Inventor of Hovercraft Lives In Oak Harbor

Tim Crowley at the Whidbey News Times just wrote an entertaining piece called "Floating on Air". It's about Walter Crowley, a 90 year old inventor who lives in a double-wide converted to look like a medieval fortress. He has worked for many decades as an engineer and inventor. He's still at it, perfecting designs in his immaculate workshop / laboratory that is complete with a homemade wind tunnel and tools of all kinds.

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It was during his missile project engineer days Crowley began inventing things — a habit that continues to this day.

“We had some of the Germans working there with us at the time, von Braun and those guys,” Crowley said.

“I started working on the idea a hovercraft that I originally designed to move heavy pieces of equipment around inside the plants without having to use an overhead crane,” he said. “From there, I built a hovercraft that the military was interested in.”

“The project I’m working on now is a boat that will float about two feet above the surface of the water on a cushion of air,” he said. “This will reduce friction, use less fuel and the boat can travel at a high rate of speed.”

“Every time I come up with an idea people tell me it will never work, and every time I prove them wrong,” he said with a smile.

Crowley has some advice for today’s young people.

“Always tell the truth and if you tell someone you are going to do something important, do it. Also, stay away from crooks.”