10-year-old shows off his hover craft at fair [The G'ville Sun 04.03.09]One evening in January, Addison needed an idea for his 5th-grade science project. A proposal was due the next day. His mother, Kim, said she sent him to a Web site suggested by his teacher, & told him to find a project he considered exciting.
"He came bounding out ... and said, 'I'm gonna build a hovercraft,' " she said. "My first reaction was uh-oh."
The craft, which Addison said was inspired by the Jetsons' aircraft and by Yoda's transporter from "Star Wars," is made out of a round wooden disc, a Frisbee and a plastic sheet. It is powered by a leaf blower.
The Frisbee is screwed to the wooden disk, which serves as the platform riders sit on. The plastic sheet is folded double, and the Frisbee helps fasten it to the platform, allowing the leaf blower to inflate the tarp like a donut. In Addison's experiments, the aster version achieved speeds of 6.29 mph, according to his calculations.
He said he plans to work on other design improvements, such as brakes and steering. He also wants to figure out a way to add a second leaf blower to make the craft more powerful.
1 comment:
I really enjoyed reading about Addison's creative hovercraft project and how it draws inspiration from both classic and modern sci-fi. The idea of using a leaf blower to power a hovercraft is innovative and intriguing. For anyone interested in enhancing the power of their leaf blower for similar DIY projects, Click Here for some great tips and techniques. It's fascinating to see how such simple tools can lead to impressive inventions!
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