First few weeks of physics class

These first few weeks of physics have been interesting. Mostly it has been the class getting prepared for the upcoming year, figuring out projects and the like. Three major projects have been decided on for the year and I'm sure many more will be worked in as the big ones come to a close or the project teams need something else to work on if they get bored. The big projects are; trebuchet, hovercraft, and a wifi network that can be broadcast throughout the town. All that is being worked on right now is the trebuchet and the hovercraft.

I am part of the hovercraft team. The hovercraft was the first project to be prototyped. The prototype was very successful and got a lot of attention through the halls. Many people were taught the ways of the inertia, especially with this type of craft having almost 0 friction.
The design was a round, 4' diameter piece of plywood with a center assembly that held plastic sheeting in place. This sheeting was our bubble under the craft to provide lift.
Basic layout of the materials.



Source: Image 1

Side view showing the airflow:

The short black line is the plywood, the blue in the center is what holds the plastic in the middle, the gray rectangular thing on top is the shop-vac providing air, the green lines represent air flow and the red dots toward the center are the holes the air escapes through. If the holes aren't at this part of the bubble then there will be no air passing under between the plastic and floor, this is what provides the lift.
{poorly drawn by me on penultimate (didn't like what google had to offer)}

That was two weeks ago. Over this past week I have been reading up on hovercrafts and how they work, trying to find a low cost plan to build a bigger, better craft. Results in next post hopefully.