World's Smallest JET-POWERED Hovercraft

I upgraded the ride-on hovercraft from last month's video with a jet engine, and then took on a speed trials! Here's a link to my website where you can download templates, plans and instructions and support what I do: store.projectair.co.uk/collec...
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DISCLAIMER: This video is purely for entertainment value. Personal use of video content is at your own risk. Recreations of experiments, activities and projects are the sole legal responsibility of the person(s) involved in replicating them. I can not be liable for any information or misinformation, wrongful use, damage to personal property, death or any circumstances that result from replication of any projects seen. Be safe!

[@jocax188723]

7:51: James guns the engine, and suddenly the entire beach full of birds decides absolutely anywhere else is an excellent place to be

[@yourmomhehehehehehe7997]

208 likes no reply I’ma change that hehe

[@gemnicherry2670]

I came to comment that too!

[@SlickSolomon]

It was actually quite cinematic...

[@somekiwidude]

run/fly its gonna blow

[@Scott-hf2qz]

hahahah . I saw that and thought the same thing !

[@nerdtronaut]

Britons when they get one millimeter of snow:

[@chrislang7460]

We only need a hard frost really

[@MrManningata]

You mean Britons?

[@Baron-Ortega]

It was -8 the other day in all fairness. That's pretty cold for London

[@Iwasbored101]

?

[@chrislang7460]

@@Baron-Ortega fortunately Britain consists of a lot more than just London. -8 isn’t uncommon to most of Britain

[@RodneyMunch8767]

My dad built a hovercraft in the early 70s. I distinctly remember watching a Super 8 film of one of his test runs where he was heading for the fence, so he cut the engines, and the hovercraft instantly stopped, but my dad carried on flying forward. This video brought back so many memories of my dad. Thank you! (I'll have to see if that Super 8 film still exists)

[@dogwalker666]

What an amazing dad.

[@NoiseMakerX]

Please upload and link if you find it. (-=

[@porkerthepig]

The 60/70 where a golden age for amateur British engineers

[@iliketowatch.]

That's awesome. My dad was also a bit of a garage inventor. One thing he built was a passive solar heating system for our backyard swimming pool. I'm not sure if it would have worked well in England but it was fine in sunny California.

[@Marco-yk8kp]

I hope DIY Perks keeps hanging out with you, maybe after enough filming sessions you too will put wood and brass trim on everything, very aestheticically pleasing rc planes

[@Hellsong89]

Well seems like they have workshop/studio in same building just like many other creators... makes me question what ever this is bigger business they are running as a group. I mean sure its efficient to have so many brains there to solve issues to keep upload schedule but seems still like little bit of cheating in a way, top of how much free shit they get like cnc fabrication machines.

[@davegriffiths]

Brilliant build and an impressive top speed. I suppose if you’re flat out you don’t have any headroom to pull corrective manoeuvres but I”m glad the only damage seemed to be the hull superstructure! Enjoyable year of videos!

[@cusscuss2536]

Bruh how did u post 3 hrs ago lol

[@Project-Air]

@@cusscuss2536 Patreon early access 😊

[@cusscuss2536]

@@Project-Air aaa ty

[@AnasAbdullahvlogs1]

@@Project-Air hey I'm trying to make a mini rc hovercraft can you give me some advice please

[@rehepeks]

Being a jet engine that is on a pivot it will always have headroom for turning. It would just lose some speed in turns when thrust vector moves to the side as there is not so much force pushing it forward.

[@dapz]

i was thinking about doing a jet powered hovercraft with my own jet, and then trashed the idea because i didn't think it would have enough thrust to do much at all. Seeing how well that went on the beach is making me reconsider

[@Redstoneprofi01]

Hello random guy on the internet with 900k subscribers

[@yeteboi2259]

what jet you have

[@paulpower3766]

I'm assuming we aren't talking a gem or lycoming engine. Something along the lines of a gts/apu?

