Airboard - personal hovercraft

I decided my very first toy review will be about the "Airboard" as it was invented in my hometown of Perth, Western Australia. The Airboard is basically a personal hovercraft that rides on a cushion of air and was first seen at the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

It is easy and fun to ride. You simply start it up, hop on board, adjust the throttle and away you go.

The Airboard accelerates quickly and has a top speed of 25 kph (15 mph). The speed is controlled by two levers on the handle bar - One for lift (engine speed) and one for thrust. By leaning back a small thrust wheel at the rear of the vehicle can be brought into contact with the ground to increase acceleration. To turn left you simply lean to the left and to turn right you lean to the right. You can turn from 180 to 360 degrees. Stopping the Airboard is easy too - just release the controls on the handle bar and it will quickly slide to a halt. However skilled riders prefer to stop faster in a sliding turn - just like in snow skiing and snow boarding. The sensation is best described as a combination of flying and skiing. Check this out!

The Airboard can be used any firm reasonably level surface such as mown grass, asphalt, pavement etc., or any packed dense surface that is free of stones and litter. The Airboard is not suitable for use on water! Just like in the movie “Back to the Future”.

The Airboard uses standard grade petrol and holds about 5 litres (1.3 US Gallons) which lasts for around one hour. Not quite long enough to get to work and back but plenty to have a lot of fun flying around without feeling like you have to re-fuel all the time.

It needs only periodic maintenance and all wearing components, such as filters and friction pads are easily serviced by the user.

The Airboard is recommended for persons over 14 years of age and is priced at approximately US$14500. Ouch!
The Airboard is developed by Abortech.