I wanna build my own jet engine. What does it take?
05-25-2003, 12:26 AM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: WinnipegManitoba, CANADA
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I wanna build my own jet engine. What does it take?
Something that I know I have a passion for and really want to do is build my own jet turbine engine. I really want to do this, but how much money and knowledge do you have to have to do this? I'm no aerospace engineer or jet engine designer, but how hard can it be? It will probably cost a lot of money too (how much?) I was hooked when I saw some pictures of some small turbine engines. I would love to build one like the one in the picture below. If anybody has advice on this, I think I need all the advice I can get. I have zero experience with turbines.
05-25-2003, 01:10 AM
#2
My Feedback: (10)
I wanna build my own jet engine. What does it take?
I had the same thoughts for a few years myself. I suggest you first buy Thomas Kamps 2nd edition book on model turbine engines. It covers the details of construction and theory very well.
I myself bought a Wren kit last year, it was a very, very good experience and I highly recommend it as a first step. You get to see the inner parts and get a feel for putting it together even though you dont actually "make" any of the parts it gives you confidence in the process, and also gets you familiar with running them.
This past spring I started making a KJ66 engine (probably the mopst famous design for turbines, go to the Jesus Artes website for details or do a search on the web for many sites of info). I have a thread on here detailing some of the construction, and I have run it since up over 100,000 rpm. It was a great experience also but you need at the minimum a good accurate lathe, and a milling machine will help. Patience and some experience with metal work is a plus, as is a spot welder and some experience working with sheet metal. You can purchase some parts if you are not capable of making your own, but that adds to the cost. At a bare minimum you must purchase a cast turbine wheel, compressor and bearings.
Good luck and see my progress/engine here:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...869&forumid=26
Andrew Coholicc
I myself bought a Wren kit last year, it was a very, very good experience and I highly recommend it as a first step. You get to see the inner parts and get a feel for putting it together even though you dont actually "make" any of the parts it gives you confidence in the process, and also gets you familiar with running them.
This past spring I started making a KJ66 engine (probably the mopst famous design for turbines, go to the Jesus Artes website for details or do a search on the web for many sites of info). I have a thread on here detailing some of the construction, and I have run it since up over 100,000 rpm. It was a great experience also but you need at the minimum a good accurate lathe, and a milling machine will help. Patience and some experience with metal work is a plus, as is a spot welder and some experience working with sheet metal. You can purchase some parts if you are not capable of making your own, but that adds to the cost. At a bare minimum you must purchase a cast turbine wheel, compressor and bearings.
Good luck and see my progress/engine here:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...869&forumid=26
Andrew Coholicc
05-25-2003, 06:13 AM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: NA,
NJ
Posts: 398
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I wanna build my own jet engine. What does it take?
Here's my 2 cents...
The good news is that you have a lot of options. You can start with the Wren kit (from JHH), I know their work and can only say good things about it. You can by plans and parts (what I did - http://www.wren-turbines.com). Or you can just buy the plans and build everything.
The tools you will need.
1) An accurate lathe is an absolute must.
2) Metal working tools (ei: Dremel, files, drills, taps).
3) Spot welder (if you want to make the combustion chamber yourself).
4) TIG/MIG welder if you want to make parts like the NGV.
Like Andrew said, you will need a lot of patience. Even if you don't have the necessary skills, you can learn as you go along. The main difficulty in building these apparently simple engines is in the tolerances required. You must be able to produce very accurate parts.
Two more suggestions: Buy the Kamps book (https://www.traplet.com/pages/nonmag...d=3581&-search).
Join the GTBA (http://www.gtba.co.uk/)
One word of caution: unless you already have all the tools necessary, you will not save money. The tools are rather expensive and if you include them in the price then you have an engine that is just as expensive.
My engine came out almost exactly the same price as the kit. This, of course, doesn't include the time spent. The least expensive way is the Wren kit.
That said, I truly enjoyed building my engine. It gave me a very good understanding of these machines. Definitly worth it as far as I'm concerned.
Hope this helps.
Here's some shots of my engine:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...122&forumid=26]
The good news is that you have a lot of options. You can start with the Wren kit (from JHH), I know their work and can only say good things about it. You can by plans and parts (what I did - http://www.wren-turbines.com). Or you can just buy the plans and build everything.
The tools you will need.
1) An accurate lathe is an absolute must.
2) Metal working tools (ei: Dremel, files, drills, taps).
3) Spot welder (if you want to make the combustion chamber yourself).
4) TIG/MIG welder if you want to make parts like the NGV.
Like Andrew said, you will need a lot of patience. Even if you don't have the necessary skills, you can learn as you go along. The main difficulty in building these apparently simple engines is in the tolerances required. You must be able to produce very accurate parts.
Two more suggestions: Buy the Kamps book (https://www.traplet.com/pages/nonmag...d=3581&-search).
Join the GTBA (http://www.gtba.co.uk/)
One word of caution: unless you already have all the tools necessary, you will not save money. The tools are rather expensive and if you include them in the price then you have an engine that is just as expensive.
My engine came out almost exactly the same price as the kit. This, of course, doesn't include the time spent. The least expensive way is the Wren kit.
That said, I truly enjoyed building my engine. It gave me a very good understanding of these machines. Definitly worth it as far as I'm concerned.
Hope this helps.
Here's some shots of my engine:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...122&forumid=26]
05-25-2003, 11:28 PM
#4
My Feedback: (10)
I wanna build my own jet engine. What does it take?
I agreee - I am not building my own jet engines to save $$ but because I WANT to and ENJOY it. If you want to do it to save $$ then you better allready have the equipment and a lot of experience. I think with building anything you have to like the process of getting there, not just the end result.
AJC
AJC
