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It's incredible how far we've come since we simply had a floating piece of plywood. At this point we have a fully steerable
hovercraft with throttle and rudders.
We took the steering wheel from an old Ketcar, as shown in the pictures, and it had a turning metal pole which we bent
to our liking. At that point we tied (quite tightly) a rope to the pole, and ran it both directions, guiding it through PVC
pipe, metal hoops, and angled metal tubes to the back of the skirt, around the safety cage, and across the rudders. Each
of the rudders is attatched to the safety cage and a 2-by-4 nailed to the plywood with hinges. The ropes are wedged under
pieces of metal attatched to the rudders, so they don't just slide around without moving anything. Also, to keep the rudders
parallel at all times, a piece of wood runs from one rudder across to the other, attached to each with a hinge.
So far in tests, these rudders work GREAT! They make the hovercraft power-slide beautifully and they are very responsive.
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| The rope running around the rudders |
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| The steering rope clearing a corner towards the rudders |
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| Front of the steering mechanism |
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| Ropes running to the back of the craft |
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| The rope tied to the steering wheel |
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| The path of the rope |
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| The first turn, turning to go down the side of the hovercraft |
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