This article was taken from the September 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="Apple-style-span">subscribing online.
Surprisingly, floating-air vehicles are easy to make, not too expensive -- and terrific fun. Mythbusters' Adam Savage explains how to get off the ground.
Materials -1 sheet of 2cm-thick plywood
-1 leaf blower
-1 heavy-duty shower curtain
-Staple gun
-2 rolls of gaffer tape
-1 lid from a five-litre paint tin
-Foam pipe insulation
-Assorted screws
Prepare the plywood
First cut a 1.2-metre-diameter circle from out of the 2cm-thick plywood. Put your leaf blower -- it doesn't matter if it's petrol or electric, it's up to you -- in the middle and then figure out where the nozzle ends up on the circle. Now trace around the nozzle and cut a hole to match so it will fit tightly.
Make the skirt
Lay your shower curtain down flat and place the plywood circle on top of it. Fold the shower curtain up and around the edges of the plywood and use a staple gun to secure it all along the perimeter of the circle. Cut off the excess curtain and seal the edge, all the way around, with gaffer tape. Make sure it's airtight.
Don't skimp
On the underside of the plywood circle, nail a five-litre paint-tin lid in the middle to hold down the shower curtain. Cut a ring of six five-centimetre holes in the curtain, all about five centimetres from the lid. The air escaping from the shower curtain "pillow" will be the cushion that puts the hover in your craft.
Affix the leaf blower
Next, secure the leaf blower with screws and connect its nozzle to the hole that you've cut. Use gaffer tape to hold it in and seal it up. You can also stick pipe insulation, which comes with its own adhesive, around the edge of the plywood to protect your hovercraft -- and the shins of innocent bystanders.
You're ready to fire it up
You can screw a chair on to the disc for seating, using wooden risers under the legs if the leaf blower needs more clearance. (That'll depend on the leaf blower -- and chair -- that you use.)
In any case, keep your centre of gravity as low as you can -- the lack of friction can make the hovercraft slip out from under you quite fast.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
