MovieChat Forums > MythBusters (2003) Discussion > hovercraft over a minefield

hovercraft over a minefield

posted 8 years ago by ih8tt
20 replies | jump to latest

okay, if it really works that well, at least over pressure (weight-based) mines, why didn't we already know about it because the military and countries plagued by old minefields had been doing this for years? hovercrafts aren't new, certainly the military has access to them, and could do a similar experiment to what the guys did anytime they wanted, even extending to other types of mines, and making the hovercraft remote-controlled, so as to minimize risk when trying it with real mines

crossing a minefield is only a temporary solution anyway, the mines need to be removed, and, even though they did kind of 'hover' over several mines, there's no indication the use of a hovercraft could help with the removal and disposal of the mines, since someone would have to lean over the edge to do anything to the mines (remove them, or just put another charge on them to blow them up in a controlled way), and that would mess up the 'even weight distribution' that seems to be the 'secret' here

also, I wish that drone shot while the hovercraft drove over the field had had the mines' positions overlaid on the screen so we could see that they really were driving over them, I could only see the 'carving' in the ground part of the time, and that ground-level shot they kept using showed them missing at least the mine closest to the camera every time

[–] reanimated838uk 8 years ago

Couldn't someone just drop a bunch of heavy items onto a mine field, and trigger any potential landmines?

Yeah I used to love dying, but that speech really turned me around.

[–] cliff-hartle 8 years ago

Yea kind of but there are many kinds of mines and some only react to certain triggers like magnetism or vibration.

But just as there are many types of mines there are many ways to remove them.

[–] Kruleworld 8 years ago

by reanimated838uk
Couldn't someone just drop a bunch of heavy items onto a mine field, and trigger any potential landmines?

They have a machine specifically for doing that. it's called a Mine Flail Tank. it's basically a tank with a rotating barrel that has big heavy blocks attached that hit the ground and destroy the mines.
https://youtu.be/wf6CsvAffHo?t=218

"He's dusted, busted and disgusted, but he's ok"

[–] Purk 8 years ago

I kept thinking, okay you proved that driving over the mines with the hovercraft didn't cause them to explode, now hover over one and shut the engine off.

[–] justinboggan 8 years ago

I have to question the "MacGyver" explosives annd cement myth. they called it totally busted, I say that was not a good call: it's plausable.

Why?

Look what they had to do to get the myth busted: they had to reposition the exlosives and do the test again since many of the sticks of dynamite didn't go off. The bad guy in the "MacGyver" episode wasn't able to do that. Once in, he was off. In real life one or more failures in that situation is therefore a realistic outcome as Adam and Jamie have shown. The first explosion where they think only two sticks went off, essentially re-produced what was in the MacGyver" episode. Failure is also an option for bad guys trying to blow stuff up.

_____
The New Number 2: "Are you going to run?"
Number 6: "Like blazes. First chance I get."

[–] ih8tt 8 years ago

I agree completely, justinboggan, the first test with the cement looked so much like the show clip, I'll bet if they asked the person who rigged it for filming, about 2 sticks or less is what they set off, and, like you said, Adam & Jamie had to rig up a completely different physical setup inside the truck to ensure the dynamite would be completely covered by the wet cement and not float or have its det cord come off...

like you said, I think the first test, which mimicked the clip, was a success, and did prove that wet cement could neutralize the dynamite, which doesn't have to mean it goes off, rendering it unable to go off keeps people safe, too, and then the bomb squad can be brought in to clear the unexploded dynamite, which couldn't be that dangerous, once the det cord is off and they're soaked in wet cement, since they let Adam & Jamie do it, not the experts readily available (or any robot they wanted to bring in) at the bomb range - I mean, seriously, if there was any chance of those sticks exploding, you think they'd have let Jamie tear at the side of the truck with a piece of heavy equipment, with Adam standing right there? don't think so, even if it is the final season!

[–] Purk 8 years ago

Originally Posted by justinboggan:
I have to question the "MacGyver" explosives annd cement myth. they called it totally busted, I say that was not a good call: it's plausable.

I agree, I think plausible would have been a better call.

The issues I have with the third truck test was the chimney that Jamie unintentionally created out of 1 inch plywood. While this allowed them to easily slide the box of explosives into the chimney and screw a cap of plywood on top, it also changed the orientation of the explosives in the concrete.

