Hovercraft Project

[EmptyNester]

Looks like your making good progess with your project, can't wait for update how it handles and how fast it goes. Keep us up to date.

Will do - but I'm pretty much done until spring. I just need the boat registration (already submitted) and the trailer completed to try it out (lots of little stuff I want to do, but it's flyable now).

It was a totally consuming project for a little over a year, and I need a break now.

[Jake98]

Nice project! I worked for a guy that had one of them, we used it to get to his island vacation home when the lake was half frozen. Single prop design, it ducted some air down for lift. I can vouch for the speed over ice. The thing would just keep accelerating, we'd point it to a wide open spot and try to keep it going straight till we got there, let the power off and the thing would lose the lift, grind along the ice till it stopped and then we'd make a turn. Very scary. There was no 'gentle turning' on ice, you'd get it almost turned, and it would spin around quick, (a few times) the fan did not want to point into the wind. Your two prop design will probably be nicer to steer, if you can keep some lift going while cutting some thrust.
Going 60 mph sideways over open holes and ice made me wonder how much I needed that job. It should be lots of fun on a nice hot summer day tho. Good luck, enjoy..

[Jason]

Wow that has come a long long way since I was last able to see it. I read through the posts pretty quick and didnt see if you have been able to start it up and have it at least hover yet? I would love to see a video when you get it finished or running.

[67cudafb]

Nice project! I worked for a guy that had one of them, we used it to get to his island vacation home when the lake was half frozen. Single prop design, it ducted some air down for lift. I can vouch for the speed over ice. The thing would just keep accelerating, we'd point it to a wide open spot and try to keep it going straight till we got there, let the power off and the thing would lose the lift, grind along the ice till it stopped and then we'd make a turn. Very scary. There was no 'gentle turning' on ice, you'd get it almost turned, and it would spin around quick, (a few times) the fan did not want to point into the wind. Your two prop design will probably be nicer to steer, if you can keep some lift going while cutting some thrust.
Going 60 mph sideways over open holes and ice made me wonder how much I needed that job. It should be lots of fun on a nice hot summer day tho. Good luck, enjoy..

Amazing that when we were young and dumb the thought of getting hurt or killed never crossed our mind, older and wiser we look back and shake our head and go what the hell was I thinking but sure was fun lol. You have done nice job on the build be safe.

[Jake98]

Amazing that when we were young and dumb the thought of getting hurt or killed never crossed our mind

You're not kidding...

[EmptyNester]

I haven't been on the forums since before Christmas. Life has a way of interfering with fun

I did get to work on the craft over the fall and winter. By Christmas it was ready for a test flight, but I had no way to get it anywhere. Plus, it was just too cold. But anyone who visited got to ride it while it hovered in the garage.

I've been working on the trailer. I started with an HF 4x8 tilt trailer and have been modifying it. I welded a lot of the joints for peace of mind (and I like to practice my welding). I had to extend the tongue to fit the craft. I'm now building a wooden deck on it.

To load it, the best concept was using a truck crane. So, last weekend I fabricated a hitch mount for it. The picture below shows how I expect it all to come together.



Tonight it was warm enough and I got home early enough that I tested the loading system. I was pleased with how it worked. I may need to make some minor tuning adjustments, but the concept seems sound. Once the hovercraft is in the air, I'll just slide the trailer underneath by hand.



After I put it down, I slapped the prop and it and tried powered flight for the first time. I only had about 10 feet of space, so it was a very short test. It worked! I had steering control and forward motion. But, when I cut back on the throttle - the belt for the prop jumpted the pulley. This has been a problem that I thought I had fixed, but I guess not.

So, I think I can finish the trailer in a weekend. Then, if I work out the drive belt issue - I'll be ready for a real test flight.

[redbeard]

Excellent, I hope you can post some video!