Car Parts, Fiberglass and a Dream: How a Teacher Built a Hovercraft (msn.com) 9
"The cab was cut from a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee," writes the New York Times. "The engine once revved up a 1985 Toyota Celica; and 107 hand-sewn rubber segments, courtesy of Mr. Tymofichuk's wife, help to direct low-pressure air beneath the craft so that it rises eight inches above the ground..."
On a cold spring day in a small garage in Alberta, Canada, an engine revved up and an improbable machine — fabricated from auto parts, a hand-sewn rubber skirt and an abandoned fiberglass hull — came to life.
A homemade hovercraft began to rise off the ground with a small crew standing by.
The successful liftoff was the culmination of a lifelong fascination of Robert Tymofichuk, 55, who spent about 1,800 hours over a year working on it [according to this nifty video on YouTube ]. And, to the gratitude of passengers, it comes with heated seats. "If you're going through all that hassle, you might as well make yourself comfortable," Mr. Tymofichuk said. He repurposed the seats from a Volkswagen, so the heating coils were already installed.
Achieve speeds around 40 miles per hour (or 64 kmph), "Mr. Tymofichuk's hovercraft now sails above land and water, a bright red gem coasting over the Saskatchewan River," according to the article. And it also quotes Mr. Tymofichuk as saying it's the fulfillment of a childhood dream.
"To actually have something constructed with your own hands be zipping around, and it's fully functional — it's like magic."
A homemade hovercraft began to rise off the ground with a small crew standing by.
The successful liftoff was the culmination of a lifelong fascination of Robert Tymofichuk, 55, who spent about 1,800 hours over a year working on it [according to this nifty video on YouTube ]. And, to the gratitude of passengers, it comes with heated seats. "If you're going through all that hassle, you might as well make yourself comfortable," Mr. Tymofichuk said. He repurposed the seats from a Volkswagen, so the heating coils were already installed.
Achieve speeds around 40 miles per hour (or 64 kmph), "Mr. Tymofichuk's hovercraft now sails above land and water, a bright red gem coasting over the Saskatchewan River," according to the article. And it also quotes Mr. Tymofichuk as saying it's the fulfillment of a childhood dream.
"To actually have something constructed with your own hands be zipping around, and it's fully functional — it's like magic."
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Probably from an older Volkswagen (Score:2)
it comes with heated seats. [...] He repurposed the seats from a Volkswagen, so the heating coils were already installed.
I assume it was an older model, otherwise he'd need a subscription to turn them on in his hovercraft.
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Is that legal?
The fact that you even feel the need to ask that question says a lot about how manufacturers managed to twist the concept of ownership out of recognition.
Of course it's fucking legal! It's YOUR CAR! YOU bought it with YOUR MONEY! Everything in it is yours to do as you please.
What you can't do legally is reverse engineer and disable / modify the hateful proprietary firmware that prevents you from using YOUR property without paying a mafia-like protection (sorry, subscription) fee to the manufacturer, by virt
Nicely done (Score:1)
I'd have been satisfied if I proved it can work, left it at that, and it'd be one real ugly prototype.
He went the whole way and it looks fantastic.
+1
Like Junkyard Wars but without time limit? (Score:4, Interesting)
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It's a shame we largely abandoned hovercraft technology. We used to have car transporter ones crossing the Channel between the UK and France regularly. We do have a rail tunnel now though, so that particular crossing is pretty fast anyway.
The only commercial passenger hovercraft still in operation is the one between Portsmouth and the Isle Of Wight I believe.
What about the eels? (Score:2)
They forgot to install the eels!
Seriously though awesome awesome build and I love the presentation in the video.