Home Made Hovercraft with pictures...

[monte55]

After a few requests for pictures of a hovercraft I built, I finally found them and here you go:

I built this in 1977 when I was much younger and had more hair (actually I still have the same amount of hair, it has just moved to other parts of my body)

Specs: Approx 12 ft long by 5 1/2 ft wide
constructed of 3/8 plywood and wood products with fiberglassed
seams and top.
Air skirt...silver coated, neoprene with nylon thread (very strong
but flexible stuff).
Seams glued with Bostick (sp) 1177 (contact cement)
and stitched by hand.
Two 18hp 2 stroke gas engines...
one engine turning a 30 in duct propeller for lift...direct drive
one engine with belt reduction turning a 42 in propeller for propulsion.
Will float- approx 1000lbs floatation per product literature
Plans were purchased from Universal Hovercraft -this model, I believe
was a UH 12.
Original plans called for a single engine; driving both props.
What I did not like about that was if you lowered your propulsion
prop speed, you also lowered the lift fan speed, which would bottom
out the unit.
That is why I went with two engines...I could stop forward movement
without losing any lift.

Each engine has a voltage output wire which I connected to two panel mount volt meters and calibrated to use as tachs
That is what the two pod looking things ahead of the steering wheel are. Each engine has its own throttle and can be controlled individually.
Propellers and hubs were purchased from a company called Banks Maxwell.
I found the engines locally at a Go Cart supply. They are rated for
18 hp if they have tuned exhaust; which they didn't.
When I made this I had a jig saw, belt sander, hand drill, small tap & die set and not much else.