Physical principles of hovercraft?

[JohnDuck]

Ok, plans for constructing your own hovercraft are ubiquitous on the internet these days. Most of them give simplistic explanations of how the craft work, but I'd like to know a little more. What kind of knowledge does one need to understand hovercraft in a precise mathematical way?

I'm sorry if my question is vague or poorly phrased. I guess what I'm looking for is a little direction, i.e. that I should familiarize myself with such-and-such equations from fluid mechanics. My physics education is rather limited (I've taken a single course on mechanics for first-year engineers), but I've taken several classes on calculus (single and multivariable), linear and non-linear ODEs, and an introductory course to PDEs. For the record I've at least heard of the Navier-Stokes equations.

 

[Danger]

This might be of some assistance. At least, it's a start.
"tagteamdbserver.mathworks.com/ttserverroot/Download/28442_AIAA-2005-6293_Denery.pdf"[/URL]
Hmmm... apparently the server for that went down right after I posted the link. Coincidence...? :rolleyes:

 

[russ_watters]

Hovercraft aren't very difficult - all you need it is static pressure and airflow from Bernoulli's equation. Static pressure multiplied by the skirt area gives you lift.