Fifteen Minute, Self-propelled hovercraft

Step 6 Finished!

To start, place the hovercraft on a hard, smooth surface. Put one of the wires from the battery snap through one of the holes in one of the contacts on the back of the motor and bend it so it doesn't come loose. Then, put the other wire through the other hole, so that it just barely stays there. That way, it's easier to remove when you chase it down. If the propeller blows the air forwards, reverse the wires. Also, this is a 1.5 volt motor, so hooking it up to a nine-volt is not good for it. Don't let it run for long periods of time or it will burn out the motor. It works by creating a high pressure zone inside the meat tray. The escaping air travels under the rim of the meat tray, causing the tray to lift off the ground very slightly. The top part of the propeller provides lateral thrust, causing the whole thing to move forward.

Comments

[zero.x.red]

hey, my fans starts to spin really slow after 10 sec... any idea to why?

[RunsWithExplosives]

Your propeller could be too big or too heavy.

[Tommyhzy]

I think that your fan spin because you (removed by community request) put the motor a little angled, thus producing angular thrust. You cold either try moving the motor more towards the middle of the craft, or un-angling the motor.

[Dr. No]

Maybe your battery is low?

[Castle Seige]

Does the motor voltage affect how good it hovers?

[Dr. No]

I only tried it with one motor, but I'm guessing it would.

[Skleck911]

[Skleck911]

would it be possible to use flat styrofoam rather than the meat tray? Thanks{{{

}}}

[Venemot]

Actually a flat styrofoam is much butter if you tape a plastic sheet to it .it should be a bit loose....in the centre stick the plastic to the styrofoam plate with the help of screws and a metal strip( tin wil do the trick) but remember to add a fey holes close to the metal strip....this make a good air cusion in the middle.....i am going to try this model.....i have made my designs....just waiting to buy a few of the stuff.....actually i am looking for a moter for the downward thrust.....and i am sure that the motor used in computer cpu's for cooling parts will work best.....

[Dr. No]

Flat styromfoam might work, just make sure it's not warped or the air will escape through the gaps between the styrofoam and the ground.

[..Dylan..]

Hey. I'm building a hovercraft in school. We're using two motors? What do you suggest that I do?

[Venemot]

For the fan for the downward thrust you should use the one that are used in computer cpu's for cooling down parts.........you can easily screw and tape it to the tray after making a hole for it......and for the vertical thruster you can easily use dc motor.......if you want to make a rc hovercraft you can make flaps like those used for setting the direction of air in car ac's and connect them to a moter.......

[MayolaTikaka2]

get to meat trays put the small tray over the other use match sticks between the trays with a space of about 1/2 a centimetre make a hole on the bigger tray then u finished the hvercraft produces more thrust

[goider]

just put them side by side

[teabaron]

would a usb hard drive motor work for this?

[mabster]

Wasn't this by klutz? it seems like you just took it out of their battery science book

[RunsWithExplosives]

Wouldn't it be easier to just add a small switch instead of moving the wires every time?

[jetsmiley123]

where do you think i can pick up a propeller? I'm really interested in building this project!

[jakes mom]

Just finished our 15 minute hovercraft 2hours later. It was not as easy as I thought it would be. We used tape instead of glue to make it lighter and it worked great. this is for a 7th grade science project for extra credit. We also used a hand held fan for the blade to propel the craft. cost about $8.00 make

[Blue_Flame]

Hey, mine keeps going in large circles. but anyway, great instructable, keep it going!! For all other people, using a paper plate is OK for teh base

[Whaleman]

I think your fan is off slightly.

[brainiac]

(removed by author or community request)

[brainiac]

no answer?