KARL Bowman has been piloting his "freedom machine" for 30 years and describes it as "the most fun you can have with your clothes on".

Piloting hovercrafts is more than a hobby for the 74-year-old Bargara man - it's an addiction.

"I had one of the first hovercrafts to be registered in New South Wales," he said.

"I just love them."

Now on to his sixth hovercraft, a viper, Mr Bowman has to thank his wife for the accidental discovery.

"I used to do a lot of flying but my wife had a fear of flying," he said.

"So I reluctantly gave that up and got into hovercraft.

"It's very similar to flying because you have to anticipate your actions.

"She's very supportive of this and enjoys it too."

Mr Bowman's craft, named Hover One, is 4.4m long by 2.2m wide, weighs 300kg and can hit speeds of up to 100kmh on land or water.

"The way you get great performance out of them is they are very light and it's not the size of the engine but the efficiency," Mr Bowman said.

"The hull is made from kevlar and most of the components are made from carbon fibre."

Mr Bowman's "addiction" has led to some incredible adventures, including being on the set of Mission Impossible 2, although he didn't get to meet star Tom Cruise.

"We had five hovercraft and five pilots for five days at Bare Island near Botany Bay to film this action sequence," he said.

"They didn't use us in the end. But they paid us well."

Mr Bowman was also used quite frequently on the Australian TV series Water Rats, starring Colin Friels.

One of his most memorable encounters was at the 2002 NRL Grand Final between Sydney Roosters and New Zealand Warriors, when he met British rocker Billy Idol.

League fans may well remember a hovercraft come flying onto then named Telstra Stadium in front of more than 80,000 people with the bleach-blonde singer in tow.

Mr Bowman was in the pilot seat.

"I had fireworks fitted out all over the craft," he said.

"It was unbelievable."

Since moving to Bargara 18 months ago, Mr Bowman has continued to use Hover One for recreational purposes and has been struggling to obtain a permit to take the craft to sea.

"For five months I've been trying to get a permit to take it out ocean," he said.

"I'm told that I'll kill dugongs and turtles.

"That's ignorance because the craft is nine inches above the water and there is no propeller in the water, you don't discharge exhaust in the water.

"In Sydney you can use it anywhere."

Mr Bowman says the craft was useful during floods.

"We've used them extensively for flood mitigation and rescue purposes with the SES," he said.

"You can climb rapids with them and avoid debris.

"It's a shame I wasn't here when the floods happened here because they are extremely effective."