Model making: WISENT class landing craft air cushion "LCAC - Landing Craft Air Cushion"
On many model ship shows most of the ships are built to the last detail and in very high quality. It is a pity that this is often overlooked by the spectators. Spectacular and not everyday models are more likely to attract attention. Among them are without doubt the hovercraft. Why not build the largest of its kind as a model? With a displacement of 550 tons, the Zubr class (Wisent class) is a giant. A plastic model is available in 1:110. That was too small for me. 1:75 I just found right. So build it yourself!
Build your own hovercraft: But how?
To read up on this subject, the book "RC hovercrafts" by K.Jackson & M.Porter from the VTH publishing house was a valuable help. Which technical components should make the model float had to be tried out . Calculations were not very helpful here. At the end of the text a list of the used battery and drive technology. A construction plan for this type does not exist, so photos had to be used and a lot of calculations were made.
The shell was built with a PU foam board and a power glue from the hardware store. This went quite quickly. A 70 mm
impeller, often used for styrofoam model airplanes, should make the Wisent "hover". The air skirt is made with rip nylon. A material used in tent canvas and by skydivers .
The power supply for the hovercraft landing craft
With the planned size of 900 x 400 mm, it was clear from the outset that it would not be an energy-saving model. An 18 V battery with 2.5 Ah from the tool range - combined with a voltage converter - is to provide the
desired voltage of an even 12 V. A second voltage converter regulates the 12 V down to 9 V again and thus supplies the propeller and the nautical lighting with an even voltage. Thus, the entire power supply comes from one battery. Two of the outer propellers are designed for propulsion, the middle motor was reversed and this propeller was put "upside down" on the
drive shaft. Reverse drives are thus possible without any problems. The three drive nacelles were printed for me by the company - Ray Haller from Eibenstock - on the 3D printer. They are controlled synchronously by a servo. This drive concept has proven itself. The 3.5 inch (approx. 9 cm) propellers come from the spare parts range for quadcopters. Despite consistent lightweight construction, the model weighs in at 4.7 kg with all fittings . This makes landing possible, but it is not suitable for trips on land. Even the original is 99% of the time on the water. 18 of this "giant bison" were built. Ukraine, Korea, Russia, China and Greece used them.
Used components from Funduino:
1x R4-E-0-1: EDF Turbine Impeller 70mm ADF70-28XL PLUS KV3900
1x R6-C-7-4: Hobbywing SkyWalker 60A UBEC Brushless ESC (40A controller gets too hot)
3x R5-E-4-3: Ready ToSky 1306 KV3100 for 150 quadcopter
3x R6-E-1-4: Hobbywing SkyWalker 12AE Brushless ESC
2x R12-B-8-2: DC-DC Step Down Module 300W 20A 6-40V to 1.2-36V
1x Battery 2.5 Ah 18 V from Einhell (driving time approx. 15 min)
The model is controlled with a Carson 6-channel remote control 2.4 GHz.
