[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

A hovercraft doesn't lift its weight using thrust from the fan(s). It creates a confined air cushion on which it floats. A vacuum cleaner can't lift itself with the reaction force from its exhaust, but people regularly make hovercraft using them.

Yes, but the issue still stands. Even with a proper skirt, I don't think these fans could generate enough air pressure to sustain a cushion under their own weight. All they are meant to do is provide some cooling breeze... the fan shrouds are too loose and the motors too wimpy. Vacuum cleaners are meant to flow a lot more air; they're more or less hovercrafts in reverse. Hence why they can be made into hovercrafts.