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46-580: In 1960 Britten-Norman Ltd began trials of their new "Cushioncraft"—their name for an air-cushion vehicle built for Elders and Fyffes . It was used to study the potential of this type of vehicle for the carriage of bananas from plantations in the Southern Cameroons . Together with its associated company, Crop Culture (Aerial) Ltd, Britten-Norman studied the potential for the Cushioncraft in many different countries. These investigations revealed

92-470: A Hiller helicopter) to steer through differential pitch. The cab, at the front of the hull, had space for the pilot and two passengers.The ground clearance of the CC1 was 12 to 15 inch. The 11 passenger CC2 was originally designed without a skirt and using air deflection within the cushion for propulsion. The CC2 was heavily developed over the years with the addition of a skirt and two external engines each driving

138-568: A falsified arrest warrant in a kidnapping attempt, and he filed suit several times. In 2001, the EU dismantled their banana import policy that favoured European companies. This ended any ongoing banana disputes. In 2002, Fyffes took legal action against DCC plc in relation to the sale of its stake in the company, though DCC was eventually cleared of insider trading at that time. The Supreme Court of Ireland ruled in 2007, that DCC and Mr Flavin had inside information on Fyffes when it sold its stake in

184-478: A high level of regular travellers and commuters used the service to the extent that a year-round service became viable. Early on, Hovertravel faced direct competition from another hovercraft operator, the British Rail -owned Seaspeed with its rival Cowes - Southampton route. Eventually, Hovertravel took over running of the route on behalf of Seaspeed; however, in 1980, the decision was taken to discontinue

230-440: A loss of five lives, including a single missing person who was presumed drowned. The craft had been en route from Ryde to Southsea with 26 people on board, including the crew; it had been about a quarter of a mile (400 metres) offshore when it was hit by an unusually large wave, causing the vehicle to capsize. All visible survivors were rescued from the sea, while the hovercraft itself was towed ashore at Southsea. The captain of

276-630: A new wall separating the hoverport and the esplanade , as well as new lighting, toilet blocks, and a clean up of the site. During October 2017, both of the Griffon Hoverwork 12000TD hovercraft were temporarily taken out of service due to several technical and reliability issues, including instances of engine failure. A pair of AP1-88s were taken out of reserve to operate the service in their place. The 12000TD returned to regular service three weeks later. Hovertravel has occasionally been chartered to operate temporary hovercraft services across

322-540: A pair of SR.N6 hovercraft, a stretched model of the SR.N5 capable of seating up to 38 passengers, from the British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC). An initial service between Ryde , Southsea and Stokes Bay , Gosport , was established. At its onset, it was planned to run a seasonal summer service to provide a unique experience orientated towards tourists visiting the region; despite this intention,

368-547: A propeller for propulsion. The "bodywork" was also heavily modified. The CC4 was developed by Cushioncraft jointly with Hovercraft Development (created as a subsidiary of the National Research Development Corporation that employed Cockerell). It was intended to be the first car sized craft to be put into production - this never happened. Subsequent to development use by Cushioncraft, the CC4

414-474: A single BHT-130 hovercraft was operated for four years, it proved to be uneconomical on the relatively short Isle of Wight route, being better suited to longer routes, such as around Edinburgh . Another type of hovercraft was therefore sought to serve the Isle of Wight service. Hovertravel's close relationship with hovercraft manufacturer Griffon Hoverwork has facilitated its preferences and requirements to shape

460-465: A single route between Ryde and Southsea. Additionally, Hovertravel has frequently operated other routes throughout the United Kingdom, typically as charter services. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, British inventor Sir Christopher Cockerell had, in cooperation with British aerospace manufacturer Saunders-Roe , developed a pioneering new form of transportation, embodied in the form of

506-405: A standard air-freighting crate 30 ft X 8 ft X 8 ft in size. The lift and thrust engine was a United Aircraft of Canada ST-6B60DK marine gas turbine (a modified Pratt & Whitney Canada ST6 ) developing 390 bhp (290 kW) at 6,000 rpm. It could achieve a maximum of 50 knots and climb a 1 in 6 gradient. The endurance was 2 hours. After Cushioncraft was taken over by BHC,

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552-436: Is a ferry company operating from Southsea , Portsmouth to Ryde , Isle of Wight, UK. It is the largest passenger hovercraft company currently operating in the world since the demise of Hoverspeed . Hovertravel is now the world's oldest hovercraft operator, and this service is believed to be unique in western Europe. Hovertravel describes itself as "the world's only year-round passenger hovercraft service" (although there

