The rivalry between The University of Alabama and Auburn University may add another component this spring in the form of a hovercraft race.
Hisham Ali, a UA senior majoring in aerospace engineering, recently submitted a proposal to the College of Engineering to create an Alabama hovercraft team. The proposal was approved shortly before fall break.
Ali and three other aerospace engineering seniors are planning to build a fully functional hovercraft as part of their senior design project. They hope to bring a hovercraft race to Tuscaloosa in coordination with Hoverclub of America.
“The problem is, these national hover rallies are always in the summer, and that’s not good for an academic design schedule,” Ali said. “So, I proposed that we organize our own race.”
Hoverclub of America sponsors hovercraft races across the country, but it has never held one in Alabama. Auburn created a hovercraft team in 2003 and won second place overall at its first rally.
Auburn’s team, the Hovering Tigers, hasn’t raced in a few years, but they are constructing a craft to race later this year. Ali contacted the team about holding a race in Alabama.
“Our goal is to have this race by the end of March,” Ali said.
The races are generally held during the course of a weekend in a public park along a river or lake. The course must cover both land and water. In addition to the race, these hover rallies often include a barbecue, camping and technical seminars about building hovercrafts.
Kent Gano, racing director of Hoverclub of America, recently visited Ali in Tuscaloosa after he was contacted about sponsoring a race. While no specific location has been set, they are considering locations such as Lake Lurleen in Tuscaloosa, Lake Martin near Montgomery and Chewacla State Park in Auburn.
Gano said the race could be the starting point of an entire collegiate division of hovercraft racing.
“This is the beginning of a possible region sports event,” Gano said. “This could hopefully turn into a nice little college-type competition every year.”
The first step for Ali and his team, however, is actually building the craft. The College of Engineering has given the team space in the aerospace structures lab in Hardaway Hall to house and construct their vehicle. The team will compete in the Formula S class, which allows just a single engine and single fan.
Hovercrafts are typically piloted by a single driver and can reach speeds of 60 mph on a land and water track. Some crafts are built from a structured set of plans, while others contain original design and ingenuity.
The project is split into four areas of design: controls, propulsion, structures and aerodynamics. Each of the four seniors are in charge of one area. They also have a team of underclassmen working with them so that the hovercraft team can continue even after they graduate.
Ali hopes to have the planning phase done by November and the construction done by February so the driver can get comfortable with the craft before a March race.
“It’s basically a frictionless vehicle,” Ali said, “so you can go pretty fast.”
While teams from across the country would be invited to compete at a hovercraft race in Alabama, the Alabama-Auburn angle would certainly produce interest for locals.
“That would be cool because it would be something that’s not brute sports,” Thomas Zeiler, an associate professor of aerospace engineering and advisor for the senior design project, said. “That’s a lot more technical than football.”
