SigKavalier

Just curios I know jets are expensive some more so than others. So I've kinda been tucking away a little turbine fund lol.
I was surfing around and found a site on the Wren turbines. Don't think I've ever heard much about them, but the kit price sure looks good.
Also looking for a rough idea on what do you need to run a turbine? Like ECU, starter, special plugs? Also how does a manual start work? I recall seeing something about doing it, and it involved a leaf blower.
There are a group that flies turbines 5 minutes from my house on occasion. I guess I should go hang down there sometime to learn more. One of them was at the other flying field where I fly on occasion, and just started it up for the group out there.
It was really wicked just like a real jet, but it is a real jet lol. He was also talking about it's gyro? He said he had it fail, and it caused a crash etc. Still can't figure out what a gyro would do on a fixed wing aircraft. The only thing I can fingure is maybe it was like some sort of auto-pilot? Supposed to keep the wings level or something like that.
Anyway just curious. Eventually I'll have one, but untill then I guess my EDF F/A-18 will have to suffice lol.

B777

Turbine fever....delicious!!

Kits are great and you will learn a lot about turbine while assembling it. Commercial turbines, on the other hand, are fully tested and ready to use. They are for those wanting to fly and don't want to deal much with the powerplant internal.

So many choices out there and the best, as you mentioned, is to stick around the guys who fly jets and see what they are flying.

Have fun....

B777

HarryC

My Feedback: (1)

The Wren MW54 comes in various guises, including licence built ones such as the SPS, or the lovely Thai built PST600, see other threads on that title. Wren themselves will sell direct, a kit of parts or ready built and balanced with ECU, fuel pump and data terminal.

I know 2 people who have built Wren MW54s from the kit. No special tools or skills are needed, it is an assembly job taking a few hours. The critical part is balancing the shaft but by following Wren’s instructions this is done successfully without any specialist equipment!

You can have a Wren MW54 from full on-board auto start like the PST600, to semi-auto with off-plane propane tank which saves weight of tank and valves. Turnover is done by electric motor, the ECU and/or data terminal can handle full auto or give you instructions to start fuel pump, turn off propane etc.

One colleague installed his in a large jet trainer, would you believe adapted to just 3 channels plus throttle cut! Yep, a rudder, elevator, throttle jet model and it flies just fine. Jet engines are more complex than normal but the jet models do not have to be complex or fast. I have done the bulk of the flying of it for him so far and having experienced it at first hand I am going to buy a Wren or one of the licence built derivatives myself. A small advantage of Wren is that it runs on marine outboard motor oil rather than expensive carcinogenic Aeroshell, don’t know about the licence built versions though.

Harry

B777

Its strange but true that turbine will run on just about anything that will combust, Jet A, JP3, kerosene, diesel, etc. and you can mix any lubricant that will blend with the fuel. Its the life span of the turbine that manufacturers are concerned about. The combination recommended will give the turbine long lasting life usually far exceeding the warranty period or cycles. Outboard motor oil is also acceptable but if you look closely, its not just any outboard oil...high performance outboard similar to those used in outboard racing..cost? not cheap. BP/Exxon 2380 turbo oil or Mobile II oil are relatively inexpensive considering the amount of fuel you can mix with one quart of oil...usually about 20 liters...that's a good 10 flights on MW54 sized turbine. On the average, jet modelers fly about 3-4 flights a session so 20 liters will last you the weeken's flying.

See what your friends are flying and if you feel comfortable with their equipments, then that's the way to go... :thumbup:

B777

SigKavalier

Thanks for all the info. I wish I had friends that flew turbines, but I've only met one of them. I think he's a whatchamacallit for BVM or somebody. I believe the jet he had that day was a Bobcat. It had bells, and whistle all over the place. Cool as heck but he said he had like $7,000 in it. Way over my head. In all my net searching I've only seen about 2 different motors in my price range. One was just under $2,000 and thats still pretty high. The Wren at $680 in kit form is way better on price. I have a 1/4 size twin gas motor that I'll probably sell which will help on the money end. To put it simple some of the turbines I've seen cost more than my truck lol. Shame you can't finance them lol I'd have one in a heart beat. I can see the ad now "This Bobcat can be yours for only $299 a month with 0% down, and no interest untill june!" lol.
I just wanted to make sure they were good engines. The price was so good it made me wonder. I don't like cheap junk, but I don't spend extra for #1 either. Although that Bobcat he had seemed amazingly simple to start up. It spun itself up, and made a shhhhh sound as it wound down, spun up again and pop WHHRRRRRR! As an Air Force brat who has spent lots of time near the flight line. That real turbine sound just kinda grabbed me lol. I've been kinda obsessed since. I fly EDF's, and at some point I'll probably end up with a big DF before a turbine.
Although I've been looking at those Toki fans putting one in a EDF kit for 90mm fans. I read that tuned they'll get almost 3 lbs of thrust. On a 3.5 lb model that should probably make for some good experience.

Gordon Mc

My Feedback: (11)

I think you either made a typo there, or misread something. JDE has the Wren kit for $1680, not $680. I could be wrong, but it would be surprising if someone is undercutting Dennis by $1000 ...

