Installation and Operation of Gas Turbine Engines in Surface Effect Vehicles

There are in the world about 20 different surface effect vehicles powered by gas turbines, but the bulk of engine operating experience has come from three of them-the British Hovercraft Corp.'s SRN 4 and SRN 5, and the Bell SK 5. Engine problems in all three craft have stemmed from the ingestion of foreign objects, including ice, sand, and salt spray. This paper describes these problems and the steps that have been taken to solve them.