If can be done on flat ground or water, you can probably do it with a personal hovercraft – and that means a lot of fun.
In Europe and America, a major racing scene has developed – imagine racing at 100 kph bow to stern, no brakes over land and water. It’s a great spectacle.
In Australia, we tend to use our craft to explore our great land and to get together for Rallies to test our piloting skills and swap hover stories. Most owners simply just love the absolute sense of freedom that hovercraft have – no water too shallow, no care about submerged snags and going backwards when you are going forwards.
There are some controls though.
Throughout most of Australia, hovercraft are classed as a type of boat and so have to adhere to the regulations for the licensing and usage of boats.
On a state by state basis, the regulations are:
ACT – no regulations but also no boating except for water skiing. Usually would need a NSW registration and license.
NSW – considered a boat and requires registration and a license
NT – no requirement to register your craft or obtain a boat license
QLD – considered a boat and requires registration and a license
SA – considered a boat and requires registration and a license
TAS – considered a boat and requires registration and a license
VIC – considered a boat and requires a license and registration (through the VIC branch (called the Hover Club of Melbourne by VicRoads))
WA – considered a boat and requires registration and a Recreational Skipper’s Ticket