Briefly describe the project:

There was a group in the class that was studying hovercrafts and could not quite grasp the concept of how they work so I decided to learn a little bit about them and make a small table model using a salad container and a small DC motor. The small plastic tabletop hovercraft got boring so I decided to make what is called a hoverboard. Using a piece of plywood as a base, you attach a certain material to the bottom with holes and a leafblower attached to it to create an air skirt. This air skirt is what makes the thing slide around and hover.

What engineering frameworks have you worked with this week? http://dhsengineering.pbwiki.com/FrameworksStandards

What has your group accomplished this week?

I had made my first hoverboard in one night and a small part of a class. I was surprised to find out how well the thing worked on my first try. I then had other kids try the thing out and got their opinion on it. I observed them ride it and tried to figure out what needed to be changed to make the thing better. I figured out that it needed to be wider so that it was more stable. I also needed to place another piece of plywood down on top of the board and screwed that down so that the air was not escaping through the top of the board where the material was fastened.

What problems has your group overcome this week?

I had to find the right fasteners for the job so that nothing was sticking out and scratching the floors. I had to find the right material for the bottom. I ended up buying a rubber coated dropcloth at home depot and cut out a section large enough to cover the bottom of the board and enough to wrap up around the top to be fastened down. The main problem was keeing the hoverboard stable when riden.

What are the most significant problems your group faces at this time? What will you do to meet these problems?

To fix the problem of the hoverboard not being very stable is use a wider piece of plywood. The more area on the bottom, the more stable it will be.

What materials or information do you need? How do you plan on getting these materials or information?

The materials needed were:

-Leaf blower engine

-Piece of plywood

-Drop cloth material

-Duct tape

-Thin strip of plywood for bottom

-Fasteners

I got the engine, plywood, duct tape, and fasteners from the tech room, and I purchased the drop cloth material at Home Depot.