Rideable Hovercraft
2 hours
Ages 14+
What Will You Make?
A leaf blower powered hovercraft that you can ride on. This is a more difficult project for the more experienced makers in your Camp.
What Will You Learn?
You’ll learn basic woodworking skills and how to use a power drill.
Build Your Hovercraft
Find the center
Find the center of the sheet of plywood. This should be 2 feet from the edges for a 4×4 sheet.
Draw a circle
Drive a screw into the center of the circle, about halfway in. Tie a string to it and measure a 2-foot length of string. Tie a pencil to the string there. Pull the string taught and use it to draw a 2-foot radius circle around the center of the sheet.
Trace the leaf blower
Place the output nozzle of the leaf blower against your circle about halfway between the center and the outer edge of your circle. Trace around the leaf blower with a pencil.
Drill and cut
Raise your sheet up off the ground (I used a trashcan) and get a friend to help you hold the sheet to keep it stable. Drill a hole slightly larger than your jigsaw blade in the center of the shape you traced from the leaf blower. Now use your jigsaw to cut out the shape.
Cut the outer circle
Use the jigsaw to cut the outer circle from the sheet. Make sure to hold it down to keep it from jumping around.
Add the lid
Put your tarp down on top of your cut circle, covering it evenly. Find the center again and place the bucket lid in the center of the circle. Screw down the bucket lid with the 1/2 inch screws in a circular pattern about halfway between the center of the lid and its outer edge.
Secure the tarp
Trim away the extra tarp, leaving about an inch between your cut and the staples so the tarp wont rip out.
Trim the tarp
Trim away the extra tarp, leaving about an inch between your cut and the staples so the tarp wont rip out.
Tape down the edges
Tape down the edges of the tarp to seal them tightly. Don’t spare the tape, I made two rings around to ensure it was down tightly.
Cut air escapes
Cut six Xs evenly spaced around the center of the tarp. They should be about 3 inches away from the edge of the bucket lid.
Secure the blower
Place the leaf blower in the hole that you’ve cut for it. Use tape to secure it in place and seal it so air cannot escape.
Go for a ride
Sit in the center of the disk and turn on the leaf blower. The tarp should inflate with air, raising up off the ground with the escaping air from the cuts creating a thin layer of air below you. Have a friend push you and you will go flying away!
What Is Happening Here?
How does a hovercraft work?
Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull, or air cushion, that is slightly above atmospheric pressure. The pressure difference between the higher pressure air below the hull and lower pressure ambient air above it produces lift, which causes the hull to float above the running surface.
What Is Next?
Hovercraft Bowling
Try stacking up plastic cups in a pyramid and have a friend push you into them. Now you’re playing hovercraft bowling!
Materials:
- 1 4 foot x 4 foot sheet of 1/2 inch plywood
- 1 heavy duty tarp larger than 4x4
- 1 leaf blower
- 1 bucket lid
- Heavy duty duct tape
- 1/2 inch long screws
- Drill
- Jigsaw
- Scissors
- Yard stick
- String
