Press on! I've got a Venture Aeromarine model to restore myself.
Not sure what to make the bag/skirt out out. Ripstop nylon?

-=Doug

Originally Posted by rdstarwalt

Press on! I've got a Venture Aeromarine model to restore myself.
Not sure what to make the bag/skirt out out. Ripstop nylon?

-=Doug

Do you have patterens? I do,thanks to Capt pauly and Hampboats.....I'm making them out of an old parachute that someone gave me 35 years ago that's already cut up.

I'm going to take the paper templates and glue them to sheets of thin aluminum so cutting out patterns will be much easier.

And if you want once I get that done I will Trace out and cut the patterns for you and mail them to you, ,,,just pay postage. All you have to do is sew it together.

Still cutting(and re-cutting) parts

I do have the skirt/bag patterns and the original documentation for this kit.

Thanks for the offer!
Perhaps we all should pool our resources in the event there are others not so lucky as to it?

RC hovercraft is a very small niche, but a great project that is affordable and perhaps a gateway to other aspects of the building hobby.

-=Doug

Im waiting for The Capt. to chime in....... Im positive the skirt is parachute cloth,ripstop is a lot thicker/heavier.

What I have matches the old stuff,and I remember it being green, and both old and new skirts weigh almost the same.

I will post pics later,the new model is turning out to be a little challenging, since I have to substitute structure.

Well Doug,you have more info than I do. .... The skirt drawing is all I have,along with a crumbling model.

If anyone else is restoring a Challenger, I/we can help. From what I'm seeing other replies to this post ,,there are very few of us out there and I'm hoping someone will find it in a general search.

I will be making a set of hard patterns anyway,makes it easier to replace . We never wore out the old gasser one,probably ran it 15 times or so,all on asphalt.

My 049 totally was wasted due to what I called the "sand cycle". Growing up in Jacksonville (yes, north of where you are Marked), that powdery gray stuff was everywhere I ran. The 049 didn't have enough umph to move the craft on grass so as it moved across asphalt you could seen the cloud of sand/dust exit the sides and then get pulled into the prop intake area.

Not sure how many hours I ran that thing, but the abrasion took a toll quickly. I bought an Cox 15 with the intent on installing it and using an foam filter on the intake but time slipped away and that brand new motor is still in its case, never run. I built the Air Scout as a design project in one of college classes. The design was for the 4 rudder modification . The deck is mahogany plywood varnished. I still have the paper I wrote and the scoring rubric for the silly class! Isometric drawings - by hand of course, it was 1977 or so - of the model and the rudder design were part of the work. Wow... what a memory rewind.

It all should be scanned for posterity and the benefit of future builders.

Eye Candy attached...

-=Doug

More progress..........

I see the Air Scout is just a scaled down version of the Cyclone,and my craft....

I actually have the skirt installed......and ran the motor.......it doesnt lift well... Motor is about 240W.....

There seems to be a lot of air coming back out of the intake around the prop. It is level with the edge,was below it. I added spacers to the motor mount,but air is still recirculating around the edges of the prop.

I have the exhaust blocked off,so all the thrust is going to the skirt.

Any ideas?

I think your model is the Challenger1.
It used a .09 to .15 piston motor. If your length is about 24 inches, that is the Challenger 1.

The Cyclone used a .50 or .60 with a length of 40 inches.
I have the assembly manual for the Cyclone and the plenum duct for filling the skirt is very different from your deck cut out.

I am guessing you used the wreck's parts as patterns so, unless the weight is way out of wack (wouldn't think so with coroplast) it must be the motor prop that is inadequate.

You are out there on the leading/bleeding edge at this point. Does the bag/skirt have vent holes on the inside to dump air into the center plenum?

-=Doug

Looking a harder at your pics... is there a diverter plate to steer air into the skirt cut out?

My Air Scout has a quarter circle section, about 1/3 the prop arc, to deliver air downstairs.
The rest of the air goes out the back.

-=Doug

Originally Posted by rdstarwalt

Looking a harder at your pics... is there a diverter plate to steer air into the skirt cut out?

My Air Scout has a quarter circle section, about 1/3 the prop arc, to deliver air downstairs.
The rest of the air goes out the back.

-=Doug

I have the holes that are on the plans that I got for the skirt. They are in the correct position. I blocked off the air exit out the back initially just to get it to hover in the living room for testing.

The person who sewed the skirt for me made it a little larger and I've got about 1-inch excess toward the back but that should not affect the way it sits or inflates.

WELL........After 3 motor changes,I think it is working ok. It doesnt like wind or the crown in the road.

Just slip slides around.....like the gasser did 40yrs ago.

I think the original had lots of spare thrust,mine seems to lack acceleration.

Trying to convert a gas vehicle to electric is not a good idea. I have done it with varying amounts of success. An intake redesign and skirt interface need work,just not sure what.....

I have seen other designs do much better with less power. I guess I wanted to re-create something I did 40yrs ago......did that....mostly..

Wow looks a lot like the one I am now working on. I built it 40 years ago but gas motor was too heave and hard to regulate .. It only uses one motor. That thrust bucket is to direct prop wash into the skirt. I'll take a few photos of it . Prop is forward as in an airplane . The Rudders are behind it. On the bottom Side is a tunnel that leads to a hole in the bottom for air to enter the skirt .see view 28. Exactly what I have. AIR SCOUT ..