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Q: Why doesn't the hovercraft look like it's actually floating?
A: The hovercraft is floating, the reason you can't see under it is the skirt. The plywood is freely floating about 6 inches
above the ground, and the skirt is about 1 millimeter above the ground, allowing the air to slip out and make it nearly frictionless.
Q: Why did you decide to make a hovercraft?
A: We'd always wanted to build one, so we used science fair as a liable excuse to spend the time and money on this project
Q: How much did your hovercraft cost?
A: We estimated it would take $500, but after adding it all up it only cost us about $475. This would have been a lot cheaper
if we had already owned any of the engines
Q: How do you make a wall skirt?
A: Look at the link to our left labeled skirts. We have a great explanation there
Q: Would a bag skirt work better than a wall skirt on a large type 2 hovercraft?
A: A wall skirt has the highest ground clearance, is the easiest to make and maintain, and has the most terrain capabilities.
Bag skirts also require more power to maintain a high pressure in the bag and under the craft. We have not successfully gotten
a bag skirt to work, so we aren't even positive they work on a leaf blower hovercraft. Basically, if you plan on going
over only concrete, use a wall skirt. If you want to make a successful bag skirt that is capable of going over grass
or water, you will need to research further or buy plans.
Q: Does the hovercraft have to have a skirt at all?
A: Yes. The skirts purpose is to contain the high pressure air underneath the craft. Without a skirt, the hovercraft would
not lift but a few millimeters if any.
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