598-565: Is a regular winter-only operator in Estonia ). The operator's principal service operates between Southsea Common on the English mainland and Ryde Transport Interchange on the Isle of Wight : the crossing time of less than 10 minutes makes it the fastest route across The Solent from land to land. This service commenced operations in 1965, Hovertravel currently operates two 12000TD hovercraft on

644-675: The Firth of Tay between Carnoustie and St Andrews , typically in connection with major golf tournaments, demand being amplified by insufficient hotel accommodation available at Carnoustie. Additionally, between 16 July and 28 July 2007, the Solent Express was chartered to operate an experimental service across the Firth of Forth (marketed as "Forthfast" ) between Portobello , Edinburgh , and Kirkcaldy in conjunction with Scottish transport firm Stagecoach Group . On 4 March 1972, Hovertravel's SR-N6 012 capsized off Southsea, with

690-532: The banana industry , although it is applied to a wide range of fruits and fresh produce, including the Fyffes Gold Pineapples , and Fyffes melons . Fyffes is primarily involved in the production, procurement, shipping, ripening, distribution and marketing of bananas, pineapples, melons and other exotic fresh produce. Fyffes currently markets fruit in Europe and North America , primarily under

736-470: The "unique" fan lift/propulsion arrangement design of the later quiet Cushioncraft vehicles was discontinued. The Duver Works has since been used by Hovertravel /Hoverwork as a maintenance centre and in the 1980s/90s was used to fit out the AP1-88 craft . Fyffes Fyffes plc ( / f aɪ f s / FYFS ) is a fruit and fresh produce company. The Fyffes brand is most closely associated with

782-700: The CC4 and CC5. The Cushioncraft CC-6 18-ton mixed-traffic ferry craft was to be built jointly by the Vosper Thorneycroft shipbuilding group at Portsmouth. This was the effect of an agreement between Vosper and Cushioncraft, under which Vosper were to be major sub-contractors in the construction of the craft. Development was to be financed jointly by Cushioncraft and the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC). Cushioncraft's facilities at St Helen's, IoW, were considered inadequate for CC-6 production. The CC7

828-550: The Canaries) had observed the success of Fyffe & Hudson and followed suit. In 1898, Elder Dempster's fruit importing business was extended to Jamaica . To protect the island's economy, the British government agreed to pay a subsidy of £40,000 a year to Elder Dempster to run a regular steamer service to Jamaica and bring large quantities of bananas to the British market. In May 1901, the firms merged and Elders & Fyffes Ltd

874-675: The Cowes-Southampton service due to rising costs and increased competition from Red Funnel 's hydrofoils , instead concentrating its resources on the Ryde-Southsea service, which was viewed as being more viable. In addition to its scheduled services, Hovertravel was also quick to enter the charter market. Its hovercraft proved to be of particular value to hydrocarbon exploration and seismographic surveys, which would see Hovertravel craft deployed to barren deserts, frozen arctic conditions, and previously unexplored areas of

920-535: The Fyffes and Turbana brands. In 1888, Edward Fyffe, a London food wholesaler, began commercial imports of bananas. Then in 1897 he merged his business with Hudson Brothers, another importer to form Fyffe Hudson & Co. The business became so successful that they purchased land in the Canaries to be cultivated as banana plantations. Meanwhile, Elder Dempster & Company (a large shipping firm which traded in

966-404: The SR.N6 was praised for his prompt efforts to rescue the people on board. This incident was the world's first fatal accident involving a commercially operated hovercraft, and the first fatal accident involving a hovercraft in the United Kingdom. Presently, Hovertravel operates a pair of 12000TDs, produced by sister company Griffon Hoverwork , called Solent Flyer and Island Flyer . Each craft

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1012-694: The blue label was used on bananas for the first time. Fyffes also import melons. The range covers melon types such as Galia, cantaloupe , charentais , watermelon , piel de sapo and yellow honeydew . The melons are sourced from Brazil, Honduras , Guatemala and Costa Rica . The Fyffes Group ripening facility in Basingstoke is the largest in Europe and is able to accommodate 117,000 boxes (or over 2,100 tonnes) of bananas at any one time. The company formerly operated its own fleet of ships, known as Fyffes Line . Hovertravel Hovertravel

1058-408: The bulk of the company's hovercraft fleet into the 21st century. By the turn of the century, Hovertravel was reportedly transporting almost 1 million passengers per year across its fleet, while its services were sometimes running at an interval of every 15 minutes at particularly busy points of the day. In order to cope of demand, the company sought a suitable replacement for its aging AP1-88s. While

1104-416: The delivery of Hovertravel's first AP1-88 hovercraft in 1983, extensive trials were performed of the vehicle to evaluate it. It was found to be considerably more economic to operate and to purchase, costing half the price of the older SR.N6 in both respects. The quieter and more economical AP1-88 was credited by Hovertravel as having revitalised the industry; the type soon entirely replaced the SR.N6 and form

