Homemade HovercraftI knew that my trip to Australia would take me away for Father's Day, so I dedicated the weekend before I left to a cool project -- building a homemade hovercraft with my kids. We used about $150 worth of materials, the majority of which went to a 30cc two-cycle gas engine leaf blower. We had a blast and the kids got to use some power tools. Mission Accomplished. The guys at the RoosterTeeth office loved it and want to feature it in an upcoming RT Life, but here's a quick clip of it in action: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujn2ltG4B-Q&featu... I will put some details and progress photos in the comments if you are interested in trying this yourself. Next goal: make a bigger one, invade Cobra Command headquarters.
Cut a 4 foot diameter circle from 3/4" plywood. (Jack Danger got to run the jigsaw)
Used heaviest gauge plastic sheeting I could find (shower curtain) wrapped over edges, stapled and excess trimmed off.
Excess trimmed off. Cut the hose of the leaf blower and secured it to custom hole as snuggly as possible.
Duct taped the curtain to prevent air leaks. Lots and lots of duct tape.
Cut six two-inch holes in a ring around the leaf blower hole on botttom of platform. Nailed a paint can lid to protect plastic and hole.
Attached leaf blower (added more duct tape to plug air leaks). Attached chair. Hired two ace test pilots.
The kids needed ear protection because it was loud as hell as you can see from the video clip. They had an absolute blast riding this thing. If I plug a couple more leaks, I could probably lift up 175 lbs with this.
We did this once in my physics class, but the hole for the leaf blower wasn't in the center. The result? Fast spinning hover craft. Also be careful not to put the leaf blower on top of anything flammable. We supported it with phonebooks, and they lit on fire. If you mix fire and gasoline you�...
We did this once in my physics class, but the hole for the leaf blower wasn't in the center. The result? Fast spinning hover craft. Also be careful not to put the leaf blower on top of anything flammable. We supported it with phonebooks, and they lit on fire. If you mix fire and gasoline you're gonna have a bad time.
Invading Cobra Headquarters would warrent the assigning of goofy nicnames ala Snowjob, Junkyard, The GUS BUS and so on. What would your G.I.Joes codename be, Burnie?
You are an awesome dad for doing this with your kids, and they are definitely lucky. I can wait to have kids, but I can't wait to do this kind of stuff with them.
Season 11 Teaser Trailer Two hapless space marines argue over what to do when they realize they have an astronomically huge problem on their hands. Featuring the guys at Smosh!
Cut a 4 foot diameter circle from 3/4" plywood. (Jack Danger got to run the jigsaw)
Used heaviest gauge plastic sheeting I could find (shower curtain) wrapped over edges, stapled and excess trimmed off.
Excess trimmed off. Cut the hose of the leaf blower and secured it to custom hole as snuggly as possible.
Duct taped the curtain to prevent air leaks. Lots and lots of duct tape.
Cut six two-inch holes in a ring around the leaf blower hole on botttom of platform. Nailed a paint can lid to protect plastic and hole.
Attached leaf blower (added more duct tape to plug air leaks). Attached chair. Hired two ace test pilots.
The kids needed ear protection because it was loud as hell as you can see from the video clip. They had an absolute blast riding this thing. If I plug a couple more leaks, I could probably lift up 175 lbs with this.
Post edited 6/22/12 2:46PM
plz post a warning on the site.
i really wouldbt want to miss the fireworks of the mortar rounds hitting the wood
... that thought crossed my mind too.
Misses Father's Day. Builds a hovercraft.
What would your G.I.Joes codename be, Burnie?
Post edited 6/22/12 2:47PM