« Reply #36 on: Oct 20, 2019, 8:56 am »
 
Check out the hp of the lift engine. Bigger the better up to a certain point they get heavy. I’d say min should be 10hp. 

« Reply #35 on: Oct 20, 2019, 8:53 am »
 
Hovercraft as bought with lovers in bonnet

« Reply #34 on: Oct 20, 2019, 8:33 am »
 
Hi Ian, thanks for the info - this is a picture of the hovercraft as I got it with the louvres in the bonnet. Bill sold me a new bonnet and a thrust engine cover - which annoyingly I can’t find. It may have inadvertently been left in a caravan I scrapped ☹️ . Out of interest - I notice that in the video one of the craft has a yellow light bracket at the top of the cowl - I have just removed one like that from mine - could it be the same one? I bought it from a chap in Banbury who had been racing it. I will get some shots of the lift engine this morning and post them, I notice that it seems to be working ok on mud and water in the video - do you think that will be the case for mine?

« Reply #33 on: Oct 20, 2019, 12:32 am »
 

« Reply #32 on: Oct 19, 2019, 11:25 pm »
 
That craft is not a BBV 3 , it's a smaller craft that was modified with a lift engine, I've forgotten what BBV called it but I remember some YouTube video a few years back. I spoke to Bill about it several years ago.

Essentially a BBV 1 with a lift engine if I remember correctly. They were very quiet for the time, but only about 3 were made. The good news is that it's a pretty good craft. The bad news is that you've been poorly advised with the  bonnet.

When I first saw the photos, I wondered how the lift air could get in through that tiny inlet. And it seems it can't! Possibly compounded by (if I remember correctly) a quite small lift engine, because they were intended to be able to race in F35 I think? The idea that it was possible to make a racer-cruiser was always flawed, but the BBV1/lift engine craft did make a half reasonable cruiser. There's some footage on utube somewhere of two of them on the Wye and Severn at one of the Berkeley treasure hunts.

So first thing, take the bonnet off and see whether that makes a difference. And let  us know what the lift engine is.

Ian
Ian Brooks
Gloucester, UK

« Reply #31 on: Oct 19, 2019, 9:56 pm »
 
That craft is not a BBV 3 , it's a smaller craft that was modified with a lift engine, I've forgotten what BBV called it but I remember some YouTube video a few years back. I spoke to Bill about it several years ago.

« Reply #30 on: Oct 19, 2019, 9:20 pm »
 
Hi Al, it seems to work ok on my drive (this was just static while I was adjusting the new skirt).  I was just surprised that it bottomed out on the grass.

« Reply #29 on: Oct 19, 2019, 9:13 pm »
 
Did you try hovering it on the asphalt?

« Reply #28 on: Oct 19, 2019, 8:22 pm »
 
Grass length

« Reply #27 on: Oct 19, 2019, 8:13 pm »
 
Hi Ross, I understood it is a BBV3  but as  a beginner I may be wrong!  I got the ‘bonnet’ from Bill at BBV (he lives around the corner from my parents) - the one it came with had slots cut in it for racing  ( presumably to aid airflow and removed all its structural strength) but I thought for cruising a  proper cover would be better.  I had a go at getting the hovercraft off  and on the trailer today. This did not go too badly ,  but I did have a worrying issue. The craft hovers ok on a solid surface but bottomed our on grass which I did not think was too long (see photo). Any thoughts?  I would expect it to work on grass this long.

« Reply #26 on: Oct 15, 2019, 11:29 pm »
 
This is the standard BBV3 cowl fitted to Britannia.  There is a low pressure air feed into the cowling at the back of the seat.  This comes from the lift system and through the centre console to ventilate the tanks and provide additional air to cool the thrust engine.


We had been out in Weston Bay looking for a lost anchor, hence the mud, although that is fairly standard for the B.C.

« Reply #25 on: Oct 15, 2019, 11:21 pm »
 
Your thrust engine is going to need a cowl for (salt) water operation !

« Reply #24 on: Oct 15, 2019, 11:19 pm »
 
Ian is your GRP expert - I would guess there could be long term issues on water soaking into the foam but as the craft is ashore almost all the time it is IMHO unlikely to be relevant. I did an absorption test and left a lump of cut open 2 pack foam in my water barrel - after 5 years it had about 2 mm ingress and after 7 years continual water contact it began to deteriorate, so in this case I doubt personally it will be a problem. In a boat it might be different however.   Comments Ian ?????


Let me know when you are ready to go and I will see if I can get access to a training area.


Are you sure its a 3 ?  Presumably the lift system is drawing air from the cockpit ?




Hi Dean !!!!! :-)

« Reply #23 on: Oct 15, 2019, 8:46 pm »
 
Thanks Gaz.

« Reply #22 on: Oct 15, 2019, 7:47 am »
 
Contact Gary Hansford based in Plymouth knows the River Tamar well

Thanks for the mention Dean, However I prefer to spell it Hannaford lol.

Neal, I am more than happy to take you out on the Tamar but it will have to wait until next year. I am currently putting what little spare time I have into building  a Sevtec Surveyor with my local Air Cadet Squadron (1387  (Liskeard) Squadron RAFAC) All going to plan I will be back out flying spring 2020, until then building one  is all the hoverfix I can manage
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