1150-576: The development of new hovercraft. During 2010s, while defining what would become the 12000TD hovercraft, Griffon Hoverwork drew on passenger-orientated analysis supplied by Hovertravel. Hovertravel would later acquire this vehicle, on which the passenger experience was enhanced over earlier vehicles in multiple ways, including the incorporation of noise-minimisation measures, increased external visibility, and accessibility accommodation. Production of this new twin-diesel engine hovercraft, designated 12000TD , commenced in 2015, with deliveries starting during

1196-550: The experimental SR.N1 vehicle, which became widely known as the hovercraft . British manufacturer Saunders-Roe proceeded with work on various hovercraft designs, successfully developing multiple commercially viable vehicles in the mid-1960s. These included the SR.N4 , a large cross- Channel ferry capable of seating up to 418 passengers along with 60 cars, and the SR.N5 , the first commercially-active hovercraft. Hovertravel first commenced operations during July 1965, initially leasing

1242-826: The farm protested in fear of losing their jobs. Fyffes stopped buying bananas from the farm in response to the farms' alleged continued affiliation with John Zabaneh, whom the US treasury department had named in 2012 as having ties to Mexican drug baron Joaquín Guzmán ("El Chapo"), leader of the Sinaloa Cartel . Zabaneh had strenuously denied any such ties, but under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act , US citizens and organizations had been effectively banned from doing business with him and any organizations linked to him. Fyffes had severed links with Zabaneh and his interests in 2012 when

1288-526: The following year. The type has been hailed as Hovertravel's quietest and most economically viable hovercraft to date. During the COVID-19 pandemic , two of the company's hovercraft were modified to take stretchers, and a temporary landing point was opened in Southampton to allow patients to be transferred to its hospital. For several decades, Hovertravel had operated a hovercraft ferry route between

1334-562: The fruit and vegetable distributor for €106 million in early 2000. This overturned a High Court decision which had gone in DCC's favour. The settlement of the civil claim in 2008, cost DCC around €42 million. In August 2004, Fyffes were involved in a rescue 200 miles (320 km) off the west coast of Ireland at Foynes Port in County Limerick . Four sailors who were attempting a transatlantic world rowing record were picked up in

1380-418: The hovercraft's commercial viability. While early craft had been powered by gas turbine engines , which were frequently similar to the turboshaft engines used on helicopters ; advances in diesel engines enabled their application to a new generation of hovercraft. Hovertravel elected to procure the newly developed British Hovercraft Corporation AP1-88 , a medium-size diesel-powered hovercraft. Prior to

1426-594: The mainland of the United Kingdom (UK) from Southsea across the Solent to Ryde on the Isle of Wight . During low tide, the hovercraft travels over sand flat at a distance of a mile to reach Ryde's hover port. By 2008, this service was the last regular route served by hovercraft anywhere in the UK. That same year, Southsea Terminal was refurbished to extend its lifetime and improve its facilities; alterations included

Cushioncraft - Misplaced Pages Continue

1472-539: The name under which Britten-Norman's initial ACV endeavours were launched. Cushioncraft has an authorised capital of £500,000 and issued capital of £450,000, BHC paid Britten-Norman £90,000 for a 20 percent stake in the company's hovercraft activities. The board of Cushioncraft comprised Messrs F. R. J. Britten, Desmond Norman , J. M. McMahon and F. H. Mann (all directors of Britten-Norman), Peter Winter (technical director), and A. R. B. Hobbs, BHC's nominee. In 1971, Britten-Norman encountered financial problems, and one result

1518-408: The possibility of a break-through in transportation techniques by the use of air cushion vehicles which could accelerate the pace of development in territories where roads are nonexistent and costly to build and rivers are seasonally unnavigable Cushioncraft was reconstituted as a separate company in 1967 to permit British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC) to take a minority share holding, and it revived

1564-718: The spread of malaria amongst orphaned and other vulnerable children. In March 2014, Fyffes agreed to merge with Chiquita , to form what would have become the world's largest banana distributor. However, in October that year, Fyffes exercised its right to terminate the transaction agreement with Chiquita. In October 2015, Fyffes abruptly terminated a purchase contract with the Mayan King farms in Belize . Mayan King had been responsible for around one quarter of Belize's banana exports and employed approximately 1,200 people. Workers at

1610-463: The stormy waters after their boat was destroyed by huge waves. The Fyffes banana ship that rescued them had been en route from Costa Rica with 250,000 cartons of bananas and was completing the 12-day voyage when they were alerted to the men's plight. On 15 May 2006, the company spun off its property portfolio to a separate company, Blackrock International Land plc, though it would retain a 40% share. In September 2006, Irish newspapers reported that it

