Hovercraft  Project  in  Progress

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Picture below:  Find Center, mark center with a 2 1/4" hole for plumbing. Air inlet. Although the plumbing inside is 1.5" diameter the outside is 2 1/4".  For the plumbing to seat and fit flush to the craft frame the hole was drilled to allow the plumbing to fit through the hole and come out above about 1" on the top of the craft platform.

The 4 holes drilled around the center hole will be used to secure the pipe to the craft's platform with 4 1/2" x 3/16" bolts, washers, and nuts.

Picture Below:  After the edge of the plastic and duct tape has been stapled, the corners will be folded and duct tape secured. Use a small hammer to finish the staple installation if staples are not all the way in the plywood.

Picture below:  Next, the wheels will be installed.  The wheels will be used to prevent the craft from setting down on the plumbing support rails and on top of the plastic when the plastic is deflated.  The wheels are about 3/4" to 1" lower than the plumbing support rails, this will prevent the plumbing support rails from setting down on the earth surface, says Davey

Picture below:  I used 6 mil plastic and you can see the folds in the plastic.  The folds allowed air to escape and although the craft lifted up it's movement was hindered with the excessive air escaping.  I also tested the hole size. I used duct tape to close up diameter of the holes and to eliminate some.  I ended up with 4 holes about 1.5 inch in diameter and that seemed to work well when I changed the 6 mil to a 2 mil plastic.  With the 2 mil plastic the folds were not there and I also made the plastic shorter. (distance from craft to ground surface).

Picture below:   This became a problem.  The fold in the plastic will allow air to pass through the crease in the plastic.  The problem was created when I stapled the plastic and made a fold.  This fold should be made several times with many small folds that would not reach into the area of the plastic touching the surface.  I will continue to test the craft with the folds knowing at this time that the craft will not have a flat bearing to ride on.  This fold will also cause the holes cut into the plastic to be of a different size.  For example, if I were to cut large holes the craft plastic will not fill up. If I cut small holes then the air will escape thro the folds and the craft will not lift up.

Picture below:  While the bag is inflated a little, you can see the fold decreasing.  However the fold is too big and will cause the air to escape, and not provide a smooth bottom surface, also the bag size is ok, and works but not needed to be big for this project.  I will in phase II use less plastic and a thinner plastic. (2mil)  This is 6 mil thick.   

Picture below:  The blower will be installed next.  You can see in the picture below the wheels that protect the plactic from being pinched and the plumbing underneath is protected.  When the plastic bag is inflated the height will be high enough to lift the craft up higher than the wheels.  These small wheels will not touch the surface when the plastic "bag" is inflated.  If the craft is stopped abruptly then the wheels will touch the surface and not the plastic or the plumbing support.

Picture below:  The blower delivers 235mph air speed and after testing found that this is more than needed.  It is a 3 speed blower and the craft is fully inflated and enough air passing under that the 3rd speed is not required.

Picture below:  The blocks are used to elevate the blower up so the air can pass under.  The blocks allows clearance for the intake of air.

Picture below:  Handles are installed for support.  This craft is designed with the pilot on their knees and holding on to the handles located on both sides of the blower.  This is for balance control and also to hold on.  With this position the pilot can lean forward/left, forward/right, back/left and back/right. In other words the pilot can position his body to the center and maintain balance.  By leaning in any direction can apply weight to balance the craft when aloft.

The handles in above and below pictures are not useful, they have been removed.

It is important to NOT allow any air to escape.  Although some air escaping is acceptable because there is plenty of air available.  But with zero air escape the craft will perform better.

Picture below:  The test pilot demonstrates the hand hold and is ready to shift his weight towards center. In this position the craft will be able to hold his sister on the other side.  Being of equal weight he says they both can fly the craft. Charlotte the test pilot's twin sister is preparing some ice cream and will join him soon for a test flight and a quick swim before ice cream to finish a long day of testing.

Picture below:  The test pilot, Davy is testing the stability and potential use as a skate board, Davy is a skate board pro. He says not to attempt this while the craft is elevated or aloft. And to always wear protective clothing and head gear.

Picture below:  In the picture below you can see where I taped the folds with duct tape,  although this provides a 6" lift it is too much.  The plastic will be replaced that will have a 4" rise to it.  This will decrease the folds.  The picture also shows what happens when it is inflated and you "get on". While inflated I stepped onto the craft and it dropped where I stepped and the other side inflated more and the fold popped out at the tape area.  Lesson 1:   get on first.  Lesson 2:  If folds are into the "donut" area, get a new smaller plastic.  I later secured the plastic with many small folds and ended up with a few folds where after taping them it was acceptable. See pictures after plastic was replaced.  

Picture below;   Now after a cool swim says test pilot Davey, its time for much needed ice cream.  While test flying the craft the balance or center was not difficult to achieve.  There is about 6" movement from front to back and from side to side before being off balance he said.  Once balance/center was achieved it was fairly easy to maintain but needed constant attention to the act of balancing the craft, he also noted.

Picture below:  Charlotte is joining Davy for some ice cream. Wow, a big bite says Charlotte.  Charlotte deserves some ice cream after taking notes and assisting with the design and assisting the test pilot. All in a days work she says.  After the final testing of phase 1 she will test the speed and direction to determine the flying capabilities and note how to improve the crafts' weight, speed and its steering.  A helmet will be required during these testing run she added, because it is fast now and she will test the maximums for the craft. 

Next:   I will replace the plastic bag with a smaller one.  The first bag was used to test the air release holes and the height of the craft when inflated.  I determined that the holes were too big then too small after taping some shut.  I will make the bag 2 inches smaller in diameter (there is 6" lift) and a 4" lift will still clear the wheel height by 4 inches.

Picture below:  I added some folds into the center support plate.  Because the plastic was 6ml it was too stiff and when the craft was inflated the plastic didn't expand beyond the actual shape.  However, with the 2ml plastic the plastic expanded beyond the shape allowing the plastic to form a flat surface with no folds in the plastic.

As you can see the plastic is smaller then the original  plastic used.  This plastic is 2 mil thick and shorter which will not raise the craft as high as the first test plastic did.  But, that is ok because the craft will raise up and float on air anyway.  The height of the bag could be tested later for the best height from craft to the ground surface. More later on this.

Pictures coming:   The bag has been replaced and new holes made. The 6 air holes in the plastic are about 1 1/4" in diameter and the bag is 2 " smaller in diameter.    Lift off was obtained.  It rested on the "air bearing" and was movable. It appeared to weigh very little because after applying some forward pressure it moved effortlessly. 

After several attempts I found that the folds, which were a problem in the first plastic bag, is also a problem in this second plastic bag.  However, after taping some folds into the bag that it was acceptable and air lift was achieved. 

Picture below:  After I determined that the plastic bag was acceptable, but a new bag would be required for a better seal, I mounted a fan on the craft.  I will test this fan next and determine the thrust available.  After which I will replace the bag with a 2mil thick piece of plastic.  Hopefully this will result in little to no folds.  

Picture below:  Front view of hovercraft with fan installed.

Picture below:  Coming,  I will next test the craft with the newly installed fan.  This fan will be replaced after the test with a more powerful fan or fans.

The carpet pieces are for the knees

After replacing the plastic with a 2ml thickness, I found that the plastic was durable and better than the 6ml by far.  On the 2ml plastic I shortened the height by 3 inches which was acceptable, but made "Center" balancing more difficult.   I think the 3 additional inches I shortened the 2ml bag should have been left alone and left at 6.0 inches.  

On the next attempt to tighten the specs. I will replace the bag and extend the height back to 6.0 inches.