What Is A Hover Mower And How Does It Work?

Hover mowers might look futuristic, but they've been around since 1964, thanks to the British company FlyMo. It's a type of lawn mower that floats on a cushion of air instead of rolling on wheels. An impeller under the deck sucks in air and pushes it down through vents, generating just enough force to lift the mower off the ground. This eliminates friction from wheels and lets you push the mower in any direction, not just forward and backward, and makes it especially good for small yards and uneven terrain, and tight corners.

While the air cushion handles maneuvering, a high-speed rotary blade underneath does the actual cutting. It's a simple setup: The motor powers both the blade and the impeller. Because some of that power is used to keep the mower hovering, hover mowers often aren't as powerful as wheeled models when it comes to cutting thick or overgrown grass.

This design has trade-offs, though. Because there's no rear roller, you can't mow stripes into your lawn. Also, because the mower hovers, it's harder to maintain a consistent cutting height compared to a wheeled model.

Hover mowers aren't for everyone. Their main draw is flexibility and ease of use, not cutting power or precision. They're great for homeowners with small, oddly shaped lawns, hills, or lots of obstacles. If you hate wrangling a wheeled mower into corners or over tree roots, you'll probably like how a hover mower glides.

They're also lightweight, which makes them easier to lift or store than a traditional mower. Because they don't need wheels or a heavy deck, they often cost less, and the electric variants might be cheaper than the gas-powered ones in the long term, in itself one of the key differences between electric and gas lawn mowers. However, they aren't good for large lawns. Their limited cutting power also makes them a bad match for thick, tall, or wet grass mowing, one of the mistakes everyone makes with their lawn mower.

The safety factor is mixed. On one hand, hover mowers are compact and easy to control on slopes. On the other hand, pulling them backward can expose your feet to the spinning blade, so awareness matters.

Hover mowers are just one of the many types of lawn mowers, each built with specific uses in mind. Rotary mowers are the most common and recognizable type. They use a single, horizontally rotating blade to cut the grass from above. When equipped with a rear roller, rotary mowers can create a striped effect on your lawn by flattening the grass in alternating directions. Cylinder mowers, on the other hand, rely on a set of cylindrical blades. They offer one of the cleanest finishes, but they're not effective on long or thick grass.

Robot lawn mowers are a more recent development. These autonomous machines trim your lawn automatically by following a perimeter wire and returning to their base when they need recharging. You can set them to operate at any time, even at night or during rain. They're most useful in larger residential gardens where convenience and automation are top priorities.

If you mow often, don't care about stripes, and want something nimble and affordable, a hover mower is a smart choice. If you want more power, better cutting height control, or a more polished lawn look, you're better off with a rotary mower on wheels. If you're in the market for one, you might want to consider a model from some of the most reliable push mower brands.