Hovercraft Design Worksheet

These calculations are lifted directly from the book "Hovercrafting as a Hobby' by James Perozzo. I added the modifications to estimate calculations for a pointed craft. Yellow fields are for data entry

Pointed Craft - Twin Engine L1 L2 W Craft All Up Weight (no fuel) Fuel Capacity Fuel Weight Operator, Passengers and Payload Weight Maximum Gross Weight Rectangular Section Area Pointed Section Area Total Hull Area (in) Total Hull Area (ft) Lift Pressure Lift Area Reduction Factor Adjusted Lift Area Total Lifting Capability Hull Perimeter (in) Hull Perimeter (ft) Lift Perimeter Reduction Factor Lift Perimeter Estimate (ft) Air Gap (in) Air Gap (ft) Hover Gap Required Lift Pressure Required Lift Pressure (PSI) 47.63 173.13 80.31 475 6.5 48.75 450 973.75 inches inches inches lbs Gallons lbs lbs lbs
2 2

3825.1653 in

7082.3357 in 2 10907.50 in
2 75.75 ft 2 0.1 lb/in 90% 2 68.17 ft

981.68 lbs 446.44 inches 37.20 feet 90% 33.48 feet 0.5000 inches 0.0417 ft 1.3951 ft
2

2 14.28 lbs/ft 0.10 PSI

Air Velocity (ft/sec) from chart Air Velocity Reduction Factor Expected Actual Velocity Lift Air Volume Theoretical Lift Power Requirements Theoretical Lift Horsepower (hp) Efficiency Adjustment Factor

111 << Fill in from chart to the right 0.6 66.6 ft/sec
3 92.92 ft /sec

1,327.18 ft-lbs/sec 2.41 hp 0.60

Adjusted Lift Horsepower (hp) Reserve Power Adjustement Recommended Minimum Lift Horsepower (hp)

4.02 2.00 8.04 hp

Do Not Delete Pointed Area Ratio Pointed Permiter Ratio 0.702689 -0.11924

Rectangular Craft - Twin Engine

Air Velocity Chart Lift Pressure (PSI) 0.050 0.075 0.100 0.125 0.150 0.175 0.200 Velocity (FPS) 78 96 111 123 135 146 156

Bryan Kearns 2008

L W Craft All Up Weight (no fuel) Fuel Capacity Fuel Weight Operator, Passengers and Payload Weight Maximum Gross Weight

173.13 80.31 600 6.5 48.75 600 1248.75

inches inches lbs Gallons lbs lbs lbs

Total Hull Area Total Hull Area (ft) Lift Pressure Lift Area Reduction Factor Adjusted Lift Area Total Lifting Capability Hull Perimeter Hull Perimeter Lift Perimeter Reduction Factor Lift Perimeter Estimate Air Gap (in) Air Gap (ft) Hover Gap Required Lift Pressure Required Lift Pressure (PSI)

2 13904.07 in 2 96.56 ft 2 0.1 lb/in 90% 2 86.90 ft

1251.366 lbs 506.9 inches 42.2 feet 90% 38.0 feet 0.5000 inches 0.0417 ft 1.5840 ft
2

2 14.37 lbs/ft 0.10 PSI

Air Velocity (ft/sec) from chart Air Velocity Reduction Factor Expected Actual Velocity Lift Air Volume Theoretical Lift Power Requirements Theoretical Lift Horsepower (hp) Efficiency Adjustment Factor

111 0.6 66.6 ft/sec

3 105.49 ft /sec

1,515.94 ft-lbs/sec 2.76 hp 0.60

Adjusted Lift Horsepower (hp) Reserve Power Adjustement Recommended Minimum Lift Horsepower (hp)

4.59 2.00 9.19 hp

Air Velocity Chart Pressure (PSI) 0.050 0.075 0.100 0.125 0.150 0.175 0.200
180 160 AIr Velocity (ft/sec) 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0
0.050 0.075 0.100 0.125 0.150 0.175 0.200

Velocity (FPS) 78 96 111 123 135 146 156

Velocity (FPS)

Cushion Pressure (PSI)

Prop Tip Speed Prop Diameter Max Prop Speed (rpm) Circumference Circumference Prop Speed (rps) Tip Speed

54 1800 169.56 14.13 30.00 423.9

inches rpm Inches ft rps ft/sec

Lift Fan Tip Speed Prop Diameter Max Prop Speed (rpm) Circumference Circumference Prop Speed (rps) Tip Speed

26 3200 81.64 6.80 53.33 362.8

inches rpm Inches ft rps ft/sec