The Hovercraft is Complete!

posted on May 15th, 2008

Our Hovercraft Project

The journey that our class has been on for the last 7 months has proven that when you take 15 students and let them use their hands and their minds’ they can build great things!

• Students not pictured: Anthony Hoard, Anthony Steenbeke, Cristian Arzate, Zak Mudge, Anthony Lilianthal, Colten Stepke (Teacher).

The Hovercraft Project started with a kit from Universal Hovercraft that only had the very necessary parts such as the engines, foam, wood, skirting and some other small components. Throughout the process of the build there were many other materials that were ‘added’ to the original kit.

The students began this project by making templates and using them to cut out the foam pieces. Sounds simple right?

Well not quite. The kit only provided a few sheets of foam, just enough to create the hull. The problem was you had to figure out strategically how to cut them with the least waste possible. Along with that, there were two layers to the hull and the joints of each layer could not be on top of each other so a there needed to be a different design for each layer.

The blueprints that came with the kit were poor, but were able to get through the process with the help of engineers and other professionals assisting us with the drawings.

At the very beginning of the project the Shop Rat Education Program was visited by a Hovercraft Guru, Matt Starbuck. He took a lot of time to show us many tricks and techniques to make the build much easier. He also took the students for a spin in his hovercraft to give them a taste of the final product.

Once the hovercraft hull foam pieces were complete we fiber-glassed the pieces together adding the wood layers and skirt attachment pieces. The hovercrafts hull was the most work in terms of time and labor.

Once the hull was complete it was on to the cockpit, thrust, and lift duct. The thrust duct was a very tricky part of the craft. We had to take the foam, slice it just right in order to bend it into a complete circle with out it breaking apart. It took a special jig and special tools to complete this process, but in the end with a lot of fiberglass and patience, the hovercraft’s thrust duct was a success.

Once the body was complete the students spent quite a bit of time sanding the fiberglass mess that naturally comes with Middle School Students spreading epoxy all over a craft, in a not so neat manner ;)

Once the hovercraft was complete, well at least complete enough to start the engines, the students didn’t waste any time before jumping in and taking it for a spin. It seemed to run very well, especially for the first time out.

So once the hovercraft was in working condition and the basic construction was complete the students then went backwards in the construction of the craft by taking it apart and preparing it to go off to paint.

The paint service was donated by Tripps Auto Body Shop. They painted the entire craft with Rhino Liner for durability. The end result is amazing. The red paint sparkles in the sun and really pulls the project together. We would like to thank our project sponsors, South Central Michigan Works and Tripps Auto Body Shop. We would also like to thank our Program Sponsors, Tracy Graphics & Solidworks.

And most of all, we would like to thank our students who did such a wonderful job on this project and we look forward to next years projects!