Mankato
Composite Squadron
Hovercraft Cadet Comments
The experience of Mankato Squadron's hovercraft
endeavor has taught our cadets skills and techniques that they would not
have received otherwise. The experience truly brought the team together
as we discussed various designs, plans, and ideas. We learned a lot
from each other's ideas, as well as from the process of constructing the
hovercraft itself. We learned the fundamental difference between a
design on paper, and a finished product in action. We learned to
mentally formulate ideal situations and form designs that would create
that situation in reality. A prospect that seemed nearly impossible
from the start has now become reality. This hovercraft will soon be
used as an effective tool in recruiting and aerospace demonstrations. A
special thanks to the AFA for providing us with the funds necessary for
this endeavor which has given our cadets such a unique and beneficial
experience.
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C/CMSgt Connolly
Cadet Commander
Mankato Composite Squadron
Minnesota Wing CAP
Hover Craft,
This project has been a good experience for me and the
other cadets. It has shown us different things with air and pressure.
The building half of the project has been helpful to the cadets to show
them and me alike how to properly build a craft. Over all this has been
a fun successful project and I look forward to riding it.
C/Amn Travis Hunter Fisher
Mankato Composite Squadron
Civil Air Patrol
Javier Rodriguez
Building the hovercraft in aerospace was a new and very fun thing for me. I have always liked aerospace related activities and this has to be my favorite yet. We learned how hovercraft work, and how to design one. Building the hovercraft itself was fun. We found out that that all of the holes cannot be covered at once and that the skirt has to be strong enough for the power source. We also learned how to work as a team and how to figure problems out.
This is Cadet Cooling's input from the hovercraft project.
Ok, here's my hovercraft paper.
Our objective was to build a workable hovercraft, so we started by
looking for designs on YouTube and other internet sites that we could
build from. We decided on an inner tube-shaped design. We took a
light, plastic table and flipped it over so that the bottom was the
top of the hovercraft and the top of the table (the smoother side)
was the bottom of the hovercraft. Then we made a doughnut-shaped ring
of thick plastic on the bottom of the hovercraft that we could cut
holes in to let the air out for the lift. To make the doughnut shape
we took a 5-gallon pail cover and screwed it onto the middle of the
table, over the plastic. We then cut a circular piece of plywood and
put that on the top of the hovercraft, cut a hole all the way through
the plywood and the table and into the plastic air pocket, so that we
could hook a leaf blower onto it. We decided to use a gas-powered
leaf-blower, as it would provide more power so that we could use it
for lift and propulsion. We got a T-pipe that we are going to put on
the main pipe which brings the air from the leaf blower to the air
pocket. We are going to have the T-pipe set up so that it rotates and
we are going to use it for propulsion and steering.
Although I liked the planning, the most fun was the actual building of
the hovercraft.
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Learn more about forces – that whole science thing
Work as part of a team – a little about leadership too
Prepare a briefing
Brief Senior members
Have Fun