Do you want a fun project to do at home, alone or with the children? Building a hovercraft is easy and inexpensive, and the finished product is a lot of fun to use! Read the instructions below to learn how to make a great hovercraft using commonly used tools.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Building the Board
Step 1. Start with a solid piece of plywood, cutting the edges away to leave a circle with a diameter of 1.5 meters
It's easy enough to do with a jigsaw, finishing the edges with a chisel, rough sandpaper, or a rasp.
-
Either way, sandblasting the edge is the best way to keep it from chipping.
Make a Hovercraft Step 1Bullet1
Step 2. Build another circle of plywood, this time smaller in diameter, say about twenty centimeters
We will see later how to use it.
Step 3. Now you need to drill a hole in the main circle
This is where you will insert the leaf blower, so it is important that it is accurate. Take the leaf blower tube and outline it on the plywood board. To make the round hole, make a hole in the center with the drill, this will allow you to insert the jigsaw with which you will follow the edges. As you trim the edges, check often that it holds the tube well.
-
If the seal isn't perfect, that's no problem. Duct tape will fix it all.
Make a Hovercraft Step 3Bullet1
Method 2 of 3: Building the Air Cushion
Step 1. Cut the plastic sheet into a circle about eight inches wider than the plywood board
Roll the excess plastic over the edges of the board, securing it with a stapler or nail gun. It is important that it holds well.
- If you want, use American tape for better sealing.
- The plastic covered side will be the underside of the hovercraft.
Step 2. Reinforce the plastic
Turn the board over so that the side with the plastic is facing up. Take the American masking tape and use it to completely cover the area in the center of the circle. It should be a little bit larger than the circle we cut in step 2 of the previous section.
For example, with a 20 cm circle, make a 30 cm reinforcement
Step 3. Attach the small circle to the large one, well in the center
Use wood screws, shorter than the sum of the thicknesses of the plywood circles. 5 should suffice.
Step 4. Drill holes in the plastic
At least 5 centimeters from the edge of the small circle, but still in the reinforced area, drill 6 holes. These will let the air out of the bottom of the hovercraft's skirt, lifting it off the ground. If you make six holes they should be about 2-3 cm. In any case it is better to make them small and enlarge them later if they look tight.
Method 3 of 3: Finish the Hovercraft
Step 1. Enter the leaf blower
Turn the board upside down, putting it back in the right direction, and insert the leaf blower into the hole we made earlier.
Step 2. Seal the tube carefully with American tape
Step 3. Turn on the leaf blower and have fun walking around
It is normal for the hovercraft to need to be raised as soon as it is turned on to help inflate the skirt.
What You Will Need
- 10mm thick plywood
- A thick plastic sheet, for example a shower curtain
- Wood screws
- American adhesive tape
- A jigsaw
- A stapler or a nail gun
- One blows leaves
- A utility knife
Advice
The hovercraft can be painted without problems
Warnings
- Hovercraft isn't exactly the fastest way to get to the hospital. So pay attention as you build it, carefully using the jigsaw and other tools.
- Making a "floating" hovercraft, raised several centimeters off the ground, is much more difficult than making this hovercraft, which also travels on an air cushion.
