A operatable ghost

[Spartan093]

I was thinking of making a scale ghost that u could drive around. I have a whole rig set up n my mind and a bit on paper. the body would be made from cardboard so its light, big leaf blower things to have it hover(one in the front and one in the back behind the seat), smaller leafblowers to steer and move(in the wings). It will probably not work or be impossible to control. A lot of power will be needed to. but if it does work, we will have our own working ghost. tell me what you think

 

[Spartas Phalanx]

Sounds Impossible, but if you make it you better document it.

 

[izzysenyrc]

You could make a hover car... here are some site... I have thought about this too....http://amasci.com/amateur/hovercft.html

add wing and a tail... and rig some air soft guns to the front

 

[Spartan093]

I had gotten this idea from the StarWars exhibit thats at the Franklin Insitute, thy had a hover chair that lifted off the ground using those big leaf blowers. so it might not be as impossibl as it sounds. If the site is tell the truth that it can hold several adults then im sure it will atleast move. I'm gonna be scared to test drive it

<-me if it doesnt work during test drive

 

[Primal Weyland]

I had gotten this idea from the StarWars exhibit thats at the Franklin Insitute, thy had a hover chair that lifted off the ground using those big leaf blowers. so it might not be as impossibl as it sounds

Probably not, and I'd be interested to see how this is implemented... however, what you must understand is that these sorts of projects are usually undertaken by people who 'did the math'...

 

[Dark Rogue]

Wouldn't leaf blowers be kind of loud?

 

[jimmyfu]

nah guys, i think he might actually be onto something. in the back of my old boy scouts magazine, there always used to be plans to make a hovercraft for sale. cept, the only difference was i think, the motor wasn't a leaf blower. it was a vaccuum cleaner. if you really want to go for something like that, try making something more tangible first, and something that people have already built so you can get a feel for how things work. if you succeed, then move onto the more artsy stuff like making a ghost.

 

[Assassin716]

hmm theres a Mythbusters Episode on making a hovercraft, one of them was semi-successful you might want to look into that its Episode 17 season 2

synopsis form wiki
Adam and Jamie try to build a hovercraft from vacuum cleaner parts, and after finding it plausible, decide to compete against each other in a homemade hovercraft racing contest. Adam, along with Tory and Christine (dubbed Team Savage), built the heavier Lillypad Flyer, while Jamie, Scottie, and Kari (dubbed Hyneman's Heroes) worked together to make the Hyneman Hoverboard.

An average person can build a home-made makeshift hovercraft on a budget of under $500.00.

Partly Plausible

While they did cheat and go slightly over-budget both Adam and Jamie built two separate functional hovercraft. While Adam's "Lilypad Flyer" and Jamie's "Hyneman Hoverboard" were both rather impractical they worked nonetheless. It was also disputed whether or not the hovercrafts could be properly labeled as levitation machines.

 

[Vrogy]

I'd like to see it made.. but I see no maths here.

 

[mzs111]

That would be awsome! You should make a real basic one as a proof of concept and then make a final one with all the lights and details and stuff. That way you don't put too much work into something that may not work.

I am really exited about this project, and willing to help out in any way I can!

 

[Razgriz]

Sorry, but I don't see this working at all.

Not the working ghost part, the leaf bowers. HOWEVER, I have some very detailed drawings of some plans that involves magnets. I've built something like it and it works. However, the scale was really small. Getting magnets that large woud be quite the hassel.

I've also thought about buying a cheap honda or something like that (a bike, not a car) and do something like build a frame around that.

 

[LaughingCheese]

hmm theres a Mythbusters Episode on making a hovercraft, one of them was semi-successful you might want to look into that its Episode 17 season 2

synopsis form wiki
Adam and Jamie try to build a hovercraft from vacuum cleaner parts, and after finding it plausible, decide to compete against each other in a homemade hovercraft racing contest. Adam, along with Tory and Christine (dubbed Team Savage), built the heavier Lillypad Flyer, while Jamie, Scottie, and Kari (dubbed Hyneman's Heroes) worked together to make the Hyneman Hoverboard.

An average person can build a home-made makeshift hovercraft on a budget of under $500.00.