[@dapz]

@@paulpower3766 it’s one similar to project air’s, meant for RC planes. It’s a bit more powerful than his though

[@tristan5520]

Yesssirr

[@DeuxisWasTaken]

I never thought about it before but apparently yes, hovercraft is counter-intuitive in that to slow down you turn around and increase the throttle instead of cutting it. Gives me similar vibes to autogyros, which apparently are "extremely safe unless you do the one thing a pilot intuitively does when facing a stall" and pitch down.

[@bradley3549]

Nobody is turning their hovercraft around to brake. Commercially available craft would typically use some form of thrust reversal or simply reduce lift and skid on the surface to brake.

[@SprocketN]

I’m old enough to remember hovercraft crossing the Channel. They were loud! Your hovercraft is loud too, perfect reconstruction! Especially when on a beach.

[@hackbyteDanielMitzlaff]

Yeah .. for traditional hovercraft, that would be true... But if you use a array of ducted fans all around like i suggested on another comment ...... you could have _WAY_ more fun and way more steering while drifting...... in any terrain.... ;)

[@Hellsong89]

@@hackbyteDanielMitzlaff Probably not enough thrust for something like this, but yeah maybe he should build skies ie landing gear under neat it and rebuild the skirts to have sections, well as holes on the top so damn thing works like it suppose to. Now its just basic home craft setup, not suitable for scaling up like this as actual vehicle.

[@stickyfox]

@@bradley3549 jet skis don't turn unless you're giving it throttle, and people eventually figure that out after bumping into yachts or piers enough times.

[@marksapollo]

You really are a natural born presenter. If you don’t end up on television one day, I think you are in for a successful You Tube career.

[@arlencroakations]

So true

[@ledocteur7701]

I would suggest putting some static tail fins on it to avoid drifting as much when you cut off the engine, and help with controllability in general.

[@HerpilyDerp86]

Its so amazing to see you and Matt as both brilliant youtubers separately having a proper wholesome friendship like this.

[@MarinusMakesStuff]

The next DiY Perks project is obviously going to be a run-along camera gymbal mount.

[@johnschoolfield9339]

Quick idea for increasing the skirt stability. Divide the skirt into quadrants, with each ducted fan devoted to its own quadrant. I think this will help in avoiding the tipping over and having the rigid part of the hovercraft dig into the ground when you lose steering authority.

[@madinventor1323]

After all that. Getting thrown in the drink. Priceless. I loved the whole thing. I'll bet that tea would've came in handy then.

[@marksumner2292]

What an amazing project! What’s next, ekranoplan? :) Having tinnitus from years around jet engines I do worry about the wooly hat ear defenders though!

[@sffpv9671]

Awesome update to this project, You guys are fantastic together!

[@misconstrudel]

Diy Perks running faster than a jet hovercraft is my favourite thing from this video.

[@wassupdoc2780]

I built a Bob Windt design UH12T2 hovercraft and have improved on it many times over the years since 1980 when I started building it. It's a blast and have it running pretty darn good in light of the long time it took me to get a lot better success. Better bigger engines, etc. I saw those small jet engines used by the guy who flies around with 2 of them on his arms and thought those things have a lot of thrust for their size and would probably work good on a hovercraft like mine. Seeing you do what you did was very cool. Gas powered lift engine and jet powered thrust engine is what i imagined for mine. But mine has a 40hp thrust engine and a 10.5hp lift. Great job and ideas. You're very impressive. You're going places.

[@steprockmedia]

This is so awesome! That jet sounds WICKED. PS: If anybody wants to make their own hovercraft, I've built a few and I can recommend you use thick plastic and include a foam ring around your board inside the main envelope. I used pipe insulation. It kept me from getting an out-of-control board at ankle height bashing into my leg. I used a wired vacuum cleaner for mk1 and then a gas-powered blower for mk2, but I would like to try a battery-powered one + spare batts. They are fun to play a game of catch with yourself or kids on board, gliding like an air hockey puck across a tennis court to a waiting friend.

