1 shows a hovercraft having a central hull that carries a passenger cabin 4. If suitably placed, they also allow hand access to finger attachment fasteners below the panel 40. Special thanks to Ian Smith, who created a large part of this tutorial, for giving me the authorization to improve and republish it. Join the end of the semi-circle to the end of the attaching strip with an arc. The design of the skirt mainly considers the type of flow and the number of air exit holes. Repeat the process like so, to get your second dot. The space between two lines, noted X on the drawing, is calculated from the following formula : because we divided the semi-circle in 8 equal sectors, and r = 3 because the semi-circle. In this example, let's say I'm making a template for the rear of the hovercraft, where the hull is rectangular (90 angles). Note that the front and back of the "vented bag skirt" must be kept open to allow air to escape (. The skirt and the hull shape These skirts help to keep the pressurizing air from escaping. These The forward end 42 of each panel overlaps on top of the aft end 44 of the adjacent panel by about 100% at the inner hull attachment reducing to little or no overlap at the attachment to the lower edge of the outer bag 20. Finger skirts offer less resistance during travel over a surface and are more able to conform to rough surface shapes and obstacles being traversed but offer lower levels of craft motion damping than the combined skirt and are less tolerant of wave impacts. Once your dot is drawn, erase the two lines that you used to place it, to make your work easier. In most bag and finger skirts, the fingers are attached at only two points, these being a) an attachment at the bottom edge of the outer bag portion (known as the finger head attachment) and b) to the lower surface of the inner bag in the vicinity of the lower hull Samples of various skirt fabric tested to destruction. We also sell Vanguard/Surveyor complete skirts that only need to be installed. Neoteric hovercraft skirts feature an inventive quick-change system that allows you to replace skirt segments in the field without the need for any tools whatsoever. Sorry to interrupt ! From here, we need to put the skirt pieces together, either by sewing them or soldering them. As the hovercraft lifts, the skirt extends below it to retain a much deeper cushion of air. to the hull in two places: on the edges of the hull, and on two strips - polypropylene strips in my case - under the hovercraft. We can accompany you either for a first assembly or during the maintenance of the skirts. The hovercraft is an Air Cushion Vehicle (ACV) that flies above a land or water surface on a cushion of air. See the full tutorial written by Ian Smith for more details (please note that the first part of this guide is outdated). The drawing shows a RC hovercraft hull with its two attachment strips and all its skirt pieces ready to be put together. Congratulations for following the tutorial so far, you're almost there. 4 is an underside view of the skirt system along one side of the craft (with fingers omitted for clarity). The skirt is one of the most important parts of a hovercraft because it allows the hovercraft to clear obstacles: the higher the skirt, the larger the obstacle that the hovercraft will clear. The bag section (26) includes an inner bag portion (28) forming an interface between the bag section (26) and the fingers (22). My goal is to democratize RC hovercrafts and general knowledge about hovercrafts. Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by rubenova, Jun 23, 2017. In this example, each panel is about twice as wide at the hull attachment end as it is at its outer end. Take the hovercraft hull upside down. Therefore, you need to set these strips first. The skills of musthane allow us to manufacture these skirts according to your specifications. Sorry to say that I don't have pictures to show the sewing of bigger hovercrafts skirts right now, but the principle remains exactly the same. the skirt also. In all cases, it is important to divide the semicircle with an even number, to obtain a correct positioning of your dots. The next step is Combined bag and finger skirts offer the benefits of the low resistance, conformability and ease of repair of the finger skirt with the versatility of hull design, air distribution, impact tolerance and the craft motion damping of the bag skirt. presented in the following pages. A good example is the Saunders Roe SRN-1. Solid metal hovercraft skirts. I will rotate the drawing 90 to the right to continue the process. New segments slide into a special slot along the craft's edge without the need for mechanical fasteners, which enhances the Hovercraft's sleek, agile appearance. Like shown on the picture, use these bisectors to reproduce the shape of the hull with a smaller ratio. We can accommodate 16 foot hulls with the cut out and complete versions. Join the dots, and voil, you have your template, ready to be reproduced on a piece of cardboard. We use reinforced rubber offering great resistance to abrasion. Offer little resistance to the passage of obstacles The result may contain a very small margin of error, which will have no bad consequence. drag flaps and can be used in any front or side location on your hovercraft. Of course, this level of precision is not required for models. From this single shape, you can design all the corners templates you need, so be sure to save it or copy it. but stable ride of the bag and finger skirt. The shape of the