Gordon

B777

The Wren MW54 kit with ecu and autostart is 999 pounds from the UK. You can check out their prices at Wren's home page http://www.wren-turbines.com

Many alternatives to BobCat are out there..Five Jet, Kangaroo, Rookie, Serpent, AV8R, Trim Spectre, and Yellow Aircraft fleet of scale fighters...more and more. These jet are in the price range of $500-1000. I believe that you can fly a NEW turbine jet with all up cost of under $4000.- (include turbine, radio, etc..ready for flight)

B777
www.pstjets.com

SigKavalier

Yeah the whole shebang kit is 999, but just the engine kit is 680 I guess pounds. Thats only for people outside of Europe or else it's 780 pounds if you live there.

ajcoholic

My Feedback: (10)

Please do a search on Wren MW54 here in the jets forum, we Wren owners/operators have posted a lot of good information...

AJC

cactusflyer

My Feedback: (4)

SigKavalier,
I feel your pain! I started out trying to obtain a Wren MW54 back in October 2002. I was advised to go direct to the U.K. but I was reluctant to contact Wren in England via telephone. After some frustrating dealings with the former U.S. Wren rep, I contacted Wren via e-mail and as I have posted previously, everything worked very smoothly. The folks at Wren are second to none to deal with. The pricing is somewhat confusing at present but I believe they are "cleaning" this up. Here's a quote from an e-mail from Wren:

"Here are the prices for a full Autostart MW54 with front cowl
Kit package - engine kit, ECU, pump and starter - £850 plus £20 post (for an approximate dollar price, multiply by 1.5)
Upgrade ECU to Autostart extra £126.
Upgrade Starter to fit cowl - price has not yet been set, but may be about £50 extra
Cowl is £30
Total £1026, plus approx £50 e extra for starter upgrade"

The cowl is the nice green inlet that is there mostly for aesthetics. Although, Mike Murphy at Wren has told me that they have found that the cowl adds between 1/2 lb to 3/4 lb thrust. I recommend the autostart option. You can do manual starts with that ECU as well. The starter upgrade gets you a cool looking starter mount and ball-bearing motor that has replaceable brushes....not really necessary, but nice. My total cost for all the options and the kit came to around $1700.00 when it "settled on my Visa.........It's worth every-penny IMHO. It took 7 days for the parcel to reach me in Arizona for the day they shipped it. It's a great feeling to assemble and run this thing and KNOW that you can repair it yourself! The picture depicts my engine before the end cap was installed on the starter.

SigKavalier

Wow I did a search, and your right there's tons of stuff in here on it. I guess I should have done a search before posting a new thread. It's going to be quite some time before I have anywhere near the money for a turbine model, but eventually.
I'll likely nit pic, and do the hunter gatherer thing until I've managed to collect enough pieces to have a complete jet lol. Or I could probably sell the rest of my planes and get one lol.
For now I guess I'll just have to splash some kerosine on my F-18, and pretend it's a turbine. lol.

HarryC

My Feedback: (1)

For a moment I wondered how you got those prices, much cheaper than I will have to pay for a Wren and I live in the same country as Wren. Then I realised that if you are buying from abroad you will be exempt from VAT, our purchase tax. So if you are ordering from the USA contact Wren for the correct export, ex-VAT price. With low flight prices to the USA it is probably cheaper for me to go on holiday to Florida, have the engine sent to me there VAT free then bring it back home with me!

Harry

Jackjet

My Feedback: (1)

The starter upgrade gets you a cool looking starter mount and ball-bearing motor that has replaceable brushes....not really necessary, but nice.

Cactusflyer,

that ball bearing starter with the replaceable brushes is worth EVERY penny.


Jackjet

ajcoholic

My Feedback: (10)

All I can say (like many times before) is that Wren UK is one hell of a great company to deal with, and their engine kit is top notch! You cannot go wrong choosing one of their engines and the service is as good as it gets. Thats no exageration!

I have the BB starter and cowl, and wouldnt want my Wren any other way - its just so smart looking!

Andrew Coholic

Triggsy

Yep, you can't go wrong with a Wren.

I've had about 7 flights with my Wren/Reaper combination and they go together perfectly. It's amazing the attention you get when you fly a jet - bypassers stop and look, fellow fliers say they want one and the sound is awesome

Cheers
Simon

Lowlevldevl

My Feedback: (1)

Well, call me crazy, but this whole UK pound to US dollar thing has got me confused. I am considering one of the MW54 kits. Can someone tell me how much the kit costs in "U.S." DOLLARS? I want the basic engine kit, without ECU, pump, etc. Will get those later.

EASYTIGER

My Feedback: (119)

There's a charachter named David Reid who lives in Oxford. He must have been the guy bragging about his seven grand jet. If you are serious about going turbine, you ought to talk to him.

jetflyr

All you have to do to figure out the exchange rate is go to the currency converter on the first page of the Wren site.
Or...go to any of the search engines and enter "currency converter". There is "NO" rule of thumb...the rates change daily...
I have a currency converter programed into my "favorites" since I like to look and then know how much something would be.....if.....I were to buy it.
Good Luck!
Greg

David Eichstedt

My Feedback: (17)

Here's a good currency converter: www.xe.com