Hey guys,
I love what everyone's been discussing, this is a great thread.
I'm not sure if you all saw the Hoverboard distance record that was broken this May by Franky Zapata:
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2016/4/confirmed-franky-zapata-sets-new-farthest-hoverboard-flight-record-in-france-427011Personally I think this is the best, current example of how future earth hovercraft will work. No,
it does not fly silently and yes,
it uses a jet fueled turbine, but it's got a 10,000 foot ceiling and a current top speed of 150mph which, with the exception of the current fuel limitation, puts it in league with most of Rifts' hovercraft.
Mr Zapata is talking about his next steps focusing on safe landings during malfunctions and extending the range. For me, seeing this test really made the hovercycles more tangible.
Also, if anyone recalls, the aforementioned sound-dampening technology that's used on the Ninjaborg might be used to quiet the craft, but I'm gonna stick with hand-wavy science to cover the silent floating thing for now since everyone is very adamant about the no anti-grav technology. It was also mentioned that animals aren't scared by Rifts Hovercraft and I'd remind everyone that animals can get used to a lot (look at deer that eat grass at the side of highways), there are still probably a TON of animals that freak whenever they even hear a hovercraft in the area, but I'd bet a lot of the domesticated animals have had to be around them so much, they're pretty used to ignoring them.
Lastly, for everyone using the artwork as a scientific basis for how the hover tech works, most of the time, neither the writers nor artists have any scientific background and even Kevin isn't always thinking about that level of detail (dust being kicked up when idling) or it just looked better to omit the dust.
You guys really sparked my imagination, thanks for all the insights.