“Photo: Could hovercraft become Puget Sound’s new mosquito fleet? This small, 12-seat hovercraft, called the Griffon Mini 500, could be the beginning of a fleet of water taxis for Whidbey and Camano island residents.Hovercraft advantagesHere are a few of the many advantages of hovercraft listed in a brochure put out by Griffon Hovercraft.* Fully amphibious — operates over water, land, sandbanks, mudflats, ice, rocks and rapids.* High speed — cruises at full payload at speeds of 25-36 knots.* Low initial costs — similar price to conventional boats of the same speed and payload.* Low operating costs — similar to conventional boats of the same speed and payload.* No wash/wake — virtually no wash/wake at high speed.* Reliable — proven over tens of thousands of operating hours.* Easy to operate — takes the same time to learn to operate as learning to drive a car or truck.Water taxi, how may we help you?I’d like a ride please. Just come up the Maxwelton boat ramp a ways. I’ll be there waiting for you.Yes, ma’am. We’ve got a hovercraft only minutes away.————This imaginary conversation could come true some day if plans being made by the Whidbey Island Transportation Association (WITA) reach fruition.It’s time for hovercraft on Whidbey Island, according to Roger Scott, who has been researching the matter for several months. It’ll be a mosquito fleet that really works, said Scott. He would like to see the non-profit WITA operate the hovercraft, with purchase funds from a variety of sources.Hovercraft ride on a cushion of air and easily cruise over water and land. You don’t need expensive docks or passenger boarding facilities. Hovercraft can stop on top of any of the many boat ramps in Puget Sound, or even navigate up the beaches. Any boat ramp or beach will do, Scott said. They’ll go up a steep incline — any beach on the sound.WITA has tracked down a hovercraft manufacturer, Griffon Hovercraft Limited, headquartered in Southampton, England. Hopes are to license the manufacturing to a U.S. firm, preferably Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Freeland. Nichols has expressed interest, Scott said. I’d like to see something built right here on the sound, preferably Whidbey Island.In addition, WITA has contracted with Hornblower, Inc., a marine operations management company headquartered in San Francisco. We’ve employed them to come up with a management system, Scott said. We’d start with a few (hovercraft) but we’d like to help other Puget Sound areas.WITA sees the hovercraft as the answer to many of the problems faced by commuters on Puget Sound’s islands. They’re like taxi cabs, Scott said, able to pick up commuters anywhere. Not only do they not need expensive dock, but they leave little wake — a common complaint of waterfront homeowners, some of whom sued the state to stop passenger ferry service in Rich Passage.Hovercraft water taxis could join Whidbey and Camano islands by water and bring island commuters to Everett, Mukilteo and Seattle.Financing is a big problem but I think we can get over that, Scott told a group at a meeting in Clinton last week. A 12-passenger hovercraft would cost about $75,000 while larger models range up to $1.5 million. They’re about the same price ranges as conventional boats, he said.Martha Rose, Island Transit director, offered moral support, although her own agency is depending on voter approval of a tax increase in May to keep operating at current levels.When I hear the term passenger-only I get excited, Rose said, envisioning hovercraft linking all of Whidbey Island. We’ve got to get the north and south together, she said.A modern fleet of hovercraft might do just that.”