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1,180 units shipped · 312 mph Channel record · 4.92/5 Trustpilot · 99.4% fleet uptime · 38 service centers · ISO 12217-1 certified · 5-year hull warranty
// ENGINEERING / DOSSIER 01

Built like a boat.
Engineered like an aircraft.

The first personal hovercraft line certified to ISO 12217-1 marine construction standards — designed by 41 engineers in Stevensville, Maryland, and on the water in 23 countries.

CERT ISO 12217-1
PATENT VectorFlow Skirt
EST. 2007
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// TWO ENGINEERING PROOF POINTS

A hull that meets boat-build standards.
A skirt that leaves the rest behind.

CERTIFICATION ISO 12217-1 · 2021

First personal hovercraft line to clear ISO 12217-1 across the full product range.

In 2021, Flying Fish became the first manufacturer in the personal-hovercraft category to earn ISO 12217-1 marine hull and structural certification across every production model — not a one-off build, the entire line. Independent audits by Bureau Veritas covered scantlings, foam buoyancy, reserve buoyancy, and stability under both static and dynamic loading.

  • STANDARDISO 12217-1:2017 — Small craft, hull and structural scantlings
  • SCOPEAll four production models (FF-3, FF-5, FF-7, FF-8R)
  • AUDITORBureau Veritas Marine, Hamburg
  • YEAR2021 — first full-line award in segment
PATENTED US 11,890,432 · 2023

VectorFlow™ skirt geometry — 31% lower fuel burn, verified by independent trials.

Our patented VectorFlow skirt uses a 14-segment asymmetric chamber array that channels thrust inward at the chines and outward at the transom. The result: a stiffer air cushion, less skirt deflection, and measurably lower fuel consumption at cruise. Independent 2023 trials with three competing production craft showed a 31% reduction in liters-per-nautical-mile at the 45-knot cruise envelope.

  • FUEL BURN−31% vs nearest competitor, 45 kn cruise
  • CHAMBERS14 asymmetric, vectored feed
  • TRIAL2023 SeaPower Bench, Annapolis
  • PATENTUS 11,890,432 — filed 2020, granted 2023
Cutaway of the VectorFlow skirt segment showing the 14-chamber array
FIG. 04 — VectorFlow chamber array, 14-segment asymmetric feed
// THE BUILD SHEET, IN NUMBERS

What's behind every hull that leaves Stevensville.

Scale, depth, and warranty — the procurement-grade metrics that matter to fleet buyers, SAR operators, and tourism groups.

41
Engineers on staff
Marine, aerospace, and propulsion — 9 FAA-certificated pilots among them
92,000sq ft
Stevensville, MD facility
Hull layup, skirt line, instrumentation, QA, and dyno — all under one roof
5/1.5yr
Hull & skirt warranty
Our 5-year coverage vs the 18-month industry standard — published, transferable
99.4%
2023 fleet uptime
Highest reported in the personal hovercraft category, across 1,180 production units
ISO 12217-1CERTIFIED 2021
USCGTITLE 46 COMPLIANT
CEMODULE B+D
RYAVERIFIED 312 MPH 2022
ABSHOURS OF MATERIAL REVIEW
NADCAPWELD CERTIFIED
// FOUNDING STORY

From a Naval Surface Warfare Center drawing board to 1,180 hulls in 23 countries.

Flying Fish Hovercraft was founded in 2007 in Annapolis by three engineers who had just come off a decade of work at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock. Their brief was straightforward and slightly stubborn: build a personal hovercraft that could clear marine certification, survive saltwater, and fly at speeds the existing kit-craft market wasn't touching.

The first prototype — a single-seat aluminum-hulled test bed called the FF-1 — ran on the Chesapeake in the spring of 2008. By 2012 the company had shipped its hundredth hull. By 2019, its thousandth. Today, 41 engineers, 128 total employees, and one 92,000-square-foot facility in Stevensville, Maryland produce every Flying Fish from raw plate to water-tested delivery.

The team has never been bought out, never licensed the hull tooling, and never moved production overseas. The drawing board, the weld bay, and the dyno are nine miles from where the company was founded.

  • FOUNDED2007 — Annapolis, Maryland
  • FOUNDERS3 engineers from NSWC Carderock
  • HEADCOUNT128 total · 41 engineering
  • PRODUCTION1,180 hulls in 23 countries
  • RECOGNITIONWorkBoat World Manufacturer of the Year, 2020 & 2023
// NEXT STEP · ON THE WATER

Get behind the wheel. Feel a 4-second lift-off and 55-knot cruise — firsthand.

Book a demo flight at the Stevensville facility or one of 38 authorized service centers across North America. An engineering pilot will fly with you, walk you through the build sheet, and answer the procurement questions that matter to your operation.

Reserve a Demo Flight See the Full Lineup
RESPONSE
Within 1 business day
FACILITY
Stevensville, MD
SERVICE NETWORK
38 authorized centers
SHIPS TO
23 countries