Showing posts with label hovercraft school project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hovercraft school project. Show all posts
School Project, how to make a Hovercraft
School projects are a great way to bring lessons alive. I sat through so many lessons at school wondering why I was learning equations and what impact the Pythagorean theorem might have on my day to day living requirements. The best teachers are able to apply lessons to practical examples of why mathemathical theories are so important, and necessary to understand. School projects bring engineering alive and explain why we need to understand equations. If you build a product such as a hovercraft for example, you begin to understand why certain materials need to be used for lightweight construction. Creating something results in a tangible result, good or bad. By applying knowledge and expertise, many disciplines come together, for example you may need to research information by using the Internet. The Hovercraft School Resource Blog is a great starting point to provide links to useful hovercraft sites.
Hovercraft construction the easy way
Many schools and individuals embark on hovercraft construction projects, and kits range from the budget end model with balloon and CD disk, to fully working hovercraft capable of winning races.
Kids have a lot of fun constructing sit-on mini hovercraft constructed from plywood and leaf blowers, though for a cruising hovercraft, you need a non electric leaf blower without umbilical power cord connected to the electric wall socket, otherwise you wont get very far!
Hovercraft construction is fun and educational. Hovercraft have a number of characteristics to consider, they need to be lightweight to get best performance but if you make the hull too light, durability can be compromised, with disappointing results if you manage to collide with tree on your first trip out.
Hovercraft construction from original design is possible, and many hovercraft clubs have forums where you can get advice from more experienced club members. The Hovercraft Club of Great Britain for example has an excellent forum at http://www.hovercraft.org.uk/
Some hovercraft manufacturers offer their own hovercraft plans and kits; you can either take to long-term approach and start from scratch, and source parts and materials in a scrap-heap challenge approach, or purchase a fully functional hull to finalise construction of a vehicle that could be used for cruising pleasure. The scrap heap approach will offer plenty of challenges if this is what drives you, the thrill of overcoming obstacles creating something from nothing, taking recycling to new levels of accomplishment. If you are more focused on the final result, and wish to own a fully functional personal leisure cruising craft, Reaction International Ltd now offer the Hov Pod SPX LM, a fully functional
3-seater craft - LM denotes Local Manufacture, meaning that you can buy the hull to source and fit your own engine.
Depending on your budget you can purchase a number of options such as customised trailer, and comfortable upholstery, or you can decide to create your own seating, the choice is yours.
The Hov Pod Hull is unique among hovercraft, manufactured from High Density Polyethylene. This material is weight for weight far stronger, & more buoyant than glass fibre. The material has been used for Formula 1 Race crash barriers in the past, due to its superior impact properties. HDPE is also used for the construction of artificial knee joints. It is lightweight, and very strong, whereas glass fibre shatters on impact, is labour intensive to produce, and difficult to modify with fixings.
Hov Pods seat three adults. For more information, please visit www.hovpod.com
Kids have a lot of fun constructing sit-on mini hovercraft constructed from plywood and leaf blowers, though for a cruising hovercraft, you need a non electric leaf blower without umbilical power cord connected to the electric wall socket, otherwise you wont get very far!
Hovercraft construction is fun and educational. Hovercraft have a number of characteristics to consider, they need to be lightweight to get best performance but if you make the hull too light, durability can be compromised, with disappointing results if you manage to collide with tree on your first trip out.
Hovercraft construction from original design is possible, and many hovercraft clubs have forums where you can get advice from more experienced club members. The Hovercraft Club of Great Britain for example has an excellent forum at http://www.hovercraft.org.uk/
Some hovercraft manufacturers offer their own hovercraft plans and kits; you can either take to long-term approach and start from scratch, and source parts and materials in a scrap-heap challenge approach, or purchase a fully functional hull to finalise construction of a vehicle that could be used for cruising pleasure. The scrap heap approach will offer plenty of challenges if this is what drives you, the thrill of overcoming obstacles creating something from nothing, taking recycling to new levels of accomplishment. If you are more focused on the final result, and wish to own a fully functional personal leisure cruising craft, Reaction International Ltd now offer the Hov Pod SPX LM, a fully functional
3-seater craft - LM denotes Local Manufacture, meaning that you can buy the hull to source and fit your own engine.
Depending on your budget you can purchase a number of options such as customised trailer, and comfortable upholstery, or you can decide to create your own seating, the choice is yours.
The Hov Pod Hull is unique among hovercraft, manufactured from High Density Polyethylene. This material is weight for weight far stronger, & more buoyant than glass fibre. The material has been used for Formula 1 Race crash barriers in the past, due to its superior impact properties. HDPE is also used for the construction of artificial knee joints. It is lightweight, and very strong, whereas glass fibre shatters on impact, is labour intensive to produce, and difficult to modify with fixings.
Hov Pods seat three adults. For more information, please visit www.hovpod.com
Hovercraft - School Projects
Since hovercraft were invented in the 1950's, people have been fascinated by the concept of floating on air over any flat surface. Many schools build their very own hovercraft as part of science projects. Creating a hovercraft from simple materials is easy and affordable, and the ultimate satisfaction of flying a vehicle that classmates have created is fantastic, a real sense of achievement.
This Blog seeks to offer a one-stop shop of links and resources for students and teachers wishing to research hovercraft, or build their own hovercraft.
Download videos from http://www.youtube.com/group/hovercraft.
Free images http://picasaweb.google.com/HovPodimages
This Blog seeks to offer a one-stop shop of links and resources for students and teachers wishing to research hovercraft, or build their own hovercraft.
Would you like to arrange a school demo? http://www.hovpod.com
Download videos from http://www.youtube.com/group/hovercraft.
Free images http://picasaweb.google.com/HovPodimages
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