TOPIC: HOVERCRAFT
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Cockpit part 1
17.12.2018 02:09
That's interesting as I just arrived in Ballina for holidays. Give me a call when your free on ... -
Cockpit part 1
17.12.2018 02:03
hey James im on the gold coast check out kiwi patience in the builders corner its definitely not ... -
Cockpit part 1
16.12.2018 13:07
Hey Gomez. Thanks for the nice words. Definently keen to see some photos of your build! Where in ... -
Cockpit part 1
12.12.2018 02:50
nice work there no messing around i like the seperate lift engine what areyou running i done the same ... -
Mounting the thrust duct
08.12.2018 00:42
nice job on the duct nice to see another aussie build i had mine on hold for a bit but have been hard ... -
Thrust duct
19.11.2018 09:08
Hi thanks for the compliment. I am working on the hull now, on the underside. I am happy to have a ... -
Thrust duct
18.11.2018 20:21
Thanks Guy. I'm very happy how it has come together so far. A few mistakes along the way but I ... -
Thrust duct
18.11.2018 20:20
Hey John. Thankyou, it has taken some effort to get this far. Nice build diary also! Very informative. -
Thrust duct
18.11.2018 18:15
Amazing job on the thrust duct! Great work! Hey John, I went and checked out your hoverwing blog ... -
Thrust duct
17.11.2018 06:19
Nice job on the thrust duct. Have you ever checked out my blog hoverwing.blogspot.com John -
Inside skirt attach strips
12.11.2018 10:47
Hey man your craft looks excellent, your build diary is good. Where did you manage to get plans to ... -
Prop plans
04.11.2018 19:29
Thanks Guy, I did get a couple of responses now. I just need to figured all the details out now. I'll ... -
Prop plans
31.10.2018 11:34
Hey Mike, well guess I was wrong about the "HoverLovers" guys being on the edge of their seats. Maybe ...
Member's Gallery
Cockpit part 1
- Details
- Written by James Greenberger
- Category: Topend Hover
- Hits: 95
Now it starts to look like a hovercraft!
I marked out the 4 points off the plan that represent the outline of cockpit. I then used a large peice of pvc pipe to mark the curve using these points.
Once I double checked the lines were correct I glued the bottom stringers down for the cockpit and the seat.
It's Been So Long
- Details
- Written by mark
- Category: Kiwi Patience
- Hits: 39
After a few years on hold its fullspeed ahead again here's a few pics: hull is done with a few mods, 9 inches longer and sharpened up a little.
Mounting the thrust duct
- Details
- Written by James Greenberger
- Category: Topend Hover
- Hits: 55
Now it is time to mount the engine and thrust duct.
Firstly the engine mount blocks were glued to the hull. They are too long but will be cut later.
Finishing the underneath
- Details
- Written by James Greenberger
- Category: Topend Hover
- Hits: 37
This was a time consuming job.
Firstly I needed to move the craft out of the carport and onto the grass so I could turn it upside down. I used small caster wheels screwed into the front inside skirt attach strip to make the front movable and then used a fridge trolley at the rear to lift the rear.
Thrust duct
- Details
- Written by James Greenberger
- Category: Topend Hover
- Hits: 107
First step to the thrust duct was the plywood disk. 2 lengths of a sheet were cut to 330mm width and placed good face down. A single layer of 6oz cloth was used to glue the halves together. Once dry I placed the ply in the pool for 2 days to help with bending.
Inside skirt attach strips
- Details
- Written by James Greenberger
- Category: Topend Hover
- Hits: 142
First was to cut the timber to size. Bunnings had 3.6m lengths of 19mm x 42mm merranti. I used 1 full length and a 1.4m length for each side. Straight after cutting I threw the lengths into the pool for 2 days.
Even after soaking for 2 days the timber was VERY hard to bend. I did it in 2 steps. Firstly I held in place at the end and drilled and screwed in place. Then I needed a helper to hold the curve as I predrill then screw. Over all about 30 screws per side was required to keep the curve. Once the timber dried off (1/2 a day) I unscrewed the strip and it held some of its shape. I applied glue and repeated the process again but no predrilling was required. Hopefully it holds once the screws are out.
Lift duct
- Details
- Written by James Greenberger
- Category: Topend Hover
- Hits: 96
What a hassle!
Firstly I cut the ply to shape and glassed to extend the length
Planning surfaces
- Details
- Written by James Greenberger
- Category: Topend Hover
- Hits: 86
First step was to draw a line on the foam where the inside of the plane surfaces will go to. I changed this slightly from the plans so there is no 1.5 inch step between the ply and the foam. This will make fiberglassing a lot easier and save a fraction of weight.
Sheeting with ply
- Details
- Written by James Greenberger
- Category: Topend Hover
- Hits: 84
First was to get the ply. I used 3.6mm exterior grade BC ply. A lot cheaper than marine, uses the same glue within the ply and is only $25 a sheet.
Shaping the hull top
- Details
- Written by James Greenberger
- Category: Topend Hover
- Hits: 88
First off the plans are not very clear with this step. As is doesn't matter too much the distance of the sloped sides I took a good stab at 9.5 inches from the edge of the foam. I marked a line 9.5 inches in from the edge of the foam up until where the slope stops at 4260mm. I then taped some fishing line at the 4260mm point and pulled it back until it created a tangent with the line I made before. This gave ma a nice even curve for the hull sloping sides.
Now sanding was too much effort so I made a very quick and simple foam cutter using square steel, towel and springs.
Skirt attach strips
- Details
- Written by James Greenberger
- Category: Topend Hover
- Hits: 200
Today I worked on the skirt attach strips.
I used 9mm exterior ply for this and cut strips of 63mm and 114mm. The 63mm is used for the sides up to the 4m mark and the 114mm strips are used for the rear and toward of the 4m mark.
On the rear I cut a 114mm strip to 2337mm and put a 240mm chamfer on each end. This is the profile to shape the sides when the time comes. I glued this on securing it with 50mm wood screws.
Shaping the hull sides
- Details
- Written by James Greenberger
- Category: Topend Hover
- Hits: 57
Now that the 3 inch foam is laminated its was time to shape the sides. I marked out the edges of the hull as per the plan and used length of pvc pipe to draw the curve. I cut the shape out using a jigsaw about 10mm from the line. I soon realized that sending will be too much effort and time so I built a 90 degree foam cutter. This was built out of steel, wooden towel and wire. This made very easy work to ensure the edges were square.
