Pics

Getting closer

This week to work on our hover craft we as a class helped to complete our scale model. We tried different material for the bottom of the hover craft. Instead of a thin plastic we used a contractor grade 10 mil. Tarp. We also, tried out different steering methods. We use duct tape straps as a trial to help us see how it would work to turn the hovercraft.
Today we started working on the real hovercraft. We got the hole cut for the leaf blower stand, the tarp cut, and we got the leaf blower stand on the hovercraft. The hover craft now is skinny, and is longer. This will give us a chance to get the hover craft out the door without hitting the sides. This will give room for the fan to blow more air, have the rider of the hover craft in a more comfortable setting, and also, will help with our turning method.

Progress!!

Yesterday we experimented with the hovering part of the hovercraft. We put a book under the plywood, when taped it resulted in two much lift. We re-taped the plastic on the bottom by pulling the plastic tight and giving it an inch of slack. With this we got great a great balance of the craft. When we screwed in the mount for the leaf blower we had about ¼ -inch of screw sticking out the bottom. When we tested the hovercraft it worked great without a driver. With the combined weight of the fan and the driver, the hovercraft would not move forward. We deducted that the excess screws could be the source of the problem. We then grinded the screws down and re-taped the plastic. We put Brittany Finley on the hovercraft. It would hover but would only accelerate when she was perfectly balanced. We then took off the plastic and gave it a 2-inch gap to get a happy medium between the first and second test. We got it to accelerate and hover with a driver. We discovered that we need to focus the fans air to achieve anything faster than walking speed.
- Dakota Garey

Lift off?

We'll we are currently having issues with lift. We are now in the process of eliminating variables and new hole patterns on the bottom. Our first two efforts managed to get a student off the ground but we could not propel them with the fan. Hopefully today we are going to fix that issue. We will be experimenting with a metal disk bolted to the middle of the craft to generate a doughnut of air lift pattern. We are also going to try to generate a two inch lift today. Pictures will follow.

1st attempt at the skirt

We stuck two advanced math books under the 3/4 in plywood raising it off the table by about 1 inch. Then we took the 6mil plastic and cut it so there was a 3 inch area around the hovercraft in all directions. We then pulled the plastic over the sides and measured 1 in gap in the plastic. We did this by pulling it tight, then backing the plastic up 1 in all the way around we taped the plastic to the top of the hoverboard. We used a combination of duct tape and gorilla tape. We are seeing if the lift works properly and it is stable.

Hovercraft update

We are building a scale model of our hovercraft. Our goal is to get this model up off the ground by the end of this week. This model will help us figure out what we need to do to make the hovercraft better and what we can do to make it lighter. Also, this scale model can help us with a trial and error effect.
For out materials we bought fans, wood, and dimmer switches. We testing all materials to what will work best and what materials need to be replaced.

Pictures to follow soon