All videos are hosted on YouTube — click the play button to watch.
21st August 2005 — Fan and motor running
I have had the Subaru motor in my craft started and running for the past couple of weeks, but on Sunday I finally got the courage to connect the fan and start the motor with the fan connected. The fan was surprisingly quiet, there was very little vibration felt through the craft, all air feed holes had air coming out of them, and it puts out a huge amount of thrust from the rear even at only 2500 RPM.
11th November 2005 — First hover
Today was a glorious day. I reconnected the fan after re-aligning the belt and by 3000 RPM it had lifted up at the front and shortly after that it lifted at the back — it hovered! From the small test I did it hovered 150mm (6 inches). I really didn’t notice it being over noisy — it still has the supercharger-type whine but it sounds cool.
12th November 2005 — Two-person hover test
When working out the centre of balance I did it with my wife and I sitting in the craft, so I wanted to see what it lifts like with both of us in it. You can see how level the craft raises with both of us, which is very pleasing. During the tests the craft easily gets up to 8 inches in height.
24th December 2005 — First outdoor flight
Got the trailer finished and after a stressful time getting the craft on (living on a hill, it kept drifting backwards and sideways), we managed to tow it to my brother-in-law’s workshop. This video is the result — the first flight outdoors. At around 2500 RPM I’m up and hovering, at 3000 RPM I start moving forward, and once I have momentum I can throttle back and I’m away. I almost managed to not hit the P&O container at the end of the car park.
28th December 2005 — First lake test, Lake Waihola
My wife and I went straight to Lake Waihola. While all the people at the boat ramp were queuing to get their expensive boats in the water, all I did was tilt my trailer, started it up, flew off backwards and was ready to launch straight off the shore. I managed to get up to 42.8 km/h according to my GPS and there was still plenty more I could have given it. My wife came out twice and loves it.
8th January 2006 — Second lake test
Last day of my holidays so I took the hover out even though it was windy. Around 45 seconds into being on the water I’m already attempting 360-degree spins — and failing, but there were too many people watching to just slowly cruise up and down. I checked whether it floats, whether it gets back up, what plough-in feels like, and how easy it is to swing side to side. It floated nicely, got up easily at 2500 RPM, and was very manoeuvrable once I got the hang of it.
20th March 2006 — School field
I emailed my old school and asked if I could use their field — they said yes. Flying on grass is a lot easier than flying over water but not necessarily as much fun. It’s a lot easier to do 360s but also a lot faster. Today’s test confirmed the craft easily gets up to at least 6000 RPM, which for my setup it shouldn’t, so there are some future nights trying to work out why the fans aren’t absorbing all 90 HP.
2nd August 2006 — New house paddock
Now that I’ve moved house and have a bit of land I get to test the craft more. This video is just me playing around on the smaller section of our front yard — we also have a much larger paddock but the neighbour has sheep on it so I’d better not scare them just yet. The result — yep, it still goes forwards and sideways.
26th August 2006 — Clyde Dam
I had been out on the dam by myself after making some changes to the blade position. Everything was going great so I came back in slowly, and just as I powered on to get off the water and onto land the craft cut out — I had run out of fuel. Yes, I am a mechanic. I’m just happy I wasn’t stuck out in the middle of the dam on my own. Lesson learned: double-check fuel levels before you go out.
27th August 2006 — Paddock flying
The neighbours’ sheep were moved to our front paddock today which gave me a chance to have a blast around the back field and play on the hill. The neighbours came down to check out the noise so I took them for a ride. The result — the hovercraft goes way better when the tank has petrol in it.
3rd September 2006 — Flooded paddock
It was 30.3°C today so I needed to cool off. The irrigation scheme had flooded the paddock with water from the Manorburn Dam, giving me a chance to cool off while flying around on water. All went well apart from one incident where I nudged a tree — no damage occurred.
16th September 2006 — Ride-on lawnmower
I bought a ride-on lawnmower to help with the task of mowing the lawn. I’ve not only made mowing easier but also bolted a beer holder to the side of it, so now mowing is easier and refreshing. I’m sure I can hear Tim the Toolman shouting “it needs more power”.
4th February 2007 — How to do donuts
From the “Larry’s hovercraft driving tips 101” series — how to do donuts. The result: getting dizzy.