hovercraft q

[flyboy367]

im planning on using my night ranger to actually do something. so ill make it into a hovercraft. i have seen in a few threads garbage bags used. i have the new no rip garbage bags at home, now i have seen big holes in some skirts, others with no holes? whats the deal with skirts. id like it to go over water and all if possible.

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

The trick is to regulate the outflow of air so that the skirt stays inflated. The skirt is only there to stablilze the air cushion. The first hovercraft didn't use a skirt at all.

I am not sure I have ever seen a "no hole" skirt". "No hole" runs the risk of over inflation, and creating a high point in your skirt, the the hovercraft rides like it is trying to balance on a ball. The whole point of a hovercraft is to ride on the aircushion, not the skirt. So the "hole" controls the amount of air trapped beneath the craft. However If the hole is too big the skirt could have a blow out and sort of turn inside out.

I have seen a method where the skirt is inflated like an innertube. The air comes in through a plenum, inflates the skirt, and then exits through a second plenum and hole in the center of the hovercraft to create the air cusion.

You might find more help here
http://rc-hovercrafts.com/phpBB2/index.php