Its time for your project to take off.
There are a lot of crafts out there. Even more plans sets. I have ridden in and flown a few different types.
I don't want this site to be a SEVTEC ad but, hey thats what I fly. I also have friends with UH (Universal hovercraft) That are very cool. I think there just as good. I'm all about you just getting out and flying. One engine, two engines, or ten engines I just want to see more hovercraft out there.
Wood, glass, aluminum it really doesn't matter as long as it flys and your smiling!!!
On this page I will continue to add pages for parts, plans and anything I think has to do with you getting flying. With that said you have to be continously working on your craft to get it done or it will be a career of it's own.
Get friends to help find the guy in your group that welds and have him help you do the drive, one of your friends has had a can of resin open before and will be happy to help. Net work and just get it done. Buckle down get seriuos and commit to the project. Make a schedule that you can afford. Buy parts ahead of time so you have them when it's time to build that part. (buy it all ahead of time at once if you can afford it) two days of building every two weeks will really get it done quite fast. A helper will be like having four of you and may be a good motivator. two guys working two days every two weeks will crank out 800hrs in a year!! thats huge and if you have a good gruop of buddies they'll all kick in a little.
If your not a builder. You already know your not if you just ask yourself if you are a builder. If this is the case I think your the lucky guy in the group. Work a few hours overtime and just pay the pros to build. The idea is not to be a builder it's just a option. If you dont mind a boat payment just order a craft done. Chance are very high that it will be better than what you would build anyhow. So you pay twice as much but instead of all the hours building and trying to be a craftsmen you can just go to work and do what your good at and use that money to pay the payment. How many fisherman build there own boats C'mon none of them. So dont feel like just becuase there are plans to build means you have to. Besides you can be a couple years faster by buying.
I don't get any money from anyone for my opinion, not that I won't take the check. I just want to see hover craft out on the water.
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As I always say if we ask and demand and don't get what we want then one of us will build it. Thats what I'm seeing here as a prime example. A small three man shop out of New Zealand is offering a new personal craft.
I have a e mail into Hover Works as you read this looking for more of the details of this new craft. I was suprised to see wood construction and not structural foam and glass. The video talks about a breaking system but not the traditional SEVTEC style brake. This craft has a fully functioning reversing prop. This is somthing that the industry has looked for for years.
I would say right off there may be more money in the sales of the reversing prop to existing hover owners than in the craft itself?
The hull appears to have plow planes on the sides and front as well as the standard full bag design.
The bag itself seems to have a touch of what I call the UH style full bag but in this case it has been enlarge to SEVTEC size. This should give the craft stability and help balance out the loads on rough water. The craft is lacking in multi compartment skirts underneath and once again the reversing prop may eleminate this need all together. This craft design should really be the cats meow for those that want to do spins and have the abilty to operate from marina's with the reversing prop.
From the web masters mouth:
Once again we have what looks to be another great craft on the market. Kit form surley could excellerate your build time. The price may be high to those of you that are DIY but I don't see any of you cheap skates buying a kit anyhow. (To bad the craft loses all that floor space with the wood bracing). Hover works should be about $14600.00 USA based on $21000.00 NZ plus under 100 hours to build. For a complete craft finshed plus shipping 20837.00 USA based on 27k plus NZ.
I see the making for another plans based craft here. Options for wood or structurual foam. The kits already come in three stages. I would recommend right off passing on the wood hull part of the kit and doing it in foam like a SEVTEC. The craft is easily scale able and the larger crafts numbers are already known for the most part from other builders and designers. This seems like a great UH style replacement being that it operates on a single engine more like a SEVTEC and not like a UH that almost requires two engines. There will be a need for a full enclosure for any company to sell a craft in rainy areas. I say nice merging of the technology here and room to grow as well.
The reversing prop design I have to say is probably were the money is in hovercrafting right now. I believe its some thing everyone wants and can be adapted to every craft. Allowing crafts into marina's would let hovercraft become more and more main stream. I would not be surprised if these guys at Hover Works intended to offer a great kit craft but then made there real mark in the industry selling a high quality reversing props for the DIY.
Found this info on there site.
http://www.hoverworks.co.nz/trailer.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjztIX1c9RE&NR
The hovercraft was invented by Christopher Cockerell in 1956. The theory behind one of the most successful inventions of the 20th century, the Hovercraft, was originally tested in 1955 using an empty KiteKat cat food tin inside a coffee tin, an industrial air blower and a pair of kitchen scales. Sir Christopher Cockerell developed the first practical hovercraft designs, these led to the first hovercraft to be produced commercially, the SRN1.
