Dyson Hovercraft

How do you entertain your 5 year old on a boring Sunday afternoon.....

Dig Out that old Dyson 04 motor you have had in the shed for god knows how long and that off cut of Chipboard and teach him about how to float above the ground like MAGIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I Had a bit of Chipboard that was a half inch thick and I just cut off the corners to make it easier to attach the skirt. The Skirt was made out of a waterproof ground sheet from a local discount store for £2 Just a few steps away from hovering an excited little boy.

Tools needed - Drill and drill bits jigsaw

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Parts needed - Dyson motor Chipboard Paint tin lid or jar lid Cloth tape Nut and bolt small piece of rubber ( I used an old inner tube off cut). Stapler and staples

Step 1: Cut the Board to Size

Remember when selecting the size of the base that it is only a small vacuum motor and I've never tried it on anything larger than 2 1/2 ft square.
You can simply cut of the corners at a 45 degree angle or cut out a complete circle. Now all you have to do is cut a hole big enough for the exhaust of the vacuum motor. I chose to do this a couple of inches from the sides tucked away in the corner leaving more room for little feet. At this stage it would be a good idea to drill a hole in the lid (The size depends on your bolt size) and the same size hole in the board in the middle.

Step 2: Make the Skirt

Lay the chosen material down on the floor (for us it was a ground sheet) and place the base on top.
Now leaving a good 5 inches either side cut the material. Fold the sides over and staple the material to the board leaving about an 1 1/2 inch of the material on the board all the way around. Make sure you staple roughly every 2 inches or less. Now with the corners pull them over the board and make sure the the joining edges aren't visible and then staple it down. Now using cloth tape (rhino tape) tape all the edges to make a more air tight seal around the edge.

Step 3: Cut the Exhaust Holes

Now turn over the board and material and cut 6 holes about 1/2" in diameter or just square holes about 3 - 4 inches away from the centre.

I also surrounded these with rhino tape to make sure these wouldn't rip open. I found this didn't work as well as I liked so I placed another 6 holes in the centre of the others and about 2 inch further away from the centre. I ran out of tape at this point so I didn't surround these holes. One more hole in the centre for the bolt to go through and one through the rubber seal. Now put the bolt through the jar lid or paint tin lid --->the rubber ---> the skirt---> and then the board and tighten up well.

Step 4: Plug and Play

All you need to do is screw on the motor through the holes already in the housing. Plug in and watch it inflate and SEE THE SMILE ON YOUR LITTLE ONES FACE.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!