National Research Council Of Canada
CASPAR

While not intended for manufacture, CASPAR is included here because of its significance to the Canadian hovercraft industry. CASPAR stood for Cushion Air System Parametric Assessment Rig and was developed by the late Howard Fowler of the Engine Laboratory in the Division of Mechanical Engineering of the National Research Council of Canada.

CASPAR was a research acv equipped with comprehensive instrumentation and designed to be fitted with easily interchangeable skirt systems.  It was made full scale to eliminate scale effects and to be operated of a wide range of real terrain but under laboratory standards of experimental precision and control.

CASPAR's lift system was a 200HP automotive engine driving two centrifugal fans vertically mounted on a transverse, belt driven shaft.  The two thrust units were produced by Hoverproducts and each were powered by 40HP air cooled Volkswagen engines that produced a total of 480lbs of thrust.

Among the skirt systems to be tested were a Bertin style multicell system (as seen in the top photograph) and an HDL segmented system as seen in the above photos.  A planned BHC bag and finger and simple bag system were never tested

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NRC also conducted full scale experiments with a highly modifed hull from an MHV Spectra-II hovercraft as seen above.

Particulars:

Length: 20'    Width: 10'    Empty Weight: 7,000 lbs

CASPAR was made by: