The hovercraft - how does it work?

This is a bit about how an RC hovercraft works. If you want to see our RC hovercraft kits guide go to RC hovercraft kits

The hovercraft is a vessel that can transport itself over many different surfaces. It is somewhat of a problem, though, to construct a large size model that is usable due to weight and other circumstances.

RC hovercraft principle: The rc hovercraft works by pressing air down and 'floating' above the ground, water or whatever surface you want to use it on. The hovercraft is an amphibious craft, which means that it can be operated on either ground, water, ice and alot of other things. The only requirement is that it is capable of "pushing" itself off the surface. This is the reason why it doesn't take off and fly away. So you probably don't want to take it hovering over a pile of dust or other light material as it will just dig itself down.

It is controlled by one or two fans on the back that either blow air onto a rudder or simply by the fans moving themselves. It has good maneuverability in that sense that it is good at changing directions because there is very little friction between the craft and the surface.

Speed and acceleration though, is nothing to be too impressed by. 4-10 km/h is normal for an rc hovercraft and it accelerates fairly slow.
It doesn't handle steep surfaces well either, it will simply slide down unless the fans are extremely powerful. Weight is a another serious issue when it comes to hovercrafts. They have to be constructed from very light materials in order for the air flow system to keep it floating. This is probably one of the reasons that the army has never come up with a successful hovercraft.

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