1656-402: The treasury department named him as a narcotics trafficker, but had restored ties with Mayan King as a supplier after the banana growers' association assured it that Zabaneh was no longer involved in it and that a company unconnected with him, Meridian Farms, had taken control of Mayan King. In April 2016, Fyffes acquired Canadian mushroom growers Highline Produce Limited for C$ 145m (€98m). This

1702-479: The world. During 1968, one such expedition by a single SR.N6 successfully traversed the perilous Orinoco river during an exploratory mission deep into the Amazon rainforest . While the SR.N6 had helped to prove the value of hovercraft, it was not without its flaws; due to its dependency on aviation-derived technologies, Hovertravel's fleet became increasingly expensive to maintain over time, while its high noise output

1748-492: Was a development of the CC5, built in aluminium with inflatable side decks - the first Cushioncraft to use a gas turbine engine (all previous being piston ). A stretched version offering 17 passenger places was proposed after the company was taken over by BHC. The CC7 was 24 ft 4 in (7.42 m) long with a beam of 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m) beam inflated, and 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m) high. It would fit in

1794-579: Was considering spinning off its fresh produce business, leaving Fyffes as purely a banana importer. On 2 January 2007, this occurred, with Total Produce plc listing on the ISE's Irish Enterprise Exchange and the LSE's Alternative Investment Market . In September 2008, UNICEF Ireland and Fyffes announced a corporate philanthropy partnership. The five-year partnership funded UNICEF's work in Mozambique combating

1840-606: Was established in London . The following year 45% of the capital was purchased by the United Fruit Company of America. Thereafter, the business went from strength to strength using specially constructed ships that ensured the fruit arrived in good condition after the long Atlantic crossing. In 1960, at Bembridge Airport , Isle of Wight , Britten-Norman Ltd began trials of their new Cushioncraft , their name for an air-cushion vehicle built for Elders and Fyffes. It

1886-600: Was followed by the acquisition of a second Canadian mushroom business, All Seasons Mushrooms Inc. for C$ 59.1m (€41m). Fyffes was acquired by the Japanese sogo shosha Sumitomo in February 2017 for €751 million, which took the company private , delisting from the Dublin and AIM stock exchanges. Fyffes sold its mushroom business to Summit Fresh Produce in 2020. Fyffes is an old fruit brand dating back to 1929, when

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1932-540: Was initially known as FII Fyffes plc, but became simply Fyffes plc in 1989. In 1990, the limited supply of bananas in Honduras led to disputes with company Chiquita , dubbed the "Banana Wars". Chiquita began illegally seizing and destroying Fyffes' shipments, as well as bribing judges to validate detention orders on Fyffes' ships. This culminated in the destruction of ten million dollars worth of produce. Fyffes manager Ernst Otto Stalinski alleged that Chiquita used

1978-541: Was not an attractive feature either. As a result of high oil prices following the 1973 oil crisis and the 1979 energy crisis , the economics of the first generation of commercial hovercraft was badly hit, undermining operators' profitability and provoking customer requests for vehicles with greater fuel efficiency. The BHC achieved several advances throughout the 1970s, improving its skirt technology to increase durability and require less power, while propulsion changes helped to drive down operating costs and thereby improve

2024-523: Was sold to the National Physical Laboratory for future research, HDL renamed it HU-4. One 6/8 seater CC5 was built, during tests off Priory Bay (Isle of Wight) it capsized and was written off in October 1966. The CC6 concept hovercraft was designed circa 1966. This was to be a small vehicle/passenger craft (4 to 6 cars and 30 to 40 passengers) using the quiet centrifugal fan configuration for lift and propulsion developed from

2070-524: Was that the Cushioncraft company was sold in 1972 to the British Hovercraft Corporation. Between 1960 and 1972 Cushioncraft designed six models of which five were produced. CC1 was the "second" hovercraft to lift off in 1960. Circular (18 ft 10 in). The lift rotor - driven by 170 bhp 2-litre Coventry Climax FPF engine - ran round the periphery of the hull (a plywood construction); the engine also drove two propellers (taken from

2116-642: Was used to study the potential of this type of vehicle for the carriage of bananas from overseas plantations. In May 1969, the company was renamed Fyffes Group Ltd, recognising the diversity and importance of its subsidiary companies. It became an Irish company following takeover by the Irish group FII plc in 1986. FII plc had been created when Torney Brothers & McCann (the origins of that company were Charles McCann's apple exporting business founded in 1890) merged with United Fruit Importers Limited to form Fruit Importers of Ireland Limited in 1968. The combined company

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