Taking the hovercraft out for a spin

Engineering Professor Barrett Hazeltine takes a student-built hovercraft out for a test drive in a parking area adjacent to Barus & Holley. The hovercraft was built by Nik Lochmatow '01 (wearing plaid shirt) for Hazeltine's "Intermediate Technology" course, and by Scott Frazier '00 (wearing white T-shirt at far right) for his engineering class, "Projects in Engineering Design," taught by professors Jerry Daniels and Bruce Caswell. A 5-hp Briggs & Stratton engine helps raise the vehicle nearly eight inches off the ground by generating a cushion of air. The pressurized air is contained between the hovercraft and the ground by the sturdy rubberized material that skirts the hovercraft's plywood bed. A second motor drives the rear propeller, which moves the vehicle forward. Lochmatow and Frazier said they were pleased with the results of their project, even though there were long nights in the lab when nothing seemed to go right. And everyone who took the hovercraft for a spin on May 17 pronounced the ride "awesome."