Hovercraft RC

Hovercraft RC are also sometimes called Air Cushion Vehicles or ACV. They can fliy like a plane but can float like a boat and can drive on land like a car all the while traversing ditches and small gullies. A thrust propeller pushes the craft forward on its bubble' of air. Rudders, like on an airplane, steer the direction of the craft.

This all applies to remote control hovercraft as well as the real thing. Needless to say, it's a unique method of transportation and an exciting hobby too! The idea for a hovercraft is attributed to Christopher Cockerell (later knighted Sir Christopher for inventing the Hovercraft) when he was working with small boats.

Today they are used for many applications where people or equipment need to travel at high speed over water but be able to load and unload on land.

The hovercraft RC engine provides the power to drive large fans that blow air under the craft and the air is trapped by a rubber skirt that enables it to travel over a wide range of terrain. Hovercraft RC, or remote control hovercraft have, until recently, been built by a small group of keen modelers but lately the hobby has become much more popular.

Model hovercraft, like many other RC models such as boats, airplanes, cars and helicopters, offer some problems in terms of scaling and operation when reduced from their full operating size.

The general operating principles remain the same but some modifications in the skirt arrangement are needed to make a successful remote control hovercraft replica of the original.

With hovercraft RC, the size of objects encountered on land and the wave size on water are two major problems when scaling model hovercraft. With gas engine driven craft there is also the added problems of water spray and dust, which will choke an engine and cause many running problems. The water poses a similar problem for electric powered remote control hovercraft. Single engine hovercraft RC use one engine to provide thrust and lift for the craft with the air being split into two flows. About 30% of the air is used under the craft for lift and the rest of the air exits the rear of the craft over a rudder and provides thrust.

This creates simple model hovercrafts with the advantage that they can be controlled from a low cost 2-channel radio control system. Twin engine model hovercrafts provide one engine for lift and one for thrust. The engines can operate independently and therefore require at least a 3-channel radio system.

The lift motor can be set using one throttle setting and the thrust controlled independently from another radio control channel. This type of hovercraft RC model generally provides better performance in terms of the height it can hover and the speed it can achieve.

We hope you find this information interesting and above all helpful while you research the exciting and unique hobby of hovercraft RC.