Partly Plausible

While they did cheat and go slightly over-budget both Adam and Jamie built two separate functional hovercraft. While Adam's "Lilypad Flyer" and Jamie's "Hyneman Hoverboard" were both rather impractical they worked nonetheless. It was also disputed whether or not the hovercrafts could be properly labeled as levitation machines.

What kind of hovercrafts are we talking about hear?

The real kind that rides on a cushion of air contained in an airbag, or would it be like a harrier jet?

I'm guessing the latter, but I just want to be sure what he's talking about..

 

[Arowin]

While leaf blowers would work for a hovercraft type thing (and they used about 8 of them) you also need a 'skirt' around the bottom. Basically, it would have to be in a hovercraft type design or it wouldn't even get off the ground.
And even then the thing was impossible to control and was made of basically one piece of plywood...

Sorry, but I don't see it working

 

[WheresDaChief]

Actually it's funny this is mentioned because Rob has stated to me that he plans on having a RC Ghost for the parade at Dragon*Con

 

[Twitchfmx8811]

I think the best bet if you want a ghost is to make a body and put it on go-kart or some sort. There is alot of math and physics involved with something like this.

 

[NZTK]

HOWEVER, I have some very detailed drawings of some plans that involves magnets. I've built something like it and it works.

Do go on. I'd like to hear about this.

 

[Mid7night]

Ummm, yeah...SO not gonna work.

There is a HUGE difference between a Hovercraft and hovering-vehicle (like the Ghost). A hovercraft rests between a few millimeters and few inches (depending on the craft's size) off the ground. on a cushain of air. Vehicles like the Ghost hover a few feet off the ground using either 'anti-grav' engines or jet thrusters (like a Harrier). Obviously, anti-grav is out, and sliding around on an air-cushain isn't what I had in mind either. As for a Harrier-like vehicle; the amount of thrust needed to support a man, a vehicle, an engine, and fuel for the engine is not small. Let's do some rough numbers:

Man: 200lbs
Vehicle: 100lbs (just a Ghost 'shell')

Looking at the Harrier's engine as an example: (taken from this page)
Thrust: 23,000 lbs
Engine weight: 4,260 lbs
Length: 137.2 inches
Thrust/weight ratio: 5.3 : 1 (23000/4260 = 5.399, rounded down to be conservative)
Weight/length ratio: 31 : 1 (4260/137.2 = 31.05)
Assuming you could make a smaller engine with the same thrust/weight and size ratios...
Theoretical Mini-Pegasus:
Length: 36 inches (arbitrary, to fit in the 'Ghost')
Weight: 1116 lbs (36 x 31 = 1116)
Thrust: 5914.8 lbs (1116 x 5.3 = 5914.8)
And fuel: ~6lbs per gallon, assume you carry 100 gallons (I don't know where you'd put it, but whatever...): 6 x 100 = 600 lbs

Thus you have: 200(man) + 100(vehicle) + 1116(engine) + 600(fuel) = 2016 lbs.
Since the estimated weight (2016) is less than the theoretical thrust (5914.8), this imaginary vehicle would hover.

So theoretically it's possible, but all this is riding on someone making a mini-Pegasus turbofan engine. Unlikely[/i] would be a gross understatement of that possibility. And I didn't even touch the subject of how complex a system like this would be. Sorry to be the bubble-burster, there's a reason VTOL jets aren't small.

~ Mid7night

 

[izzysenyrc]

nah guys, i think he might actually be onto something. in the back of my old boy scouts magazine, there always used to be plans to make a hovercraft for sale. cept, the only difference was i think, the motor wasn't a leaf blower. it was a vaccuum cleaner. if you really want to go for something like that, try making something more tangible first, and something that people have already built so you can get a feel for how things work. if you succeed, then move onto the more artsy stuff like making a ghost.

ya, it would work if you find like the design in a bsa magazine i could send you the website. that one is controlable and you could build a round it like with card board or something. I mean just because it is based off a vehichle that flys a couple meters off the ground doesn't mean yous has to... if it hovers it least it hovers.

 

[Sean Bradley]

Perhaps something more feasable would be to build a small scale model to work out your design issues. If you can get the small one to work then theoretically you could scale it up from there..

Sounds like a serious comittment though, this could take you years to do, if it is even possible.

 

[izzysenyrc]

its possible... my friend made one in about three months (weekends only) and it carried him and his dog