Light hovercraft powered by electric ducted fans

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the feasibility of building a light hovercraft powered by electric ducted fans capable of lifting a total weight of 214 pounds to a height of 10 feet. Participants clarify that traditional hovercrafts are designed to skim the surface and cannot achieve such heights, as they operate on principles distinct from those of helicopters. The consensus is that achieving 10 feet of lift requires significantly more thrust and power than a hovercraft can provide, with suggestions to explore hybrid designs like the hoverwing for alternative solutions.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of hovercraft mechanics and design principles
  • Knowledge of thrust-to-weight ratio calculations
  • Familiarity with electric ducted fan specifications and performance
  • Basic principles of aerodynamics and lift generation
NEXT STEPS
  • Research electric ducted fan thrust specifications and performance metrics
  • Explore hybrid craft designs, specifically the hoverwing concept
  • Learn about the principles of ground effect in aviation
  • Investigate the limitations of hovercraft versus helicopter lift capabilities
USEFUL FOR

Aerospace enthusiasts, hobbyists building hovercrafts, and engineers interested in electric propulsion systems will benefit from this discussion.

artemis12
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I'm trying to make a light hovercraft powered by electric ducted fans that will have enough thrust to lift me like 10 feet off the ground. the only problem is I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I"M DOING. can anyone help me?

i weigh 134 pounds, and the craft will weigh around 50-80. that puts the weight without the batteries and fans at 184-214 pounds. i know i need more thrust than what the object weighs to get it to float higher, but the fans will weigh a lot also, won't they? so I'm guessing i need more than 250 pounds of thrust. Anyone know how much thrust, voltage, amps, and horsepower i need to float a 214+ pound object 10 feet off the ground?
 
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Welcome to PF, Artemis.
You're not going to get a hovercraft 10' off of the ground no matter what you do. Huge commercial vehicles with turbine engines don't lift that far. The whole point of a hovercraft is to just skim the surface.
 
Hovercrafts only work because they are so close to the ground.
When you get farther away you switch from a hovercraft to a helicopter -> which requires tremendously more airflow and therefore more power.
 
oh. ok
 


is 45lbs too heawy for the deck of my HC?
 


has anyone ever made a one engine hovercraft here!?
 


motomax99 said:
is 45lbs too heawy for the deck of my HC?
We have nowhere near enough information to answer that question - we know nothing about your hovercraft!
 


sorry my dad told me that too, i have a one engine split thrust hc with a yamaha 440 snowmobile and i way about 130lbs
 


Danger said:
Welcome to PF, Artemis.
You're not going to get a hovercraft 10' off of the ground no matter what you do. Huge commercial vehicles with turbine engines don't lift that far. The whole point of a hovercraft is to just skim the surface.

thats not exactly true you should check these out: http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=hoverwing&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iv#
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #10


Very cool hybrid craft, but what gets that craft a few feet off the ground isn't the hovercraft mode, it's the ground-effect airplane mode. Danger is absolutely correct: a standard hovercraft is limited to mere inches of altitude, inherrent in the design.

Btw, moving this to the aerospace forum.
 
  • #11


mythbusters made hovercrafts from everyday objects, maybe watch that episode
 

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