The void the chimney created also allowed the explosives to remain dry. In the MacGyver clip the explosives were shown to be fully submerged in wet concrete. I would guesstimate at its narrowest there was a minimum of 3 feet of concrete surrounding the left and right sides, more front to back. There was mere inches over the top and there was none underneath. This created a weakness in the concrete containing the blast and the blast simply took the path of least resistance by going vertical.

I think I would have used straps to anchor the explosives. This would have allowed the explosives to partially float, allowing the explosives to be fully encapsulated in the critical middle of the concrete mass.

To a lessor degree, was that 84 pounds of explosives in the MacGyver clip and was that the same type of explosives that would have been available when the MacGyver clip was filmed?

Finally, as you pointed out, the bad guys have failures too.

I think the MythBusters did what was necessary for the show and the time allowed. But, I think in doing so they did not replicate the myth as it was shown in the MacGyver clip.

No revisit on this one.

[–] ih8tt 8 years ago

agree completely, Purk

[–] cliff-hartle 8 years ago

The myth wasn't will filing a truck full of explosives with concrete dislodge the blasting caps and disable the bomb. No it was will a truck full of concrete dampen an explosion.

I'm quite sure in that episode MacGyver didn't say "Hey it will fill up the truck with concrete we may dislodge the detonators."

[–] ih8tt 8 years ago

I'm quite sure in that episode MacGyver didn't say "Hey it will fill up the truck with concrete we may dislodge the detonators."

no, but disabling the explosives' ability to hurt massive numbers of people was the goal within the storyline of the show (I'm assuming, never watched it), and therefore, should've been the bar for the Mythbusters, and whether that's because the wet cement absorbed the majority of the blast's power, or because it rendered the dynamite unable to go off, does it really matter? you're rendering it inert, and relatively safe while you evacuate the area to allow for the bomb disposal experts (or, these days, their robot) to move in and completely clear it

I don't think they did the show justice, personally

[–] magnus166 8 years ago

And what would that accomplish? What's the point of stopping and turning off the engine on top of one?

[–] Purk 8 years ago

Because if that didn't set one off, the test was faulty.

[–] ih8tt 8 years ago

did you see the earlier part of the episode where Adam walked over a few of them, and they drove a couple of vehicles over the field (with the mines set to varying levels of weight sensitivity)? I think that proved that their mines worked, if that's what you were getting at

[–] Purk 8 years ago

Well, you questioned the hovercraft as a means for mine disposal partly due to uneven weight distribution. I'm not convinced that landing the same hovercraft directly on a trigger would have cause that mine to explode. They could have flown the camera drone a few inches over the minefield and come to the same conclusion that a drone doesn't trigger mines. But, land a drone directly on the trigger?

Yes, the myth was to find out if it was possible to cross a minefield safely using a hovercraft and landing the hovercraft would be outside of the scope of the myth. But, it is not outside the scope of the show and it is a real variable that they didn't explore.

Faulty wasn't the right word, instead, incomplete.

[–] magnus166 8 years ago

There's no point in exploring it. Why would stop on a mine? It makes no sense.

[–] EazyEwok 8 years ago

I'm sure the military has known this for almost as long as there's been hovercrafts. Why would they volunteer this information though? Also, we clearly have heard of it, otherwise it's not on the show. It's simply never been tested by anyone who would be motivated to acknowledge it.

The idiot formerly known as Heez.

[–] Airman87 8 years ago

I'm sure the military has known this for almost as long as there's been hovercrafts

I think so too. I vaguely remember hearing something about it on a show where they were showing the Marines' biggest hovercraft. I think they said the skirt is so tough, that even if a landmine did go off, it wouldn't damage it.

_______
When logic and science aren't on your side, you always lose.

[–] DrWhen 8 years ago

I can't really think of a tactical situation where what they did in the show would do much good. You've got to all your people and heavy equipment across the mines and not just a couple guys. They're too loud for covert approach. They do use them for landing crafts as you can get your guys way up on the beach instead of at the edge of the water.

[–] huldu 8 years ago

Mostly because the reason is that countries that suffer from mines are somewhat poor. Unlike the mines in the show, the real mines are actually quite dangerous. So yeah, you go out on a minefield and try "disarm" them with a bare minimum budget. Also, note that a real minefield, unlike the show won't be marked so you won't know where they are. Have fun!

[–] magnus166 8 years ago

There's no practical use of it right now. Mines are rarely used anymore except by like terrorists and the like and you're not going to patrol Afghanistan in a hovercraft. And if you know mines are there then you get rid of them or fence them off.