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 .