Henry's HOVERSITE 2003
Having recently parted with the last of a
series of
ultralight airplanes, I decided to
start a new project with my 14-year old
son and some of his friends.

Scanning the Internet, I came across the Universal
Hovercraft website which modestly proclaims: "We
are the world leader in hovercraft technology and
the world's largest supplier of hovercraft plans,
kits and parts."

A phone call to a cheerful Donald Small at UH
confirmed that the model
13-P was their quietest
and most efficient 2-person design.  He thought it
would make an excellent father-son project.

In early May 2003 we placed our order for their
most complete UH-13P kit, and a few weeks later a
very large crate arrived containing what you see in
Contact me
Page 1
It's a Mean Green Machine ...  and it actually flies!
Back to Home/Index Page
The full story...
The culmination of nearly a year's work -- our first flight on a frozen lake in New Hampshire.
The complete "kit" --  less engine, prop, fan and duct.
Do you think it will fly?
Still to be done: A final coat of paint, better graphics (that's blue masking tape!) and maybe a windshield.
Continue to Page 2  -  Construction, Days 1 thru 6
the photo to the right: Seven sheets of Styrofoam, six sheets of 1/8" plywood, 11 yds. of fiberglass cloth, 1.5 gallons of
epoxy resin, 7.5 yds. skirt material, 250 skirt screws and various and sundry belts, pulleys and cables. There were also three
sheets of blueprints, a video tape and a manual on hovercraft building.  We also received (not shown in the photo) a
pre-formed propeller, a 4-bladed lift fan, a fiberglass lift duct and a 25-HP, vertical shaft, air-cooled Briggs & Stratton lawn
tractor engine.

Having built several ultralight aircraft from kits, I quickly realized that this project might be a bit of a challenge.  The UH "kit"
was, in reality, an assembly of the raw materials needed to build the craft.  To top it off, neither my son or I had ever, in our
entire lives, laid eyes on an actual hovercraft!
.