An airboat (also known as a planeboat, swamp boat, bayou boat, or fanboat) is a flat-bottomed watercraft propelled by an aircraft-type propeller and powered by either an aircraft or automotive engine. They are commonly used for fishing, bowfishing, hunting, and ecotourism. Airboats are a common means of transportation in marshy and/or shallow areas where a standard inboard or outboard engine with a submerged propeller would be impractical, most notably in the Florida Everglades but also in the Kissimmee and St. Johns rivers, and the Mekong River and Delta, as well as the Louisiana bayous and Mesopotamian Marshes. Overview The characteristic flat-bottomed design of the airboat, in conjunction with the fact that there are no operating parts below the waterline, allows for easy navigation through shallow swamps and marshes; in canals, rivers, and lakes; and on ice and frozen lakes. This design also makes it ideal for flood and ice rescue operations. The airboat is pushed forward by the propeller, which produces a rearward column of air behind it. The resulting prop wash averages . Steering is accomplished by diverting that column of air left or right as it passes across the rudders, which the pilot controls via a "stick" located on the operator's left side. Overall steering and control is a function of water current, wind, water depth, and propeller thrust. Airboats are very fast compared to comparably-sized motorboats: commercial airboats generally sail at speeds of around and modified airboats can go as fast as . Stopping and reversing direction are dependent upon high operator skill, since airboats, like most boats, do not have brakes. They are incapable of traveling in reverse, unless equipped with a reversible propeller. Some designs use a clam shell reversing device intended for braking or backing up very short distances but these systems are not commonly used. The operator and passengers, are typically seated in elevated seats that allow visibility over swamp vegetation. High visibility lets the operator and passengers see floating objects, stumps and other submerged obstacles, and animals in the boat's path. In the United States, a typical good-quality airboat in 2004 would have cost between $33,000 and $70,000. In a developing country like Iraq, however, an airboat could be purchased for as little as 2.5 million Iraqi dinars, or $2,147. In spite of their high cost, airboats are very widely used by civilians and tour operators: there are 12,164 airboats, 1,025 of