RC HOVERCRAFT
Brown University
As a rising high school senior, I wanted to challenge myself and dip my toes into the world of engineering. I chose to participate in a summer course at Brown University. By doing so I was able to experience a little bit of college life: living in a dorm, going to class, making new friends. During my time there, I took two classes: Logic & Paradox and Fluid Mechanics through Hovercraft Physics. I loved the balance of both and how they stretched my mind in different ways. Most of all, however, I loved the hands-on aspect of the Fluid Mechanics class.
The Process
For the first half of each class, the professor introduced us to basic concepts of Fluid Mechanics. During the second half, we would spend the rest of class constructing our hovercraft.
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Materials Provided
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- Two small Fans - hot glue gun
- batteries - Prewired circuit
- hot glue - Plastic Sheets
- Solder + iron - Cardboard
- Duct tape
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I came into this project never having done any sort of formal engineering. I was slated to take AP Physics C my senior year, but at this point, I had no hands-on experience. I worked with my group members, building on our strengths to construct a competitive hovercraft. The biggest design challenge we faced was optimizing the skirt. The aspects we could control were skirt tightness and the size and placement of holes to let the air out. It took us a few iterations and wayward crafts to reach our final design.
End Result
Our final hovercraft design was effient and manueverable. We earned first place in the speed test and did similarly well in the obstacle course race. Overall, I loved this experience and the jumpstart it gave me to pursue a career in engineering.
