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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-06-27, Page 29•41 , Water,too shallow far boats is no problem for this Viking air cushion vehicle constructed in Grand Bend. The vehicle here is operating in a search and rescue mission at Kettle Point in Lake Huron. The hovercraft was assigned an area of 150 square miles in the operation and worked for 15 hours before returning to its Goderich base. All terrain travel It's modern and useful BY JEFF SEDDON A inodern and sophisticated -'method of transportation that does ,not require a road, rail or deep waterway is being con- stru-ted and tested right here in 'Huron County. Bell Aerospace' Canada Limited, of Grand Bend, is in- troducing air cushion vehicles to the Canadian transportation* market and are currently testing', the, vehicles to, prove their worth in, the° yast un- developed areas of the country. The principle of aerodynamics is applied to the. 34,000 bound Voyageur. Two three -blade propellers and two, seven -foot fans harness the power of the 1300 horsepower United Aircraft engines to give the vehicle the lift and prophalsion required to operate it, • , Heavy four -foot skirts frame the craft and capture the air displaced by the centrifugal fans.' The air" is directed down directly beneath the :vehicle and causev it to- lift to the height of the skirt. This cushion of air wit' allow the Voyageur to he operated on land, water, marsh or ice surfaces without disturbing the ecology. Forward motion. --is obtained from the propellers. They will power the vehicle at speeds up to 50 miles per hour with a 25, ton payload aboard. By changing the angle of the pr6peller, operator Kim Her ford directs the floating tran- sport. At full speed it takes one- half a mile to turn the craft around' while' at dead slow it can be -revered in ,only 150 feet,' Small'dogrs or puff ports as the engineers term them are opened quickly to send quick bursts of air to the side of the craft. This allows it to be tur- ned in a very short radius. Management and -workers. alike are very eri.husiastIc t•••••.,•••• • •••44...• .44,4 ,Iviefotklifa iriCti=efra.A.VMO. about the possibilities of, the hovercraft. A strong bond exists among the employees which engineer Mike. Ball describes as "family." Any worker you ask about The craft will be quick.to point out with pride to its capabilities and will compare it to conventional 'modes of tran- .sportation. The younger and smaller sister ship to the Voyageur, the Viking, is the vehicle currently being tested in Goderich. The Viking was designed much the same as the Voyageur -II -with small improvements such as an improved puff port system and• a twin -drive transmission system that reduces prOpeller speed and noise and yet main- tains a , powerful -.thrust for precise control. The 'flat &Vic of the Viking although shorter than' the Voyageur accepts a wide range of payloads or), special equip- ment. 'This makes the craft ideal. for exploration, search c0.•••.. •••• GODERICH SIGNAL: -STAR, THURSDAY, JUNE 27, ;54 ***...******;*******************, *4, Problems in your woodlot? ******14**********************4**** The Ministry of Natural .Zesources has a number of ser- vices available to the public in regard to woodlot management. Landowners contemplating the sale Of merchantable trees would do well to contactthe Ministry first, Forestry staff will inspect a woodlot for a commercial cut and mark the trees that should be harvested at that time. Trees tobe cut are marked with tw.o spots of paint. One at breast height makes them easy to see by the cutters. The second at stump level enables the woodlot owner to check the hush after it has been cut to make certain that only the •marked trees were taken. Volumes of timber are-com- ,piled and a minimum sale price is_ given to the landowner. This timber, with the -owner's permission, is advertised within the District on a timber sale notice that is sent to all local log buyers. Sales are negotiated directly between the log buyer and the landowner.Pbmtietition is keen and better prices to the tan, downer generally results. Many woodlots are beirtg over -cut. Selling only the marked trees leaves the stand in a better condition so that another cut can be mad a a later date. People with fireplaces or woodstoves may be uniure-of what trees to cut for firewood. A portion of a • bush may be marked by Ministry staff to in- dicate -to .the owner the type of material that should be removed. ..Maple'syrup producers also consult the Ministry to find put ways of' increasing the Sap yield f. in a maple bush.. The Woodlands, Im- provement Act is a ogram and rescue or military missions. The 'Machine can easily be broken down into component parts and shipped to a site for reaSsembly„ Alt these features have been incorporated - into. the .Bell Aerospace machines to..' en. courage companies or gtvern- ments to consider them for use in inaccessible terrain. The Coast Guard purchased one --craft for .search and :rescue., missions on the Atlantic Coast and two large companies in North America have Wit them into use to transport materials and equipment, to exploration sites in the Arctic tundra and the North West -Territories. Company e ngineers- are con- templating - introducing use of ,,,the hovercrafts as a ferry ser- vice for passengers. British Hovercraft Limited is currently using hovercraft to ferry people 'and cargo 'across the English Channel and this potential ,is being applied to the Canadian