1st Hovercraft build, What electris will i need.

[Kelownan]

hi everyone, I just joined as there seems to be a bigger hovercraft community on these forums,

well here i am, ready to do my 1st build. round about 14in. x 10in.
when i get the balance right ill go down to the moulders and get a nice light
plastic shell purpose moulded. (ill make the mould of course)

Im planning to use a pair of ducted fans and a 3ch radio, as im aiming for best efficiency ill end up using a lipo, proberbly a 3cell 11volt ,2 400 size electric motors with 2 speed controllers, a servo driven rudder.

Can anyone give me some advice on electrics and how to wire them up, the part im most confused about is pairing the 2 speed controllers.

Cheers

[metroidrc]

You can wire up two ESC's just by using a y harness and cutting the red wire on one of them to disable the bec. A single battery can be wired to both ESC's by soldering the red and black together on the two controllers.

[Kelownan]

Thanks metroid,

I have to say, Luv he axon racer, i posted it on RcUniverse forums and it caused quite a stir :D

onto the motors for a sec. ive got eyes on some brushless motors but im nt sure what kind will be best, ive heard mixed ideas about going brushless - some say no to out runners and others say yes etc.
I hear that RPM is what im after for a hovercraft so will this one suffice?
Tis the same as whats used in 400 size helis

Rpm (KV) : 3500 K/V
Operating Current : 8A - 16A
Peak amps (15 sec): 19A
Weight : 43g (Motor only)
29mm diameter x 30mm length with 3.17mm x 15mm shaft
Recommended Voltage : 7.4v to 11.1v (2 to 3 cell Li-po's)

Im used to RC helis which are pretty much just ordering the parts when you break em. am i right in saying that the above motor will need a 20A esc?

Theres also this one here

Motor Stats

Size: 28.00mm (Dia.) x 34.00mm (L)
Weight: 70g
Shaft: 2.90mm (Dia.) x 13.00mm (L)
K/V: 1050
Working Current: 6A - 16A (Max 22A)
Battery: 2 to 3 cells Lipo batteries (or equivalent Ni-xx batteries)
10 x 4.7 prop = 1,073 gm of thrust at 19.5 amps, 7,420 rpm.

[metroidrc]

thanks!
The motor size you are showing there might fit in a 70mm fan unit I'm guessing, 28mm is a bit large for the stuff I'm used to.
Look up high speed ducted fan hovercraft in these forums, someone else is working on one there.
Its probably going to be over 30 amps in a fan that large.
You can buy the fans in several places, just type in 70mm ducted fan unit into google search and see what size motor it will take.
Hope that helps!
-Josh

[pimp_squeak]

Ducted fans for lift probably isn't the best plan. Ducted fans are good for high velocity air, which gets a lot of volume at high RPM, but rather low efficiency at low rpm. What you REALLY want is a ducted prop (higher efficiency at lower rpm) and maybe a DF for thrust (if you're going for a speed demon anyway)