diy hovercraft

[slackerbob]

yeah, i need help. The science club at my high school is building a hovercraft. Being the president, and not knowing anything about this kind of stuff i was wondering if any of y'all had ever built one of these. what we really need help with is the skirt. since this is science club, there aren't a whole lot of girls in there, and i'm pretty sure none of us knows how to sew a hovercraft skirt.

any and all help is appreciated

 

[wintermute]

google!!

Just did a google search on model hovercraft, and this site seemed kinda relevant 🙂

http://www.flightlines.com/hovercrafts/buildhover.htm

Regards,

Tony.

 

[Solid Snake]

I made one with my friends for the fun of it. I used a 5" computer fan, 1" styrofoam insulation and a trash bag for the skirt. Trash bags need less power to inflate than fabrics and they cover uneven ground better.

 

[slackerbob]

the problem with most of the designs found on the internet is that they're kinda small. our thing is gonna be 4' by 8' holding up a person, and I don't know if trash bags would stand up to the pressure. i was thinking maybe Tyvek would work.

thanks anyways

 

[Solid Snake]

Also remember, the more surface area underneath the hovercraft, the more lift you will achieve.

 

[slackerbob]

so the bigger we build our base, the less we have to worry about not getting off the ground?

hmm, that might help a lot. i'll keep it in mind as i direct my pals.

thanks

 

[Bakmeel]

At my University, the student union for Physics built their own 2 person hovercraft in 2001. If make contact with construccie@isaacnewton.utwente.nl, I'm sure you can get some info from them.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

This is the machine 😉

 

[LaserLine]

I made a simple hovercraft that you can find on my forums and if you post a message there i can show you all the pros and cons of my methods... the thing cost less the $100 using basic things that can be found anywhere... picutres are on the forums here http://www.icubenetwork.com/forum/index.php?c=2

 

[cirvin]

You could buy a cheep water raft from wal mart, ones that have the 2 cells. inflate the outer ring thingy, and cut out the bottom, then just plumb the air blwer into the cavity. this way, all the air going from th blowr gos under and out ovr thet raf, getting less friction for less power.

 

[slackerbob]

As of right now we have a 3' diameter fan the we got from a greenhouse. We also have 3 sheets of .5" plywood.

ya, a rubber raft would be cheap and easy. just cut out the bottom and glue it or something to the plywood?

maybe we could get som tyvek and cover the raft with that. might make it a little tougher for going over stuff.

any other suggestions?

 

[Solid Snake]

so the bigger we build our base, the less we have to worry about not getting off the ground?

Right, take the PSI output of your fan * square inches of your base and that will give you lift power. Of course a good CFM rating is required for decent ground clearance.