Hovertravel has announced it will begin instructing its pilots, engineers and crew on how to operate the first of its new craft, ‘Solent Flyer’, which is now based at Ryde.
The new Griffon 12000TD hovercraft, which has been registered in Portsmouth and will carry 88 passengers, has now successfully completed all her mandatory sea trials and ownership transferred to Hovertravel.
Neil Chapman, managing director of Hovertravel said:
“Solent Flyer is now officially part of our fleet, having arrived in Ryde yesterday. Now we begin the next phase of bringing these exciting new craft into operation; the training of our teams on what is the newest passenger hovercraft in the world”.
“The comprehensive training programmes will involve everyone in the company and possibly even some from outside the company as we conduct loading trials.
“It is critical that we spend time learning how to operate our new craft and, although I know everyone wants to get on board as soon as possible, we had always planned in a three month period for our staff to be familiarised with the new technologies and efficiencies this new craft will bring our company and our customers. For example, we have planned a one to one training for our Pilots, there is training from our Griffon’s construction teams to our engineers to be undertaken and, there is one to one training with our crew. The good news is that we are still on schedule to introduce both our new craft in to service this summer.”
Solent Flyer will now be based at Ryde, her home for what is set to be a long service.
Anyone interested in volunteering to assist with the passenger loading trials should contact [email protected].
