Something I made earlier this year

One morning my 4 year old son asked me to make him a hovercraft.  I found a takeout container in the recycling, grabbed a battery holder, switch and motor from my spare parts bins, and a spare prop from a toy quadcopter.  The prop just happened to fit perfectly on the motor shaft, and a little testing with a variable power supply helped me find the right voltage to get the speed I wanted.

 

 

I made an A-frame to hold the motor up, slotted it into the takeout container, and cut a baffle to divert some of the air under the shell for lift.

 

Add some masking tape to hold it all together and a cardboard blade guard for a little safety, and it was ready for takeoff!

Doesn't travel in a straight line all that well even with an added rudder, but it sure can move! I replaced the tape with hot glue after I got everything lined up right, and I'm hoping to find a way to add an apron so it doesn't get stuck on rug edges, but overall I think it was a success!

Vision, Mission, and some questions answered

Vision: To foster a greater understanding of the technological world around us through creative exploration, repair, experimentation, and shared knowledge.

Mission: To build a member driven hackerspace with the tools and space needed to give a diverse community the ability to create, explore, repair, and learn through shared skills and knowledge. 

What is a hackerspace? It is a workshop, an art studio, a laboratory, a classroom, a meeting space, a tool library, a place that encourages the creative exploration of the world we live in. 

What is a hacker? A hacker is someone who is interested in technology but isn't satisfied just using it as-is. They want to know how it works, why it breaks, what else it can do, who controls it, how they can make it their own.  

Who can join? Anyone with an open mind and an honest desire to help build this community. 

What's next for Make Fix Hack? Once I know who is interested, we can start meeting and planning the next steps. Creating an organizational structure, finding a location, getting tools and equipment, etc. I have ideas, but I can't be a community by myself.

What will Make Fix Hack do for the surrounding community? I would like to do regular outreach events to support the area we live in. Events such as repair cafes, learn to solder sessions, presentations on any number of tech related topics (like cord cutting, digital privacy, right to repair & more) "tacos and tech support" nights, and many other ideas are all possibilities.