THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 15, 1995 TAG: 9501150047
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Hovercraft that the Army can no longer afford to run are being snapped up for mail deliveries in Alaska's harsh tundra, where rain, snow, sleet and hail have stopped the mail more than once.
The Alaska state government is taking delivery of 24 of the surplus air-cushioned vehicles, based at Fort Story in Virginia Beach.
Known as LACV-30s - Lighter, Amphibian Air Cushion Vehicle - the craft are designed to ride a four-foot cushion of air through the water and over land with up to 30 tons of cargo at more than 50 mph.
The Army retired the noisy vehicles last fall after operating them out of Fort Story for 14 years. They had been designed to supply forces planning large-scale military operations in regions without developed ports. Their retirement was the result of military downsizing.
Eighteen of the craft are being loaded aboard a barge at Little Creek this weekend for delivery to Alaska, said John Barkett, director of Norfolk operations for Textron Marine and Land Systems in New Orleans, a subsidiary of the company that originally built them.
Alaska plans to use the amphibians to reach remote areas where normal air and sea routes are frequently blocked by bad weather.
``When we think of mail, we think about letters. But up there, mail is food and fuel as well,'' he said.
There is a lot of territory to cover delivering it: The state's half-million people occupy an area about twice the size of Texas, and its population density is less than one person per square mile.
The LACVs were transferred to the state at no cost after they were declared surplus. The Army paid $5.8 million per copy when it first started buying them in 1979.
Officials with the Alaska state government have arranged with a company owned by Native Americans to form a joint venture to operate the craft, Barkett said. That company will serve as an agent for Alaska , contracting to make mail and other deliveries.
Of the 18 craft being loaded, two will be dropped off at Textron's plant in New Orleans for additional work and two will be left in Seattle where they may be used for oil-spill cleanup. Another six will remain at Fort Story until they can be moved to Alaska.
The craft are powered by two gas turbine engines that drive two propellers for forward motion and by two lift fans.
They can cruise for nine hours, burning about 260 gallons an hour of standard aviation kerosene or light diesel oil. With kerosene selling at the pump for more than $2 a gallon, that is more than $520 an hour just for fuel - costs that led the Army to dump the craft.
But for what it does, Barkett said, the LACV is a bargain.
``We think they are not that uneconomical to operate,'' he added.
Air-cushioned watercraft have been used commercially in Europe and Asia, but not much in the United States, he said.
``We have built a couple of commercial craft. One is in Indonesia right now for a commercial company. We also have some leased out in South America,'' Barkett said.
``We think there are quite a bit of commercial uses for them.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
GARY C. KNAPP
The hovercraft are being loaded onto a barge that will start them on
their journey, with most headed for Alaska. Known at LACV-30s, they
are designed to ride a four-foot cushion of air through the water
and over land with up to 30 tons of cargo at more than 50 mph.
Graphic
WHAT'S AN LACV-30
Lighter, Amphibian Air Cushion Vehicles are designed to ride a
four-foot cushion of air through the water and over land with up to
30 tons of cargo at more than 50 mph. They can cruise for nine
hours, burning about 260 gallons of fuel an hour.
by CNB