Wella nother Picture Gallery

With the help of two fine books, "Gas Turbine
Engines for Model Aircraft" by Kurt Schreckling,
and "Model Jet Engines" by Thomas Kamps, I
made my second and more knowledgeable attempt
at building a turbine engine. These books are
available through Traplet Publications. Here is a
view of the main shaft, compressor from an old
turbo-charger, the diffusor system, and the outer
housing which is a Camping Gaz fuel tank. The
turbine wheel is made from flat stock with the fins
bent and ground to shape.
This picture shows the addition of the combustor
parts. Also, the assembly of the main shaft and the
diffusor installed into the front cover. The three
fittings on the cover are for fuel-in, lube oil-in, and
pressurized air-out to force the lube oil from it's
tank into the engine. The combustor parts are made
from a stainless steel camping cup, a small spice
container, and a stainless finger bowl (for the elite
diner). There are six fuel injectors which spray fuel
through the hooked tubes (the curved shaped tubes
shown in the lower left corner) into the combustor.
This picture represents about three months work.
All that needs to be done is to use high temperature
silicone to seal the outer housing onto the main
assembly. Just below the turbine blades is the
nozzle, sometimes called guide vanes. This directs
the expanding gas almost perpendicular to the
turbine blades. The nozzle is by far the most difficult
part to build. I could not find a reliable TIG welder
to assemble mine, so I chose to spot weld my fins
to a center hub.
This is a front view of the engine after three runs.
See, it is still in one piece. HOORAY! In gathering
parts to assemble this engine, I would spend hours
browsing through the aisles of Wal-Mart, Target,
and K-Mart. With my trusty six inch scale and a
magnet, I would measure and test all sorts of
stainless kitchen ware looking for the right size
item that I could use. I suspect that I was under
the watchful eye of many a security officer trying
to figure out what I was up to.
Here is a rear view of the turbine. You can see a
bit of discoloration from the heat. I still need to
build a proper tail pipe and exhaust cone for better
thrust performance.
HOT! HOT! HOT! As you can see from the glow
that the engine is running. Tad, of Golden West
Models, once told me that almost anyone can build
a turbine. The real trick is building one that produces
usable thrust. I tend to agree. My engine, although
it runs quite well, would be too heavy to be practical
for use in an airplane. My goal was to build an
engine that would start, run, and satisfy my desire to
prove to myself that I can do it.

 


Drop TurboJer an E-mail and let me read your comments

E-mail: turbojer@geetel.net

Back to TurboJer Home Page