FT Hovercraft w/ Full Plans!

by kkmalu | March 15, 2016 | (7) Posted in Projects

Hey Guys,

I wanted to build a hovercraft from a long time so I built one from Peter's design...   Most of the build video is done by peter so wont go into much details however, I will try to cover the details that may have been left out...

 

I am using a EMax MT1806 2280kv motor for hovering as it provides more than 450g of thrust with a 6030 prop:

I mounted this motor straight onto a ruler stick (paint stick from walmart) - ruler markings make it easy for aligning everything however, I have included detailed measurements and alignment references in my plans...   Here is how it looks:

I did a hover test at this stage and it works very well...   I am hovering at about 3/4 throttle - using a EMax MT1806 2280kv motor...

 

I next did a hover test with putting approximate final weight and it still hovered well at 50% throttle so has plenty of power!

 

Once it passed the hover test I went ahead and glued the pusher motor on another piece of ruler stick (again, included the marking in plans). For the motor stick support I simply used a 1" pink foam from home depot. If you dont have the 1" pink foam, I have included templates for DTF - cut out 4 pieces and laminate them together...

 

Because the thurst tube is big, I have made tabs in vertical stabilizer for straight alignment within the tube as well as one of the tabs goes into the frame to keep it straight...    As there is not much surface to glue, the tube tends to lean on one side and can be damaged by the prop. To fix this, I went ahead and used some barbecue skewers - put 1 skewer thru each side of the tube and it goes into the frame for support. Put some hot glue to secure skewers in place. The holes in tube and frame for skewers are both marked in the plans! 

 

Finally, attached the cabin and made a hatch to access all the electronics and batteries. Used a sharpie to quickly draw the windows and whola! here is how it looks:

 

Peter has put plans for base plates only so I thought I would go ahead and "fill in the blanks". I am attaching the PDF file here for anyone who would like to build one - its a lot of fun!!   It will go together really quickly...

 

Download Plans Here:  Hovercraft Full Plan

Note: The side pieces of cabin glue as "A-fold" (pieces go under the top panel) and the front piece is "B-fold" (piece goes on top of side and top panels) - see pictures above for reference...


Hovering Specs:
Motor: Emax MT1806 2280kv brushless (check for matching length mounting screws)
ESC: Hobbyking 12A
Prop: 6 x 3 EMP (could also use 5x4.5x3 or 6x4E APC prop)


Pusher Specs:
Motor: ntm1200kv (could use 900-1200kv 400 size motors - ~50-60g)
ESC: Turnigy Plush 25A with BEC
Prop: GWS 8x4x3 (could use up to 9" props)


Misc:
Foam: You could use $tree foam board or 6mm foam (In this case, MPF preferred for making tubes as it bends well)
Skirt: Hefty Extra Strong Garbage Bag 30Gal.
1x 9g servo
Yardstick or paint mixing wooden sticks for motor mounts (From Walmart or Lowe's or Home Depot)
Double sided tape if you want to service the skirt in future
1" thick Painter's tape to attach the skirt
Strong Duct Tape or Strapping tape (double sided tape goes on this to avoid damaging the paper when servicing)
2mm wooden dowels/barbecue skewers for aligning pusher tube...


Conclusions:

It is a really easy build with just few pieces to cut out. You can slide this on multiple terrains including water (yet to be tested) but should be a lot of fun with freinds and family...


Additional notes:

-> A nice addition to this would be to use a ESC with reverse function on the pusher motor (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__91040__Turnigy_Seaplane_40A_Brushless_ESC_w_Reverse_Function.html)

-> You could connect both ESCs with a Y-connector and plug it into the throttle channel so that they both start at same time. Another way would be to connect both motors on different swtiches to be able to control them individually (comes in handy when going over water)...   I use a futaba 14sg radio so in this video I show how to set up this radio if you want to connect your motors to different swtiches:

Other ways of doing this would be to connect the hover motor to aux channel and assign a 3-way switch. Dial in your mixes, low-med-high settings at different positions and still control them variably to your liking...

 

Hope this article and the plans help...    Have fun building!

