UH-10F Overview
I began to consider building a larger, more powerful hovercraft in march, 2003. I had constructed the electric hovercraft the previous summer and was impressed with its performance, but as any RC modeler will tell you, bigger and faster is always better! So I set out in search of plans for a hovercraft that could be scaled down and adapted for a 2-cycle leaf blower or wead-eater engine. After much thought, I settled on the Universal Hovercraft UH-10F. It is a simple and elegant design, only uses one engine, and the parts (primarily wood and styrofoam) are readily available at any hobby shop or hardware store.

Despite the apparent simplicity of the plans, this project turned out to be a monumental undertaking. After thinking about some of the mistakes I made on the previous hovercraft, I determined that I would not take any shortcuts or cut any corners with this model. Every part (with the exception of a few modifications) would be made as precisely as is within my means. In particular, this meant very precise woodwork to obtain the appearance of seamless joints. When painted, I wanted the hovercraft to appear as if it was made from a single, seamless piece of fiberglass.

I decided to build the model to a scale of 2/5. The full-sized craft is 10 feet by 5 feet wide. That makes my craft four feet long and 2 feet wide. I didn't measure beforehand, but I was lucky in that if I had worked at any larger scale, the hovercraft would not fit in my car! I carefully scaled down all the measurements and had to make several modifications to the plans. First, I beefed up the engine platform and supports at the rear of the cockpit. The engine I intended to use is much larger in proportion to my craft than the recommended 10hp Tecumseh is in proportion to the full-size UH-10F, so I decided to be conservative and use larger supports. I think the modifications are sufficient but I won't know for sure until I run the hovercraft for the first time and see how the engine mount handles the vibrations.

Another obvious difference between my scaled-down craft and the full-size craft is the absence of a scaled-down pilot. This being the case, I decided to mount the fuel tank and all the electronics inside the cockpit and cover the opening with a door. This model should outperform a similar full-scale craft for this reason. The UH-10F is so light that the pilot doubles the weight. Since my craft doesn't have the extra burden of a person on board, the lift should be much more efficient and the thrust-to-weight ration will be very high.

I also added an extra piece of styrofoam to the underside of the hull directly beneath the engine to increase flotation in the rear. (The craft without engine weighs about 6 lbs.; the engine alone weighs 4.5 lbs.) The final major modification was a change to the steering system. Rather than using a cable and pulleys I am using a steel push/pull flex cable. This was a better option since I am using a servo to turn the rudders, not a joystick as the full-scale craft uses.

At this point, the hovercraft is almost complete. I still need to spray clearcoat over the paint, attach the rudders and control linkages, bolt the engine down, and finish installing the radio equipment. I am a full-time student so I am unable to work on the hovercraft during the semester, but hopefully I will finish these final tasks and take the craft out for its first flight in december or january.

I hope you enjoy browsing through this website and, as always, questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome.


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