Radio Controlled Hovercraft
Introduction: Radio Controlled Hovercraft
Hi ! This tutorial is a summary of a more detailed guide that I previously published here. This model is a good compromise between cost, ease of construction and performance - plus, if you make a good choice of colors, it will look amazing :-)
I will be looking forward to your successful completion of this model, and if you could show me a picture of your finished model, it will be a great reward for my work. Do not hesitate to ask questions if you have some.
Please note that this tutorial is under the Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC-ND licence.
Supplies
Please visit this page to see the detailed components list. To summarize, you need :
- a 3 mm thick polypropylene plate (or two plates if you want two different colors like me), 30 screws, piano wire, cable ties, synthetic thread
- a piece of wire mesh, a piece of cardboard, a garbage bag, a few packing bubbles
- a Mabuchi 7520 electric motor, a 30 amps ESC, a mini servo, a 5.5" diameter propeller and its adaptor, a 7,4V LIPO battery, a radio set (transmittor + receptor) with two channels
Step 1:
Cut a polypropylene plate 50 cm long by 25 cm large. The polypropylene channels must be lengthwise. Each time you cut a polypropylene piece, you can deburr the edges to get a smoother finish.
Draw four dots, each one being at 7,5 cm from both edges of the hull. Draw two lines to connect the dots as shown. These two lines measure 35 cm long and are separated by 10 cm. With a screw, drill three holes on each line, one at the center and the others at 2,5 cm from both ends of the line.
Cut two polypropylene strips 35 cm long by 2,5 cm large - again the channels must be lengthwise. Put them aside, we will use them later to set the skirt under the hovercraft.
Step 2:
The side on which you draw the two lines is the underside of the hovercraft. Turn the hull over to work on the top.
In the center of the hull, at 1,5 cm from one of the edges, draw a 92 mm long by 65 mm large rectangle. Cut three sides of the rectangle as shown on the picture. Using a non-sharp tool, strongly mark the last uncut side of this rectangle to break the polypropylene channels, then fold this piece. You obtain the flap that will deflect part of the air towards the skirt.
Step 3:
Cut a 22 cm long by 8 cm large polypropylene plate, with the channels lengthwise. 997
This is the motor support.
At 6,4 cm from the edges of the motor support, draw two straight lines and strongly mark them with a non-sharp tool. Then fold this piece.
Screw the motor support from below the hull, above the air deflector flap. Note that no screw should overlap on the two 35 cm lines you have drawn previously. Let a space of 1 cm between the rear of the hovercraft and the rear of the motor support.
Fold the air deflector flap to bring it as close as possible to the motor support. Then screw the flap to the motor support with a screw on each side. Finally, add duct tape on the top, right and left of the air deflector flap to get an airproof compartment.
Step 4:
Connect 50 cm of wire (16 awg is recommended) to each polarity of the motor. Put the propeller adaptor and the propeller on the motor axis. To prevent injuries and damage, double check if the propeller is firmly attached on the motor shaft.
Cut two pieces of piano wire, 25 cm long. Make three turns with the piano wire around the two motor mounting screws - you must get a 50° angle, a kind of a V-shape. You should get a length of around 8 cm under the motor, and around 15 cm on the sides. Work the wires until everything is folded correctly and as straight as possible.
Pre-perforate the motor support in the four spots indicated with a straight rod of piano wire, then slowly insert the four "motor legs" into the motor support.
Step 5:
At the back of the motor support, on the sides, there should be a few extra centimeters of piano wire. Leave 1 cm and cut the rest. Bend the two rods inside the motor support.
Drill two holes in the motor support at the rear of the motor to pass a thick cable tie : it will bring the rear of the motor closer to the motor support. We continue with super-gluing the servo behind the motor and placing the radio receiver just behind the air distributor flap. Close the compartment with a polypropylene plate. 259