i revisited the idea of my white pearl design(http://www.rcindia.org/self-designed-diy-and-college-projects/the-white-pearl-twin-ducted-fan-hovercraft/) and instead of twin ducted system i am thinking of going with twin pusher system

present status is - the hovercraft is up and running with the following settings

1X EDF 70mm with 3800kv motor with 40A ESC --> Lifter fan
1X 1800kv Brushless outrunner with a 6X4 prop with 30A ESC--> Thrust fan
1X 11.1v 2650 mah 20-30c lipo (for EDF)
1x 11.1v 2200 mah 20-30c lipo  (for Thrust fan)
Radio - RDS8000

few pictures



there are two ways this hovercraft could turn out

V1 - i use the present setup with a Rudder like turning Mechanism behind the thrust fan.
       VC bhaiya (and all other hovercraft enthusiasts) i really need some of your expertise in here for a strong rudder design since the one on White Pearl was far to weak. I personally would prefer this mode as i would not have to put in my other pusher motor in.

V2 - i use present lift setup but use a twin pusher setup with differential thrust to steer the craft.

kindly suggest the version of your preference and why and if possible some ideas on a strong rudder design.

i have tried to rectify the skirt on the dutchman as was suggested on the white pearl thread i have basically cut small circular opening on the skirt all around the circumference of the craft. i have made a few spare skirts in case you guys have a more effective or alternative idea. i would prefer modifying the present skirt to the utmost before is replace it.

picture of the skirt

the motor is a bit offset so the craft keeps banking to the left i will correct it tomorrow.

as for the video i will have both the external and onboard video's taken and uploaded tomorrow if you wish any particular onboard area post it in the comments below and i will put the camera there

Subbu

P.S. - can anyone please verify if the ips web tracking india is working or not because i have tried three different connections and none of them are able to access it.

 

OKA Subbu
neat !

thanks rcpilotacro and roopeshkrishna

regarding the two versions i have decided to go for the V1 system for now if it doesnot work out then i shall restart again with V2

i made a few 3d designs of the system i plan to use on google sketchup so here they are


i am now going to start fabricating the system if you have any suggestions please post them here so i ca keep correcting any flaws

Subbu

hey subbu, ur back in action!!!!!

yes i am

but you left mumbai and did not even call me once 

anyway how are you and your family of micro planes? do you still fly in pune?


Subbu

great..

thank you roopesh sir

as shown in my 3d renderings i am 90% done with my design only the large rudder surfaces are left to be glued

here are the pictures


i also took a video of the same setup working


only things left

1. Glue large wind deflecting rudders to the moving frame

2. modify the skirt to concentrate the holes in the centre more than the outer periphery

3. sand and paint the whole craft with pirates of the caribbean theme (i have an artist friend coming over to do this since if i did it it would look more like halloween theme (not that both are different in many ways))

will try to finish the video of it running tomorrow

Subbu

hard efforts.. and nice progress..

All the best!

Thanks VC Bhaiya

so i could not resist and finally completed V1 mode of the Dutchman

here are a few pictures


my sister did help me shoot a late night video of the dutchman running



problems to be addressed tomorrow

the motor mount had a slight offset to the right and added to that the control mechanism was off the correct position to counter the left turning tendencies henceforth the Dutchman kept turning to the left as you might have noticed from the video.

thankfully i just have to realign the control rudder mechanism by just a small change in control linkage length to the futaba s3004

still the sanding painting and skirt modifications are left for tomorrow

tomorrow will also be the first outdoor test of the Dutchman so if you have a favorite position on the craft just tell me and i will put an on board camera on it 

good night

Subbu
 

the dutchman after slight skirt modifications worked like a charm today in the parking lot.

my friend shot the video(more like short bursts of 30-40 seconds videos) i will have it uploaded (after compiling them all) by the night

will keep it aside for sometime now since my quadcopter electronics and frame have come to mumbai customs going to pick them up tomorrow and then i have to build it and clean the electronics of the dust ridden EasyFly and Skyfun.

will have it painted in a few weeks.

Subbu

Hi.. its very good construction ., But the outrunner motor was heavy to your craft. I think u use 800 kv out-runner brush-less motor. & where the Air goes down in the Hovercraft skirt? If 50 % air goes back & 50 % air goes down in skirt., then your craft goes speedy land even water..
 

Hi dudy .. see some pic of construction Hovercraft...

i am not exactly sure what you meant there but

1 - i use a dual motor configuration one to lift the hovercraft and one to push the hovercraft once it starts to hover (instead of a single motor to lift and push)
2 - the pusher motor is 1800kv brushless outrunner with  6X4 propeller and 2200mah 11.1V Lipo
3 - the air to inflate the skirt is provided by the EDF shown in the picture below

hope that answers your query if not would you mind elaborating a little

Subbu

here is the video

watch it at 1080p at youtube



Subbu

hey respected modeller.. i cant watch the video from here with my slow connection.. but still feels the excitement.. will watch later.. 

Subbu, pictures are taking too long to load. Can't you resize them please?

Suppa stuff man.. 

i am sorry VC bhaiya have resized as many as i could

thank you satyagupta