Fifty Years of the Hovercraft
(http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2009/hovercraft/hover6.jpg)
Landspeeder Record
The new air cushioned technology resulted in the promotion of some wacky new projects like the Hover Scooter, driven by two motorcycle engines. Decades later, film maker George Lucas would use the idea of hover propulsion to create the futuristic 'landspeeder' in Star Wars.
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1911699,00.html
I remember a story about a doctor who still did house calls in SD or some other state who got a hovercraft to get about in the snow. I think they are also used in aeas of water as well. If the area's pretty flat, a hovercraft can handle it. I don't think they can handle much of an incline, though.