# Now beat that: Jet-engined Beetle & twin-jet scooter!



## Zazula

What can I say, guys?... Only in California!:laugh:​

Read the whole story at Ron Patrick's Street Legal Jet Powered Beetle web page.​


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## TreyeMe

damn are those street legal

where could i get one of them :grin:


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## Zazula

According to the owner's web page, they ARE street legal!


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## yustr

TreyeMe said:


> damn are those street legal
> 
> where could i get one of them :grin:


Regardless of what the owner’s web site says, every community has a noise ordinance and that thing undoubtedly fails. You'd be shut down before the first traffic light. Besides, jet engines are dirty and CA has stringent emission rules.

Maybe he gets around all that by saying it's experimental
:4-dontkno .


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## V0lt

If the airliners can get away with it, why shouldn't he?

I think this is freaking amazing, and I fully endorse it :smile:

By the way, my community does not have a noise ordinance.


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## yustr

I forget to add:

It's very cool. Nice work, kudos to the builder. :4-clap:


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## Joefireline

He says that he doesn't use the jet MUCH, only on highways... lol. He also says that safty is important, and he isn't stupid with it, which is good.
It is FLAMming good though! I would mind one of those for my first car  When I am 18 though... Still 4 years to wait! 
How the hell did he afford it, and WHERE THE HELL DID HE GET IT FROM!?!


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## TreyeMe

yeah that makes sense if airliners have them why couldnt cars.....


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## Zazula

Joefireline said:


> WHERE THE HELL DID HE GET IT FROM!?!


If any of the TSF users is actually looking to obtain a jet engine in a legal and affordable way for legal and safe, experimental uses, then I could provide some ideas and really lots of help, as aircraft structures and jet engines has been my engineering field for sixteen years.


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## Joefireline

Cooooool!


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## V0lt

I think I'll put a scramjet into a piaggio scooter :smile:

I'll call you guys via satellite phone when I get to the moon.


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## Zazula

Sorry to bring you bad news, Fox, but adding a Scramjet to your scooter will only add weight and no thrust at all. You'll need first to devise a method of propelling your piaggio to Mach 5-7, before the scramjet starts becoming operative... The good news, though is that (if you achieve that minimum speed), you'll then be able to reach more than Mach 12 quite easily... Aaah, don't forget, you'll also have to devise a big enough fuel container...:laugh:


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## Zazula

Oooh, and FYI (although my gut feeling tells me _you already know it_), one cannot reach the moon on an *air*-breathing engine...:laugh:


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## V0lt

Aww shucks, looks like you're right.

Maybe the fuel won't burn in space, but if I have enough thrust as I exit the atmosphere, I can just make tiny corrections with little thrusters


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## Zazula

Look what I've found for you... It's the paper from NACA (today NASA) experiments that took place before 1953 (!) regarding the *Preliminary Experimental Investigation of the Flight of a Person Supported by a Jet Thrust Device Attached to His Feet* - by C. H. Zimmerman, Paul R. Hill, T. L. Kennedy, NACA Langley VA, *Jan.21.1953*
Link: http://naca.larc.nasa.gov/digidoc/report/rm/10/NACA-RM-L52D10.PDF


And another good one: *Man flies like a bird - a jet-powered bird!*








Link: http://www.gizmag.co.uk/go/3280/
(In the site of the Aero Gizmo magazine linked above, you'll find unbelievable projects!)


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## potticus

one thing - scramjets and rocket engines may sound cool, but i'm damned bored of studying them


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## Zazula

Potticus, I know studying something academically can make tedious even the best things in life, but you'll simply have to keep banging on... Hopefully when you actually get to work on them, they'll be more "attractive"... In any case my advice as far as "chosing a profession" goes, is this: If you can't have a job that you love, at least love the job that you have... Plus, having a hobby that is related to your studies can make your academic days a bit lighter...


Now, some additional info: First of all, *you can construct a jet engine for less than $1000*. You can see an example here. (If you'd prefer a rocket motor instead, check out here.)

If you are after a jet motor for a model airplane, then have a look here. Kurt Schreckling's book is now available in English, too, and it can surely help you build that jet engine yourselves.

If you're the kind of guy who can find treasures in the junkyard, then rest assured you can also build a jet engine from stuff retrieved from any scrap place - visit junkyardjet.com to see how. (You'll also get bibliography info and practical aspects explained there.)

Do-It-Youselfers can experiment with very cheap, ultra-simple projects on jet propulsion, like this one.

As a matter of fact, you can do whatever you want. The sky's the limit!


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## potticus

i figure a degree thats hard will get me any job i want after, rather than an easy but fun degree that'll get me nowhere. its one of those situations where you do it because you can, rather than because you think its interesting!

also, just a point about those engines. if you've got flames coming out the back, you've not got a very good jet engine. it might look cool, but all that combustion happening outside the combustion chamber does jack for your propulsion.

however, as i paid very little attention in my lectures, i stand corrected


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## Zazula

potticus said:


> i figure a degree thats hard will get me any job i want after, rather than an easy but fun degree that'll get me nowhere. its one of those situations where you do it because you can, rather than because you think its interesting!


Academic degrees and vocational career are two entirely different things, I'm afraid.
A "difficult-to-get" degree is NOT accompanied with any guarantees, explicit or implied, of any kind.
The point is not to "be able to get any job you like", but rather to "know which job you do like".
Sorry if I _sound _preachy, but in fact I'm not trying to tell you "I know better", "do this", etc. But if you are really equipped with a functional set of eagerly-listening ears, then I could throw in some insights, since I've followed in my life an academic path similar to yours.



potticus said:


> also, just a point about those engines. if you've got flames coming out the back, you've not got a very good jet engine. it might look cool, but all that combustion happening outside the combustion chamber does jack for your propulsion. however, as i paid very little attention in my lectures, i stand corrected


Yes and no. It depends on the specific kind of jet engine and (mainly) the application in hand. Afterburning has some valid uses. (Of course, if you want to discuss jet-engine efficiency in relation to various factors and parameters, I'd gladly use this thread to bore everyone to death!:grin


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## potticus

i did think of afterburners, but on the jet bike link, he didnt appear to have any, just a sooty flame out the back. i had to to lab analysis of simple jet engine, and this came out as my main source of inefficiency (that and poor mixture).

i'd like to have done a product design degree, or even the pilot studies they offer at leeds uni, but in terms of getting a job later, i think i'm better off with aerospace eng, as there are more jobs around that for product designers. a fair point is also that those 2 degrees are available at significantly worse universities than where i'm at now, so thats another + point to the aerospace course! i'm on a 1st, so its not that i cant do it, just most of it is dull as dishwater.

i like conceptual design tho


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## Zazula

And now the world's smallest Twin-Jet-Engine plane:










Noted French pilot Nicolas Charmont has installed 2 AMT Olympus turbines in his Cri Cri together with AMT on-board automatic start-up units and individual EDT's. The Cri Cri weighs 170 Kg, and should have enhanced performance withover 36 Kg of thrust available. Top speed at this flight was 240 km/hour (150 mph). Flying with only one engine the speed is still 160 km/hour (100mph).

More pics: http://www.amtjets.com/gallery_real_plain.html


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