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Hovercrafts
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Hovercraft
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Large Hovercraft
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This
hovercraft is a big improvement from the
first one, however is still easy to construct. This craft was
originally designed for a science project by myself with some help from my
fellow classmate Steve Rechenmacher. We wanted to build a low-cost (around
$70 not including engines) craft that would be able to steer well and be capable
of reasonable speed. After much designing, we indeed came up with a design;
this was the result.
The craft
was recently featured on the front page cover and I got an article
in the, "Australian
Hovercraft News" magazine. The magazine is volume 3 No. 25. Here is
the
cover You can view the article
here.
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This remarkable little
craft can hover over land, water, just about anything. It cruses at a
comfortable 25mph over land and it relatively easy to handle. The craft uses a
leaf blower for lift and a weed whacker engine for propulsion (a lawnmower
engine can be used if more power is desired).
Below is some
information, pictures, progress details, etc.
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Photos
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Body
Construction
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Skirt
Construction
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Propulsion
Progress
To the right are some
example cad drawings from the plans: |
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Example of a customer's finished craft:
Click to Enlarge
Thought I would drop you a jpg of a
hovercraft I built for my 12yr old daughter based entirely on
xinventions.com. We needed a project to keep us busy during
the summer, I was thinking to build a gokart till I fell upon your
site.
So a great Big Thank you!
Dean Fensand Mesa, AZ
P.S. - plenty more pics and info if
you're interested, just reply back.
Best regards. dean. 2005-04-14
Click here to see more finished crafts from customers!
The plans walk you through step-by-step, showing you how to
build the entire craft. They are very illustrated and
include more than enough dimensions and explanations for
the average person to build. If you encounter any
confusion just send us
email
and we will walk you through it step by step.
Plans
are available. If interested
Please
click here.
Photos of the completed craft:
Body Construction
The hovercraft body is made out
of 1/4 inch plywood sheeting. The pieces are cut out to the
desired dimensions. There is also an air chamber that
was constructed. The blower will be blowing the air into this, and
then the air will be distributed underneath the craft.
The PVC was used to distribute the air
evenly, however it was later discovered this PVC was not necessary.
Skirt Construction
Two different style skirts were actually
implemented in the construction of the craft. The first skirt was
segmented, but turned out not to work too well for the reason that it created a
lot of drag. The second design, the one shown here, worked very well. The skirt material was found at an army surplus store.
It is camouflage colored waterproof nylon. The skirt was sewn and then the
seems were sealed with seem-sealer so the air could not escape from the skirt. This
style skirt we used turned out to be quite effective. The craft hovers
about six inches off the ground and can clear large objects.
Propulsion Construction
The 24" propeller in the rear of the
craft is what produces propulsion. The propeller is powered by a two stroke
tweed whacker engine. Sense the hovercraft is almost frictionless, it takes
little force to move the craft. There are rudders mounted in the rear of the
hovercraft near the propeller. The rudders direct the air to one side or the
other, which turn the craft to either side.
Plans are available.
If interested
Please
click here.
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