Hovercrafts by their own hands: manufacturing technology

The quality of the road network in our country leaves much to be desired. The construction of transport infrastructure in some directions is inexpedient for economic reasons. With the movement of people and goods in such areas, vehicles running on other physical principles will do fine. Full-size aircraft on an air cushion can not be built by hand in handicraft conditions, but scale models are quite possible.

Vehicles of this type are capable of moving on any relatively smooth surface. It can be a clean field, and a pond, and even a swamp. It is worth noting that on such unsuitable for other transport coverage, SVP is able to develop a sufficiently high speed. The main disadvantage of this transport is the need for large energy inputs to create an air cushion and, as a result, a high fuel consumption.

Physical principles of SVP operation

The high permeability of vehicles of this type is provided by the low specific pressure that it exerts on the surface. This is explained quite simply: the area of contact of the vehicle is equal to or even exceeds the area of the vehicle itself. In encyclopaedic dictionaries, SVPs are defined as ships with dynamically created reference thrust. Large and small vessels on the air cushion hang above the surface at a height of 100 to 150 mm. In a special device, an air pressure is created under the housing. The machine breaks away from the support and loses its mechanical contact with it, as a result of which the resistance to movement becomes minimal. The main energy costs are to maintain the air cushion and accelerate the device in the horizontal plane.

Drawing up the project: choosing the working scheme

For the production of an active SVP mock-up, it is necessary to choose the effective shell design for the given conditions. Aircraft hovercraft drawings can be found on specialized resources, where patents are placed with a detailed description of different schemes and methods for their implementation. Practice shows that one of the most successful options for environments such as water and hard ground is the chamber method of forming an air cushion.

In our model we will implement a classic twin-engine scheme with one power-driven propulsion and one pushing. Small-sized air-cushion ships with their own hands made, in fact, are toy-copies of large vehicles. However, they clearly demonstrate the advantages of using such vehicles before others.

Manufacture of hull

When choosing the material for the hull, the main criteria are easy handling and low specific gravity. Homemade hovercraft are classified as amphibious, which means that if there is an unauthorized stop, there will be no flooding. The hull of the ship is cut from the plywood (4 mm thick) according to a pre-prepared pattern. To perform this operation, use a jigsaw.

A homemade hovercraft has superstructures, which are best made from expanded polystyrene to reduce weight. To give them a greater external resemblance to the original from the outside, the parts are glued with foam and painted. The cabin windows are made of their clear plastic, and the remaining parts are cut from the polymers and arched out of the wire. The maximum detail is the key to the similarity with the prototype.

Dressing of the air chamber

At manufacture of a skirt the dense fabric from polymeric waterproof fiber is used. Cutting is carried out according to the drawing. If you do not have the experience of transferring sketches to paper manually, you can print them on a large format printer on thick paper, and then cut with conventional scissors. The prepared parts are stitched together, the seams should be double and tight.

Hovercraft, with their own hands made, before the injection engine is supported by the hull on the ground. The skirt is partially wrinkled and is located below it. Bonding of parts is made by waterproof glue, the joint is closed by the body of the superstructure. Such a connection provides high reliability and allows making the joints imperceptible. Other external parts are also made of polymer materials: the fender for the screw diffuser and the like.

Power point

In the power plant there are two engines: the pumping and the marching. The model uses brushless electric motors and two-bladed screws. Remote control of them is carried out with the help of a special regulator. The power source for the power plant are two accumulators with a total capacity of 3000 mAh. Their charge is sufficient for a half-hour use of the model.

Homemade hovercraft are controlled remotely by radio. All components of the system - radio transmitter, receiver, servo drives - factory-made. Installation, connection and testing are carried out in accordance with the instructions. After the power is turned on, a trial run of the motors is carried out with a gradual increase in power until a stable air cushion is formed.

Managing the SVP model

Hovercrafts with their own hands made, as already noted above, have remote control on the VHF channel. In practice, it looks like this: the transmitter is in the hands of the owner. Start the engine by pressing the corresponding button. The speed control and the direction change are made by the joystick. The machine is simple in maneuvering and quite accurately withstands the course.

Tests showed that the SVP confidently moves on a relatively flat surface: on water and overland with equal ease. The toy will become a favorite entertainment for a child from the age of 7-8 years with sufficiently developed fine motor skills of the fingers.