U.S. Geological Survey tests hovercraft here
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
AUGUSTA — Motorists crossing the Kennebec River on one of the city's bridges Tuesday morning may have seen what looked like a bright red compact car scampering across the river ice.
The vehicle is a $24,000 experiment by the Augusta office of the U.S. Geological Survey, which is testing it for the federal agency in a search for a safer way to allow scientists to test treacherous ice on frozen streams and rivers.
Gregory J. Stewart, USGS supervising hydrologist, said officials in his office are cautious about sending workers onto ice without extensive training to determine the safety of ice they walk on. Much of the ice testing, he said, occurs on fast-moving streams where ice can be safe with one footstep yet send a walker plunging into dangerously cold water with the next.
"We just got it last spring," Stewart said. "We do make stream flow measurements all over the state. In some places the water is flowing pretty quickly, and if you fall in, you'll be swept under the ice. We wear life jackets and everything, but if you get under the ice, you're not coming back."
The high-tech craft is a boat that, with a revving of its motor, lifts and rides on a cushion of air across ice or dry land. But it also has its own quirks. Steering and stopping is imprecise and the engine is sensitive to changes in temperature. Moving it around takes some manhandling, as well.
"We're testing this for all the other states — at least the northern states," Stewart said. "Florida doesn't care that much about ice testing."