[@Tony-op6xf]

Sending it and keeping up with the birds in the background is absolutely stunning. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@maurisepais4437]

My advice from the engineer's perspective: 1. Inbuild the throttle control 2. For the cold climate, build a heating system for the fuel. 3. Increase the amount of upward and forward thrust, upward thrust to smoothen out any uneven terrain and forward to improve your control as the more force you push the hovercraft with, the better will its control be so you won't lose control over the engine stalling

[@bonkbonk92]

Really decent build. I would suggest that you eventually rework the skirt situation. What you can do is use like sealed tarp material or vinyl and stitch it together.

[@williamgoring7605]

You're getting there little more power little bigger craft but with practice comes perfection good job

[@skepticbb93]

This is the fastest homemade jet powered hovercraft that I have ever seen. Also, because I hate crowded beaches so much, I marginally prefer going to the beach in winter.

[@shaunodriscoll]

Absolutely fabulous 😂😂 it’s people like you that make this country so great. Awesome

[@jamiedevine2168]

I think extra credit should go to Matt for the excellent running with the camera there, maybe treat him to a gimbal for his birthday

[@apocraphontripp4728]

Build a Dalek. You got the perfect skirt, just build the rest. You could use a DJ moving head fixture for the top cameras. Rivit a few titanium plates at angles, for ballistic reflection Add a few gyros for top stability and whalla, a legend is born.

[@iliketowatch.]

(9:26) I'm sure your little unplanned swim was quite refreshing! 🥶

[@SmallBlogV8]

I like how just the act of setting off was enough to scare-off hundreds of seagulls a long way in the background.

[@gaius_enceladus]

That was AWESOME! A BIGGER hovercraft please! That would be amazing to see! Keep up the great work!

[@shareurtube]

I love you imagination and persistence in light of some very difficult situations. Wish you the best and keep up the great work.

[@OifelOifel]

I feel like the curtain needs to be bigger / longer and the fans more powerful. Seems like it barely inflates it. Shouldn't a slight depression in the ground be no problem for a hovercraft? I'd still leave the rudders because even if you stop the engine you still would be able to steer. Great project! Kudos to your engineering and building skills. Awesome! 🤘

[@Mystik_K]

These videos are just so satisfying to watch, the building, innovations. Keep going on :)

[@suspense_comix3237]

James, 3D print a few Thrust Reversers for that thing so you can stop it at high speed and change direction easier!

[@plorks445]

This was really cool. Always been a fan of hovercrafts and haven't seen anyone do one this big with hobby parts yet.

[@BigLug01]

It’s amazing how even a jet engine that small can be so powerful. Imagine making one of these with the engine of an F-15

[@Dba8er]

Memories are made from the things that go wrong, you never forget them.

[@benfrederick3147]

love your projects! going from strength to strength. Keep it up!!!!

[@BlaziNTrades]

I really enjoyed watching that! It seems as though the small amount of contact between the bottom of the craft and the sand is causing a fair amount of resistance on the sand at times.

[@xWood4000]

The seagulls fluing in the background was beautiful

[@davesendit1348]

I’d love to see more speed testing at the beach, instead of the bonneville salt flats this could be your very own British sand flats lol

[@esra_erimez]

One of the things that Arthur missed the most from Earth, a nice cup of tea

[@pat_makes_stuff]

your projects are getting more and more ambitious, well done!

[@RetinaBurner]

Hey guys. Well done. I still think your hovercraft would benefit from some front corner thrusters to help with directional control, and side slip. Also, a 'finger' like hover skirt would help with containing the pressure, and would also make the overall skirt more durable. But it would also be complex to build, so there's that tradeoff. Good show, and enjoy your holidays. Also, remember the dry suit next time :P

[@besposhadniyNAFTIZIN]

Cameraman stabilizing skills is absolutely fantastic!