panels 40, the position of the air feed holes 46, and the degree of overlap between panels 40 are selected to ensure that the intended air feeds are not blocked by an overlapping panel. Therefore, I get : 22.5 x (/180) 3 = 1,2 cm. Use this arc length to divide the rest of the skirt. that will fully satisfy your specifications. The Hovercraft Rear Segment Skirt System is the same as the Side Segment system, We also sell Vanguard/Surveyor complete skirts that only need to be installed. . of making the skirt may not be very low but it is important that once In addition, the invention is intended to improve the flexibility of the skirt bag. For example, The skirt isnt going to melt the ice after use. Damaged skirts or broken ties result in a loss of cushion air with an accompanying loss of hoverheight, reducing hovercraft performance and maneuverability. Keep in mind that you may need a seam / joining allowance on all pieces. Remember that you will need one template for each angle value on your hull. Finally, you must decide on the type Its breakthrough design and consistency pushes the hovercraft envelope even further. Note that the front and back of the "vented bag skirt" must be kept open to allow air to escape (see this page for more explanations). The RC hovercraft is multifunctional and can work both on land and water just like real hovercrafts. Take the appropriate cardboard template and set it 1 mm before the corner. The hovercraft is then ready to glide whatever the nature of the ground: water, swamp, ice, earth etc Propulsion is provided by a propeller. Hovercraft skirts feature an inventive quick-change system that allows the pilot to replace skirt segments in the field without the need for any tools whatsoever. A flexible curtain, called a skirt, is attached to the outer perimeter of the craft to contain the air beneath it. Overlapping of adjacent panels also offers the benefit of a stronger multi-layer structure without having to laminate layers together (as is often the case in conventional inner bags, which increases the cost and stiffness). Use this arc length to divide the rest of the skirt. preferable to replace the entire skirt system rather than to replace individual segments; it And while they might not be ubiquitous, hovercraft catch. By using this site, you agree to its use of cookies. . Best suited to multi-terrain cruising hovercraft. Particularly on larger craft, large inner bag panels tend to exceed the width of commonly available flexible materials. I personnally learned by doing it a few times and making mistakes at first. You can get free help through the forum or speak with our engineer. One part of the skirt should And you're done. The figure includes a view of an inner bag panel shown laid out flat and a section through the attachment at the finger top edge; and. You read it well, this tutorial works for both ! The anti-scoop hovercraft skirt technology developed by Neoteric engineers gives the Hovercraft the ability to quickly accelerate without catching water. Assuming your hovercraft doesn't grow and shrink area due to skirt changes, the disk size is always the same. The Engine Material flapping and Zizhao checking image data on laptop. Between them the hull 2 and skirt 10 form a plenum for a cushion of air on which the hovercraft rides. ground all the way around the craft. The pressure difference between . Small craft, such as the SR.N6, usually have one engine with the drive split through a gearbox. A "vented bag skirt" is set to the hull in two places: on the edges of the hull, and under the hull. The skirt confines the pressurized air that supports the weight of the craft. 6. Well there are 3 main types of hovercraft skirt some more complicated than others first off theres a bag skirt this is realtivly simple to make but does require some calulations a bag skirt is a sealed bag that goes round the parimiter of the craft depending on what type of lift fan you are using it may or may not have holes in to let the air . deformed. A skirt according to claim 2, wherein the aft edge of each panel lies below the forward edge of the next panel. Fig. whereas those fitted with bag skirts usually have square or angular Hoverworks of Parry Sound, Ontario hopes to improve matters with its AirRider hovercraft, which uses a hybrid hull and skirt design that combines the best of conventional hovercraft technologies . Hovercraft Skirt Design http://www.leisure-hovercraft.comHovercraft Skirt Design http://www.leisure-hovercraft.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HovercraftRela. These holes should be ~1" wide. At least 2" from the edge of the smaller circle but still in the reinforced area, cut 6 holes in the plastic. Draw two horizontal and vertical axes which pass through the center of the semi-circle drawn previously. Neoteric's engineers are never satisfied with the status quo. This image on the left shows a modern style hovercraft which carries passengers over the surface of the water, while the diagram on the left shows how the air vents moving through the hovercraft create the air cushion below the craft for movement using the following labels: 1) propellers, 2) air currents, 3) fan, and 4) flexible skirt. E-mail: team@neoterichovercraft.com, 2018 Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc This close-up shows the Neoteric quick attach/detach hovercraft skirt system, which requires no tools whatsoever and allows Hovercraft skirts to be removed or installed in seconds. Thank you for following this tutorial until the end.