Timeline for Hovercraft design parameters
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
5 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Mar 28, 2015 at 23:03 | comment | added | Dave Tweed | Based on your responses so far, quite possibly :-) Diverting air from the lift system to provide horizontal propulsion could present problems with regulating both systems. Before you start a major project with your washing machine motor, you might want to spend some time building prototypes that use, say, a shop-vac as a source of air, just to get a feel for the issues you'll face. | |
| Mar 28, 2015 at 22:12 | comment | added | jamesson | No, your understanding was correct. It was I who was unaware that most designs incorporated a separate prop for thrust. Am I also underestimating the design challenge of using baffles and ducts as you describe? | |
| Mar 28, 2015 at 20:25 | comment | added | Dave Tweed | Ah. I misunderstood. Normally, the term "hovercraft" refers to a vehicle that stays very close to the ground and uses a skirt of some sort to trap the air. If you want something that lifts itself just by the reaction force from a jet of air, you'll need a LOT more power. Or are you thinking of something that would be more properly be called a "helicopter"? | |
| Mar 28, 2015 at 19:31 | comment | added | jamesson | I found the equations you're referring to re pressure, thank you. The problem is, I'm considering this as a project for my college engineering club so the bar for financial feasibility is kinda low. So, if we have to buy a separate propeller, and a gearbox to convert the drive or something, we may not have the cash. But, I was thinking of those vtol thrust vector planes. Surely we could direct thrust without sacrificing too much pressure? | |
| Mar 28, 2015 at 17:43 | history | answered | Dave Tweed | CC BY-SA 3.0 |