[@Scott-hf2qz]

The laughing when you crashed at about 9:30 was awesome. I fly rc plane. went out flying after about 10yrs of no flying .. got brave... knife edge about 5" off the ground .. caught a dirt clump on the plowed field .. watched my plane turn into tooth picks at about 100mph and I laughed so hard i was having trouble breathing. been there. that was awesome. Love your builds. Keep having fun !!!!!

[@StephanBuchin]

This must be one of the tiniest hovercraft I've seen. Great job ☺

[@hoverbucks]

Very similar results to the hovercraft we made for the TV show Junkyard Wars (Scrapheap Challenge) back in 2000. Similar filming location too (we raced in Sheerness). Great job!

[@Project-Air]

I probably watched that episode (maybe on repeat haha)

[@CashelManning-zu8uc]

When you get a bigger jet engine can I have the one you have now. Great video by the way.

[@gaganji409]

Tip:1)you can make a seprate inlet passage for the air entering the jet engine by using a super light weight styrofoam.:)

[@whoever6458]

I would love to see your dad drive that one. The look on his face when he drove the last one was priceless! I would like to know where on Earth you got ahold of a little jet engine. That is really cool. I'd like to put one on my bike.

[@whoever6458]

And I just googled and saw where you can get a jet engine and I could probably buy a used car for that much money. Damn. Oh well.

[@ianhalloway5607]

please make a bigger hovercraft i love your chanel it would make me love it even more

[@simplegunsmith]

To be honest i would recommend making all the controls into stuff you can use without needing a transmitter. A steering wheel will make it much more controlable, and having a lever on the bottom to control trottle would make speed control a lot easier. You could even add an emergency stop button which kills both the lift EDCs and the jet engine so you can just suddenly stop if needed.

[@SailingFrolic]

Id love to see a longer, bigger hovercraft with two of those jets, where you can do vectoring thrust. you could make the lifting inflating bag double lined, you can coat a tarp in sealant spray to make it more rugged. You could also make the design have a bit of symmetry so that the inflating bag doesn’t pinch when you spin out and go backwards.

[@CanGardens]

I love the jet engine builds,have you tried a jet pack tho??

[@georgeivanov8832]

That is absolutely magnificent, keep doing something unique

[@jeremyzelinski2408]

I would recommend setting up handlebars, you could probably use some sort of angle sensor for steering if you dont want to setup steering linkage

[@DantyPig]

Can we please give a round of applause to the camera guy who was running at like 40mph

[@schwuzi]

If you don't know the camera guy is Matt from the channel DIYPerks. You got to check it out.

[@DillandShaj]

Flashbacks to the Top Gear episodes and awesome to see DIY Perks again. Both you guys are awesome! Really fun video!

[@phillipd.paynephd.8170]

The thrilled laughter when he realized he didn’t die in the spill was worth the watch

[@gedaliakoehler6992]

very cool and very fun. would be great to see you go even faster and get more driving practice with this on the beach.

[@ametti000]

Praise and respect for your nutty ideas and experiments. Surely an F1 team or aerospace company will give you a job soon. They love all this extra curricula activity

[@jean-marcducommun8185]

Refreshing channel as it reminds me on my youth when I was doing similar projects. Of course not many of the technology you have access these days was available especially not at affordable prices. But fun was the same!

[@beanbruh6641]

I like this build, but will you continue the rocket car build?

[@agrxdrowflow958]

Engineers are the real superpower heroes of this realm.

[@birdseyeview1543]

Extra points for using the retro Dymo labels on the control panel. Details....Happy Christmas, cannot wait to see what's next.....

[@4NK8A]

Boys like James are the reason why we still call Britain Great... THANK YOU YOUNG MAN.

[@thefirsttribes161]

Great Video. I feel like some handle bars to grab onto might be a good addition.

