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HYDRO-FLY
A
boat that flies!!
The original Hydro-Foam
by Michael
Connally
See
the video here (20MB but worth every byte)
For more
information and when the kits will be available,
see the website of Michael Connally, the dude who
came up with this insane idea:
I've built my own version. It's
called a 'Hydro-Fly',
since Mike Connally, the originator of
this idea calls his creation a 'Hydro-Foam'
I guy in the
Netherlands (Prop-er) came up with a free plan
It
can be downloaded
here
And here it
is in DXF format
Suppliers
of Hydro Kits
Scroll
down, to see what my own
Hydroplane looks like...
I built my hydro
from
the free plan.
This is how it came together...
| Friday,
24 June 2005 |
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The starboard sponson built, with
the
parts of the port sponson shown
in
the background.
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The second sponson half built.
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With both sponsons completed,
the weight is 58g.
The black lines are carbon fibre
strips epoxied top and bottom to
stop flexing of the 2.7mm Depron.
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The intended power source -
a CD-ROM motor (20mm)
with 3-cell 700mA/h LiPo pack.
With the Gunther prop it gives
300g thrust at 8A.
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| Saturday,
25 June 2005 |
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The canopy top added.
Canopy still needs splash proof
bottom half where the battery
and electronics will be housed.
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The canopy was hollowed
out to save weight. The front
part was left solid - that's
where the battery sits.
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| Saturday,
2 July 2005 |
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The sponsons were painted
with
Testors enamel spray. It doesn't
damage the Depron and has a
nice,
smooth finish.
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Surprisingly, the enamel
spray
added only 4g to the total weight.
This view also shows the 20mm
CD-ROM motor, 10A Hyperion ESC
and 7x3 GWS prop.
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The control linkages
are 1mm
piano wire running in thin
Graupner
plastic sleeving.
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The motor mount was made
from 2mm ply. It is recessed
into the solid foam canopy.
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| Sunday,
3 July 2005 |
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Almost finished - just needs
some paint on top and a splash
guard underneath, but since it's
my flying day, that can wait.
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She
flies! I went to White Hills Radio Flyers today and flew
it off the grass. There is a tendency to turn left (same as a full
scale hydro plane, I believe).
As I put the
Hydro-Fly down onto the grass,
I got a few puzzled stares from
fellow club members. I just smiled and opened the throttle. She
jumped forward. Picking up speed easily, my boat skimmed the short
grass and with a little bit of elevator she was airborne...
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...and this is what
a full size hydroplane looks like
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A really nice
picture.
I just had to share it.
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A full size hydro at
speed.
If it flies any higher than this, the
pilot starts sweating a lot more
than usual.
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Even the big ones get damaged.
See the interesting sponson design.
It's
a lot shallower than on the model.
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This view shows how
thin those
sponsons really are.
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TOP
I post as Skylar
on RCGroups.com
and also on LRK-Torquemax
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