[Noisebridge-discuss] /meteor_chair

[maestro]

# august 11-13 find a nice, dark sky>>
# as there will be a huuuge meteor shower>>
# averaging 73-101 meteors per hour...

end comments

>and then there's this...

>Surprisingly, floating-air vehicles are easy to make, not too expensive -- and terrific fun. >Mythbusters' Adam Savage explains how to get off the ground.

>Materials required

>-1 sheet of 2cm-thick plywood
>-1 leaf blower
>-1 heavy-duty shower curtain
>-Staple gun
>-2 rolls of gaffer tape
>-1 lid from a large paint tin
>-Foam pipe insulation
>-Assorted screws

>Prepare the plywood
>First cut a 1.2-metre-diameter circle from out of the 2cm-thick plywood. Put your leaf blower >-- it doesn't matter if it's petrol or electric, it's up to you -- in the middle and then figure out >where the nozzle ends up on the circle. Now trace around the nozzle and cut a hole to >match so it will fit tightly.

>Make the skirt
>Lay your shower curtain down flat and place the plywood circle on top of it. Fold the shower >curtain up and around the edges of the plywood and use a staple gun to secure it all along >the perimeter of the circle. Cut off the excess curtain and seal the edge, all the way around, >with gaffer tape. Make sure it's airtight.

>Don't skimp
>On the underside of the plywood circle, nail a five-litre paint-tin lid in the middle to hold down >the shower curtain. Cut a ring of six five-centimetre holes in the curtain, all about five >centimetres from the lid. The air escaping from the shower curtain "pillow" will be the >cushion that puts the hover in your craft.

>Affix the leaf blower
>Next, secure the leaf blower with screws and connect its nozzle to the hole that you've cut. >Use gaffer tape to hold it in and seal it up. You can also stick pipe insulation, which comes >with its own adhesive, around the edge of the plywood to protect your hovercraft -- and the >shins of innocent bystanders.

>You're ready to fire it up
>You can screw a chair on to the disc for seating, using wooden risers under the legs if the >leaf blower needs more clearance. (That'll depend on the leaf blower -- and chair -- that you >use.) In any case, keep your centre of gravity as low as you can -- the lack of friction can >make the hovercraft slip out from under you quite fast.


anyone down with grabbing one of the chairs and doing this??? you can
hit my e-mail off-list if we don't want to make it a thread...