Make Your Own R/C Hovercraft Out of Old Junk

My guess is that most of the guys out there would love their own R/C hovercraft, but the bottom line is that not everyone can afford a fancy commercial version. Well, if you have some junk lying around the house, some time on your hands, and you don't mind a hovercraft that is butt friggin' ugly, you can build your own R/C model for under $50 (depending on what kind of junk you have lying around) and the instructions from Project Hovercraft. More »

Plasma-Powered Hovercraft Patent

The patent shown is for an aircraft to be powered off the ground using a plasma technology. Subrata Roy, a University of Florida aerospace engineer, proposes the existing technique of passing a magnetic wave through a conducting fluid can produce a force strong enough to lift an aircraft off the ground. Granted, the example in the patent is only 15 cm, and attempts by others haven't gone particularly well. But with phrases like magnetohydrodynamics being thrown around, I keep flashing back to the space travel scene in Contact and getting excited. Subrata Roy must be a poet. [WIPO via Ubergizmo]

Russia's Zubr Hovercraft May Finally Justify Use Of "Xtreme"

This admittedly isn't the newest military tech on the block, but The History Channel in us just couldn't help writing it up. Russia makes the world's largest military hovercraft dubbed the "Zubr." It displaces 621 tons and can haul twice the payload of similar boats from the US Navy (somewhere around 150 tons). More »

Ice Hovercraft School Bus Is Coolest, Worst News for Students Ever

This ice hovercraft school bus has to be the coolest and worst news ever to descend upon children all over the world. I mean, I would have loved to go to school in one of these spiffy snowspeeders powered by dual fan engines. More »

Flying Boat; You Will Get Wet

Rudy Heeman was meant for greater things, as is obvious by his superhero last name, Heeman. The lunatic mechanic from New Zealand has spent the last 11 years constructing a flying boat / hovercraft. Is there any better way to spend 11 years? We think not. We can only imagine what Mr. Heeman's telephone conversations entail: More »

DIY Ghetto Hovercraft Uses a Leaf Blower and Duct Tape (Naturally)

If you're looking for something to keep the kids busy on a Saturday morning (and they've already finish mowing the lawn, sweeping the gutters and trimming the hedges) then this leaf blower-powered hovercraft construction project might be a good way to keep them busy so you can watch Saturday morning cartoons in peace. More »

Air Hogs Storm Launcher - R/C Hovercraft

Remember that video we lnked to a while back with some guys playing with this ridiculously cool dual-propeller hovercraft/plane/thing? The video is gone, but now it's a real product. More »