![\"Austin](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Austin-Peay-State-University-APSU.jpg\" "\\"Austin")
Clarksville, TN<\/strong> – On a slow Friday afternoon, Austin Peay State University\u2019s Bryan Gaither built a hovercraft.<\/p>\nHe captured a video of its maiden flight and sent it to some friends: \u201cSo I got bored and built a hovercraft.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Austin](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Austin-Peay-State-University-junior-campers-captivated-by-Homemade-Hovercraft-1.jpg\" "\\"Austin")
<\/a>Austin Peay State University\u2019s Bryan Gaither prepares to don an Iron Man mask and his across the gym floor on his homemade hovercraft. Attendees of the university\u2019s Junior Govs Summer Camp are in the background. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n
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That 27-second video showed him petering along on the craft made of plywood and powered by two fire extinguishers and a leaf blower before he crashed into a pile of metal beams. The short trip also exhausted the fire extinguishers.<\/p>\n
Gaither \u2013 the APSU Department of Physics, Engineering and Astronomy lab manager \u2013 set out to improve on his creation, and by the following Tuesday, he had the second version with bigger fire extinguishers (and even a small license plate emblazoned with the word \u201cScience\u201d).<\/p>\n
Gaither showed off the craft to youngsters at Junior Govs Summer Camps at the Foy Fitness & Recreation Center basketball courts. He donned an Iron Man mask and pirate\u2019s jacket and hissed across the gym floor.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Here\u2019s a birds-eye view of Austin Peay State University Department of Physics, Engineering and Astronomy\u2019s homemade hovercraft, built by Bryan Gaither. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n
That 35-second ride captivated the junior campers \u2013 and some grown basketball players on the next court (the Facebook video of the second flight attracted over 6,000 Facebook video views in its first 24 hours).<\/p>\n
[320left]Gaither made his hovercraft in about four or five hours, using Science Bob\u2019s instructions found here (https:\/\/sciencebob.com\/build-a-hovercraft-you-can-ride<\/a>); all you need is plywood, heavy-duty plastic tarp, bolts and washers and a leaf blower (the fire extinguishers are optional for steering). It also helps to have a nice, smooth surface to glide on.<\/p>\n Gaither deviated from the instructions and made some of his own modifications, and he\u2019s planning a third version of the hovercraft, specifically using variable valving to better control the thrust and steering.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll try to mimic the controlled thrusting used to dock space craft in Zero-G (no gravity),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Who knows? Maybe it will have handlebar streamers.<\/p>\nVideo<\/h3>\n