Kawi2strokes.com Forum

Waaaay back when, while in college I had an Energy Systems class. We all had to do projects that dealt with energy. It was a lower level semi-general class and I knew that most people were going to do typical half-assed college student projects. So, I built a jet engine...

It started life as a Buick Grand National turbocharger. I used a Harley bagger muffler as the combustion chamber housing, with some stainless tubing inside to serve as the mixing chamber. It runs off propane(almost a pound a minute), and a neon sign transformer provide the initial energy to a spark plug to get the mixture lit. Throttle is controlled by varying the amount of fuel.

Both this videos are of poor quality, they're dubbed from VHS tapes that I finally got transferred to the computer(I said it was a long time ago ). Here's a good overview from a UW-Stout Auto Club Christmas party(also one of the very, very rare times you'll see me on camera ) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2WVELXp0vI

Here's the very first time I fired it up, not knowing if it would even work(I made it pretty too just in case it didn't work ). I didn't even have the exhaust cone made yet when this video was filmed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_zEAU9WazE

OMG that thing is cool, I can just see someone bringing something like that to the gap.

Extremely cool!

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This is true. Where I grew up the hills were so steep and long, when your ball rolled down the hill you just said "screw it"...

Jeff that video just made my weekend, that's awesome, well executed!!!!!!!!

much better than the coke can ones littering youtube.......

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Twist the throttle, tilt the horizon, and have a great time. What triples are all about...........

That is sweet Jeff, I hope to have a turbine RC plane one day they are pretty advanced these days. They come with an onboard ECU to monitor rpm fuel flow. They are a little pricey though.

"we dont need no stinking saftey gear"
were you not concerned it might go bang and shower the place with red hot sharp pieces of death inducing metal.
cool video though

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she will never be pretty but she is a fun ride.

73 KAWASAKI H1 (Sold).
82 YAMAHA RD350LC
2000 KAWI KDX200H
2001 Triumph TT600

When I first started using it flaming hot shards of death were foremost in my mind, you'll notice that I am never inline with the impellers, intake, or exhaust. After a while I started to get more comfortable with it, although it could explode was always on my mind. It wasn't really spinning all that fast either, pressure in the intake tube only ever got up to a few PSI.

Plus, as a college student, I was invincible back then

No, but your camera man was for a while.

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

Camera guys are a dime a dozen And it's still safer than riding a motorcycle

The exhaust cone on this one is mostly for show, and too big to generate any usable thrust. With a cone about half the size, it would actually be useful for a go-kart or something. The tubing sticking out of the exhaust cone is an afterburner, it worked well for making car size fireballs Whilst in college, I also drew up plans for a jet backpack, but never got around to building it(and I don't own fireproof pants )