magnetic fence! Getting used to the speed of the hovercraft proved difficult as it’s nothing like driving an ordinary car, so those of us without drivers’ licences actually had an advantage there.
Becky set off first around the track, hesitant of the speed of the vehicle but she powered through and made it round without any faults. Next it was my turn and let’s just say I wasn’t the best at steering. On my way round the track there were a few near-misses close to the manure pile (oops!). Evie was next up, looking and feeling rather nervous but with ease made her way around the track. Rosie and Robb followed shortly after, both showing off expert steering techniques – until Robb ran over the Go-Pro!
We all completed 3 laps each around the track, giving us enough time to get used to the vehicle and improve on the skills we’d learned. Another guest that had joined us on the day tried out his hovercrafting skills on water, but we all agreed he was most definitely braver than we were!
The whole experience was great fun and we all thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the harsh Northern weather conditions (well, Midlands, but we’re from Brighton!). If you would like a chance to experience these incredibly unique modes of transport, you can purchase this hover crafting experience here.
Huge thanks to Chris for being such a fantastic instructor and making the day truly memorable. Can’t wait for what 2016 has in store for us!