COMMENTS

TheRealBanana on November 27, 2016
Can someone post a tiled plane for this that would be very helpful. Thank you!
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kkmalu on November 27, 2016
Open the plans in adobe, hit print... In the print window, under "Page Sizing and Handling", select "Poster" option and print... You'll be now able to print it as tiled...
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ewlie on March 22, 2016
Looks like a nice build. I've built one also and put some pictures here http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?25880-Hovercraft-in-Oz

They are a lot of fun and quite easy to build. I didn't measure much, just went with Peter's ideas. For the pusher I used a 1806 motor with a 5x3 prop and its super fast. My hover motor and prop are probably too big, but it hums away quietly and does the job.

For the pusher I put it on a servo so you get thrust vectoring instead of a rudder. It seems to work great.

I did try it on water but was disappointed with the results. It tended to 'bobble' around and never really came clear of the surface all the way round, so there was always some drag. On a road, gravel or short grass it is fine.

I used a 2200mA pretty central or a 1000mA up front. - See more at: http://www.flitetest.com/articles/peter-s-hovercraft-with-plans#sthash.IChdlYGA.dpuf
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BillTheDeadCat on September 7, 2016
I have been wanting to do this project for a long time but figured it would cost me money I need to build new Quads. But recently I decided to dismantle my 450 dead cat so I'll have 4 2212 980KV Motors. Was thinking I could do this project with 8" Prop for lift and 2 5X4X6 props for differential thrust for push. Would this work or would the lack of KV keep me from having the desired lift thrust?
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PropSpinner on March 21, 2016
Has anyone waterproofed one of these and taken it on the water?
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flyingsquirrelrc on April 21, 2016
yeah make it out of the waterproof foam board and take it on the water when you guys take the sea otter to the pond too.
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TriTriAgain on March 21, 2016
Genius idea! That would be great. Flite Test, take note!
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hugob33@gmail.com on March 21, 2016
Okay, what am I missing here..... how do you steer this sucker???
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kkmalu on March 21, 2016
The hover motor lifts this to reduce friction and then you steer it with help of rudder right behind the pusher motor...
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hugob33@gmail.com on March 21, 2016
Yeap, I get that, that's how all hovercrafts steer, but here I don't see any servo connection to a rudder, he just glued a vertical stabilizer ????

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kkmalu on March 21, 2016
oh.. those pictures I took before gluing in the servo, which is now glued right on the base of vertical stab...
here's a video of it working:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJzkfovoDDA
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spastickitten on March 19, 2016
Do you think I can pull this off with two 1806s as pusher motors? I will most likely use 4 cell
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kkmalu on March 19, 2016
Yes I think so... Although, you'll probably be at more than 3/4 throttle all the time with your thrust motor and the acceleration will be poor.... If you plan on using 1806 motor, move it a little further back to get the CG right...
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1999GGO on March 21, 2016
What bateries did you use?

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kkmalu on March 21, 2016
I used 2200mah battery for perfect balance (CG is around the hover motor)...
I have also used as low as 1000-1300mah batteries...
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1999GGO on March 24, 2016
And how did you conected one batery over two esc?

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timswift on March 21, 2016
Cool build!
What kind of hover time do you have with a 2200 mah battery?

Tim
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kkmalu on March 21, 2016
Thanks! Time wise it really depends on how fast or slow you are going...
Both motors dont take much amps either so I would say anywhere from 6-9min is what I get...
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drew2018 on March 22, 2016
how about putting a tough tilt from the ft tricopter on the vertical motor insted of using rudders
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3Josiah4 on March 22, 2016
I have a 1450kv motor and 30amp esc that i use in my ft flyer, but that is all i have, what other motor and/or prop sizes should i get to make this hovercraft? i am also not sure how i would bind 2 motors on my transmitter... would it require another esc and a Y extension?
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kkmalu on March 22, 2016
Look at the specs at the end of article... You can simply connect your two escs with Y-connector and remove a red wire from one of the ESC. For more details, look at flitetest's twin motor planes. They usually show this setup near the end of each twin build...
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jimaustin100 on April 7, 2017
Hi, I'm new to actually building RC things, I've just finished building my Hovercraft. Everything works on the bench. The problem I have is I only have a 4 channel Hobby King controller, so only the one throttle channel, I really would like it to be dual control. Can anyone help me by explaining how to hook up the second motor to the Elevator channel as I cant get the ESC to Calibrate. Cheers =D
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FT Hovercraft w/ Full Plans!