pic: steering

[edomus]

loading photo ...

[Rafi Ahmed]

Its looking good!

Is that the motor in the backgorund?

[evelyn1503]

what in the world is it

[Pat Fairbank]

Originally Posted by evelyn1503

what in the world is it

It looks like what they're going to put in back of the propulsion fan on their hovercraft, so that they can steer.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

I hope you are planning on using something more reliable than string but it is looking good so far.

[edomus]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

I hope you are planning on using something more reliable than string but it is looking good so far.

lol, we are actually planning on leaving the "string", it suposedly can take a 100lb load

[Greg Needel]

Originally Posted by edomus

lol, we are actually planning on leaving the "string", it suposedly can take a 100lb load

100 lbs is not alot considering you are generating force to move a person. you also might want to consider a rigid member in there something like a rod on a hinge so it maintains the distance between the members better then just knots in string

[adamrp]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

100 lbs is not alot considering you are generating force to move a person. you also might want to consider a rigid member in there something like a rod on a hinge so it maintains the distance between the members better then just knots in string

well, we'll see how it works, but it should do just fine. We have two ropes going across, which should strengthen it considerably. If it doesn't work out we'll change it, and in that case, thanks for the suggestions!

arp

[Bryan D]

How thick is your plywood? (I'm assuming that's what the 'fins' are made of) Because it doesn't look all that thick and doesn't wood bend fairly easily when it has such a large surface area (based on the comparison to the person next to it) If the wood started flexing during your 'flight' is it possible that it would horrible mess up your steering abilities? Have you considered a more rigid material by chance..

[Ryan Albright]

Are you going to have a kill switch? Just in case you break the string or loose control? Its looking great i might take on a project like this towards the end of summer

[adamrp]

Originally Posted by Ryan Albright

Are you going to have a kill switch? Just in case you break the string or loose control? Its looking great i might take on a project like this towards the end of summer

The fastest way to stop any hovercraft is to shut off the lift engine, which can be done easily by throttling the engine to zero or, in our case, simply turning the key since it's electric start.

arp