manufacturers. With this recent pyactical system of transport manufac- tured in Canada no area of this Vast country will be inac- cessible any longer, .Bell Aerospace officialst feel. that has been of great benefit to thP landowning public. Under this prograin, the lan- downer enters a 15 year agreeThent with the Ministry. Young hardwood bushes of at least ten acres in size are thin- Readers By mid-June, a thousand On- tario people had written to CIAG Insurance to express their views on no-fault car in- su,rance in response to a province -wide corTimer infor- mation program the corfipany began in May. Full-page ads in 112 newspapers provided infor- mation an no-fault legal con- cepts and car insurance. Readers were given a chance to express their opinions ,and request further information by mail or frOrn, One of CIAG's.60 offices. CIAG, owned by' Cc. - operative, farm and pred i t union .groups, is On,tario's. major insurer of automobiles. Of the 1000 people who had replied to,. the ad by June 14, 456 asked for • more infor; mation. Locl CIAG offices provided information to 321' others. At least 91 replies originated with lawyers and, law offices. Of these, 79 favored retention 'of, the present legal/insurance, system; J2 favored extending the no-fault approach. The balance of the expressed preferences slightly favored in- ned' to give the more desireable' trees a better chance to 'grow. Unwanted trees are girdled with an axe. ,With the outer layers of the wood severed, the tree soon dies. This method has -proven just as effective and, • ' Ten.a4S-4 Small loose particles- of grass and dirt are sent up in a spray as the 17-tcin air cushion Voyageur passes over at the Grand Bend construction test site. The craft can pass over a human beIng and cause him no injury and yet can be used to break an ice pack up to 15 in- ches thick. (staff -photo)' • eric carman photography 524-7924 - — PASSPORTS -R95 Toronto St. large / -WEDDINGS-. -PORTRAITS- -COMMERCIAL- -POS1TCARDS- -FRAMING- family aerial colour Oil Kim Herford, hovercraft operator at' the Bell Aerospace, rand Bend'site, is one of about' 15 licensed operatOrg in anada. The 26 -year-old former American army hovercraft perator is working on the Goderich test site with the iking graft. (staff -photo) \---.... c„ANADIANA QUALITY HOMES ONLY $500 Down iii Erected on your foundation in one day fnihed n a week ALL HOMES complete with plumbing hecging wiring, broadloom etc Write for 4)11 C;IC--1 • i , jg . stroted cotaloque (enclose Aireism. , 41.00 for postage ,and han 1 Huron County Representative ' citing) t* 'IPA. MacEwan - 524-9531 .' . 1Goderich taNADIANK MODULARFION1ES LIMITED AME bDPESS ;t ONE IIWN A LOT YES ['1 NOr 11 else send information on your fully serviced subdivision dJ model homes Mitchell, Ontario, ;Near Stratford) YES NO 1 GSS 915 10 Main Street;outh 0 Box 650 , Waterdovvn, Ont Tel 14161 689 6687 small children industrial brochures needlework' PHOTODRAWING ENLARGEMENTS creasing no-fault 'benefits. -:)The present insurance' system in Ontario' w'as favored by 300 respondents, while 218 would prefer a broader no-fault plan and 127 would like as complete a no-fault plan as possible. Respondents expressed several concerns about the present system of 'automobile insurance. Most' frequentry': mentioned.", delays in settling claims- 240; other people get- ting my money because I've never had a claim, 119; having to pay a deductible when I have a claim, 112; poor service, 282- from my agent - 34, my ad- juster - 34, my company. - 41, another company 85, another company's adjuster - 88. These responses suggest people are mare satisfied, when dealing With" their own ad- justers and insurers. No-fault plans emphasize dealings with one's own insurer. Other comments were: high 'Premiums - 26 responses;, automobile ,insurance should be Compulsory - 19; bad drivers should be,held responsible - 18; • high cost of legal expense - 16; premiums should be relaxed to accident record - 12; high cost ("Maims settlements - 10'; want no premiumincrease after an accident •- 8; I'm getting good service from my company - 8; more severe penalties for bad dtivers (fines; suspensions, etc.) -8; poor attitude of insurance companies - 7.; retain right to sue - 7; do not want govern- ment insurance - 6., want gover- nment insurance - 5; dishonest. claimants - 5. 418 more economical than actually cutting the trees down. Even- tually the girdled 'trees break down. The landowner must protect the woodlot from fire, insects, disase and 'livestock. Some wolf trees are often left to provide 'a wildlife habitat. Areas served by the Wingham District Office elude all of Huron and Perth „ Counties, the townships if Huron, Kinloss, Culross and Carrick in Bruce County, and Minto Township in Wellington County.' For further information on the above programs, call the Ministry of 'Natural Resources in Wingham at :357-3131 or ..write Co Box Wingham, Ontario. 490, 319 HURON ROAD (HIGHWAY 8) GODERICH 524-7411 • Graduation Gift • 11111111,11•111111111111111 Mgay, models in stock ready fOr the long weekend ALSO SEVERAL USED .BICYCLES IN STOCK • BAYFIELD ROAD, GODERICH SALES AND SERVICE- •• Xim Ainslie, son of .Mr. and - Ms. Bryan Ainslie, Goderich, has graduated with a Honors degree. in- Political Science from the University of Western,. Ontario June 4. He will attend first year of the Faculty of Law at McGill University in Quebec 'in the National Program, beginning September 1974. 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