With a world-first drone delivery business up and running in the capital, you'd be forgiven for thinking Canberrans are living in the future. But imagine how it would feel if there was a cushioncraft to get you across Lake Burley Griffin.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
That was the plan of Airglide Cruiser Agencies, who proposed the craft for joyrides and rescue work on the lake before the valves in Scrivener Dam had even been closed.
The craft would carry between 15 and 18 passengers and the company hoped it could be linked to police, ambulance and hospital services by radio to assist with water rescues, the Times reported on this day in 1963.
A company representative told the newspaper that the craft would be able to reach any point on the lake in 20 minutes and travel at 50 miles an hour (80 km/h).
Flown by a trained pilot, the company gave every assurance that the craft was unsinkable even at speed and could fly over four-foot-high waves on a cushion of compressed air.
Airglide Cruiser Agencies had also applied to the Snowy Mountains Authority for permission to run the cushioncraft on Lake Eucumbene.
