Portable WInd Powered USB Charger

I've been wanting to do a project like this for a while now, and I started trying out some things with it, but then I got distracted with work and everything and put it on hold. Then I saw Makerbot's Catch The Wind challenge the other day and decided it was time to go back and actually make something of this.

Basically it's designed to be a wind powered USB charger. It harnesses the power of the wind, and uses a small motor to turn it into electricity. For those who don't know, motors and generators are essentially the same devices. If you put electricity into a motor it will spin the shaft, if you spin the shaft of the motor yourself it will put out electricity. So this design uses the power of the wind to spin the shaft of a motor, and then I've designed it to allow the electricity to run to a USB port on the side of the box.

This was designed to fit two other specific pieces. I've put the link to where those two other pieces can be purchased in the instructions, but since it's a work in progress still, I might change the parts as I experiment with new ones, but I have still gotten it to work as is.

I have a portable battery charger, and when I leave this sitting next to my AC it charges it. I've learned that this won't be able to directly charge an iPhone. Iphones have a built in mechanism that prevents them from being charged like most other USB devices.

I've experimented with a few turbine designs, but from previous experience, I've found Savonius cups…