[@EJ-74]

Please add some handle bars or maybe something to lock your knees into so it can't dump ya off so easy. At full speed that could end really bad. Cool project 👍🏻✌🏻

[@JamesSmith-qs4hx]

That is probably one of the best things I've seen on KZbin...

[@minecrafter0505]

I feel like you should definitely get more control. I think fans into each direction controlled by a microcontroller (or manually) could help you stabilize the craft and counteract slopes without having to tilt the craft against the slope.

[@MrNamegame]

Absolutely a perfect spot for speed!

[@kakarikiIck]

Bloody good job mate love to have the skills to make my own jet hovercraft!😊

[@johnstrijkert9199]

nice video, i do like hovercrafts because they are something different. maybe some rudders on the outer edge of the craft, so away from the jetstream would have helped. that way you would have a bit steering with low throttle or trottle off when moving. with the air of moving flowing trough the rudders.

[@user-kr7py4dn8s]

I suggest you change the axial fan at the bottom to a centrifugal fan, which can be more efficient and save power

[@laboratoryofliptakov8157]

The first to reliably start were all the birds...7:53.....😆

[@theliamcooke]

James, your content is always so amazing and this one was one of the most fun!

[@vovacat1797]

This one feels much more like a real-life Luke Skywalker landspeeder than anything I've ever seen

[@tomg721]

Well done. For version 2, stretch your craft so you can lay down while driving. Lower center of gravity = less chance of flying off.

[@Project-Air]

That’s the idea for the V2!

[@stephenbeck6410]

Hello from Salt Lake City. Bring that thing to the salt flats, bro!

[@Nomadx83]

Fixing an engine with tea, never heard something more english than that

[@chadnordhoff9591]

This was awesome. Thanks for the entertainment. Keep it up.

[@ThatGuyBW]

I absolutely had no confidence in that mount but it shows what I know! Awesome build! For future safety purposes still consider a shield though? 😬

[@sachaboulay2902]

Very good project, i thinks that represent a lot of work !

[@damoreno88]

I'm hoping you take the hover craft over water next !!

[@T3chpat]

Awsome project, hope you will be doing more videos abt the hovercraft and further development! Thanks for laughs 😂

[@mrsmith4662]

You can see why hovercrafts never really became a thing. Very noisy, don't steer, eats fuel, the list goes on. I applaud the enthusiasm and daftness. The seagulls sort of appreciated it. Looking forward to the next project.

[@catow465]

how does this guy do what he does in such a good way

[@paulbrouyere1735]

I once tried and build a model RC hovercraft in the 80’s. All went well on a flat surface on land. Going on water is simply not the same.

[@johnsmith-mz9hh]

Brilliant idea with the warm water bath

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic work, James! It was really fast!!! 😃 In case you're going to look for new transmitters, definitely go for a Radiomaster with ELRS! Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊 Merry Christmas and happy new year!

[@oscaranderson1822]

Outstanding. Keep it hammered check

[@MaYbYl8eR]

BEAUTIFUL SHOT WITH THE SEAGULLS FLYING AWAY 7:46

[@noahgossett6134]

Just add 2 more lift fans and slightly increase your ground coverage. A hovercraft with enough lift can go over any horizontal ground, bumpy or not

[@Zantrop64]

Maybe some kind of big fins in the front can help you steer, especially off throttle? Maybe also direct steering for when you're on it?

[@de-bodgery]

you need more skirt pressure...aka more EDFs. Amusing project to be sure!

[@victorpiedra6742]

It would be very interesting to use turbine with a propshaft set, and instead of a propeller atach an electric generator, to power bigger EDF sets

[@planespeaking]

Mark Rober owns that royalty free music 😉

[@Hrrrrrrrrrreng]

I recommend (if you redo the liner again) using pond liner. Relatively cheap, cold resistant, durable. 4mm pond liner would do a treat.

[@Jbrimbelibap]

Gotta love how racing stripes are just big french flags. Vive la France

[@angusmclaren6257]

You made Matt run fast on that. He needs to DIY a cart to keep up