hoverbike

[ajay]

hello,
im creating a model of a HOVERBIKE where the base is hovercraft and the top will have a bike design with gear and acceleraor sysem ( it will move like a bike ). I need a lot of ideas wihin 1 month.
Thank you very much.
ajay

[AerospaceGuy]

Hello ajay,

That's an interesting idea! It might be very difficult given the fact that you seem to only have one month to do the project, but I'll help in any way that I can.

First of all, could you be more specific please? I am familiar with hovercraft concepts, but what exactly do you mean by "hoverbike?" You said that you wanted it to have "gear" and an "accelerator system," so do you mean to say that you want to be able to control the hoverbike as easily as a normal bike? More specifically, do you want to have pedals that make it go forward, and handlebars that would make it turn? Please leave a reply with more information about your idea.

Secondly, I can give you some information on hovercraft to get you started. Science Buddies has a few science projects about hovercraft that you should take a look at:
The Paper Plate Hovercraft--https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... o&from=TSW

How Does a Hovercraft Work?--https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... o&from=TSW

Riding on Air--Build a Real Hovercraft (with instructional video)--https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... o&from=TSW

Also, I did a search on Google for hoverbikes and found a commercial video for a hoverbike product. The bike looks very expensive and sophisticated, but you can still get ideas for your own design, such as how the handle bars would turn the craft. Take a look at the video: http://www.impactlab.com/2008/02/29/the ... hoverbike/

These resources ought to give you good information and enhance your understanding of the way your hoverbike is going to work. Again, please post more specifics about your project, and I'll do my best to help you out.

[MFagan]

Fascinating project, ajay. There are a couple resources you might be interested in looking at. First, the engineering TV show "Mythbusters" actually did a competition episode in which the hosts built several different types of hovercrafts from scratch. Their results were rather interesting, with both definite successes and failures. The episode was titled "Levitation Machine", Season 2, Episode 4, and it originally aired on October 6, 2004. You can try to find a copy of their Season 2 DVD, perhaps at a local library, or you might try contacting Beyond Productions (producers of Mythbusters), tell them about your project, and see if they would be willing to give you a copy of the episode. They might even have additional footage that was cut from the final episode.

From an engineering standpoint, the main way a hovercraft is steered is through the use of moveable propellers or fans. For example, commercial hovercraft ferries use two large airplane-style propellers, which are steered hydraulically to move the boat, much like a rudder. In a "hoverbike", you could connect the handlebars to a set of cables, which would pivot a fan or blower to steer the vehicle.

One suggestion I would have, given the short length of your project, would be to try building a working scale model rather than a full sized craft. While it might be cool to have something you could actually ride on, I think that you will find it much easier to create something on the scale of perhaps 2 feet long or so. This also significantly reduces cost, storage and transportation issues, and allows you to test out various ideas. For example, to generate enough lift on their surfboard-sized crafts, the Mythbusters had to use thousands of dollars worth of gasoline engines and blowers. On a scale model, you could get similar effects using small 12 volt computer fans and miniature blowers. I personally have built several hovering platforms using 120 mm 24 volt computer fans, easily found at a surplus electronics store.

Hope this helps you with your project, and let us know if you have any more questions,
Michael

[ajay]

Thank you for the idea. Ill be more specific now. My favourite area of study ( though being a 11 grader) is aerodynamics. ---- hoverbike reffered as HB.
1. I have made a blueprint ( rough ) of my model.
2. I have reduced the size of the base. It will be about 3 feet diameter.
3. Instead of two fans and propellers ( vertical) i am thinking of placing one vertical propeller fan and one
horizontal propeller fan which will give a backward thrust to move forward.
4. The bike will be made up of aluminium which is a very light metal.
5. To adjust the bike according to the base size, it will be a circular bottom bike (mounted on the base of
course).
6. The skirt will have a diameter of diameter 4.5 feet. The skirt im planning will be of baggy material.
7. It also consits of a handle bar which must be connected in such a way that it will turn the HB easily.it will also consit a accelerator. Though the speed limit, i think , shouldn't cross 35km/hr.
This is my idea. The problems i face are-
1-- Weight of all the parts mentioned.
2-- I need to find a way to make it run on rough surfaces also. It should be a 1 seater compact hoverbike.
thank you very much.
ajay

[AerospaceGuy]

Your design is very interesting and exciting! I can see how it would be a problem to have such heavy parts...I'm not sure how to get over that problem, and to my knowledge you would need a very powerful horizontal fan in order to accelerate. I think that 35km/hour or anything close to that would require far too much power, and very expensive equipment. The hovercraft that I've seen don't go much faster than a few miles per hour, unless they've been created by a highly funded industrial producer. What is your budget for this project?

I can tell that I won't be of much help to you, so I will speak with the other Experts on these forums and find someone who would be more qualified to help you out.

[AerospaceGuy]

Hi ajay,

I wanted to let you know that we haven't forgotten about you. I've posted a request for help so hopefully another Expert will get with you soon.

In the meantime, how is the project going?

[yasinrahman]

Interesting project. Please give me more information on your project so I can help you.


Thanks,
Yasin