Pulse jet Bike

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gidge348
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Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2009 12:50 am

Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by gidge348 »

Agree.... with the safety factors involved with turbine/jet engines, there is a lot of expertise around the place in the aeronautical field and your brother would be a good source.

As for developing safety protocols on other types of propulsion, Bob Maddox would be a good start for Pulse Jets, he has been doing this for quite a while, he sells his engines and seems to make a high quality product. Have emailed him in the past and seems quite approachable.

With the steam rockets you are just dealing with a steam pressure vessel, and once again there are a lot of clever people about when it comes to steam. I have a few contacts in the US that have been experimenting for some time. I have contacted Arnold in Switzerland re his steam car, he was keen to help, but at a VERY high price.

The other parts of the vehicle are just like any other vehicle on the salt and subject to the same rules.

With the potential aero problems, I think the best way to tackle this is the same as any other vehicle, with licencing runs 125 then 150, 175 etc if there is any problem, fix it and then try again.

Jets and pulse jets don't dangerous until they are lit so they probably could be pitted with everyone else. Steam rockets are safe as well until you start to heat them. I would recommend they are heated away from the pit area (possibly on the opposite side of the track) and facing away from everyone. I guess a worst case scenario would be that the valve fails and it takes off unmanned.

Cheers Ian...
David Leikvold
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Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by David Leikvold »

Bob Ellis reminded me at Speedweek that there is already a rule on the books that requires drivers to be in their cars and riders to be on their bikes if the engine is running. I guess the same would sensibly apply to a steam rocket being heated. It would certainly stop any runaways. It could be warmed up at the back of our start line where there are very few people. I think those short course licensing passes should be done on our course, "just to be safe", or to prove there isn't a safety problem with thrust engines.

There is a guy from Nowra, NSW who was interested in a wheel driven steam project. If he's still around maybe he'd be interested in applying his expertise to a steam rocket.

That video of Bob Maddox's twin pulse jet bike is a perfect example of a great place to start experimenting with pulse jets without spending much money. Not dramatically fast yet but with plenty of potential. It could be tested and developed at any drag strip and then used at Speedweek with plenty of experience and knowledge. It wouldn't be hard to buy a street bike with a dead engine and modify it to suit the pulse jets. If someone already had a bike like that in the shed (not unlikely!) it would cost virtually nothing to get started. That's how Richard "Rocket Man" Brown got started in England. He had an RGV 250 (I think) with a tiny Rolls Royce jet motor replacing the original motor and a couple of 5 second solid fuel rockets for good measure.

Even a jet dragster would be a good start but would need some modifications, e.g. a fully enclosed canopy and a better firewall and all the other stuff I mentioned.

Cheers Dave :mrgreen:
Good, Fast, Cheap, pick any two!
gidge348
Posts: 129
Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2009 12:50 am

Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by gidge348 »

With a steam rocket, you would not be "running" the engine while the water is being heated, more like "refuelling".
If the valve failed and the driver was on board he would just be a passenger, I still think the best thing would be to heat the water away from everyone else.....probably with the tank chained to a truck or something else that would be hard to move.

I think that the best way to tackle this is put the emphasis on the designer/builder to come up with a list of potential dangers and how they intend mange them. Additional potential dangers could be added along the line if something is noticed, this is basically how motor racing rules have developed over the last 100 years.

The majority of the rules for the vehicle would carry over but some of the current rules would not apply and others may be needed. Like with a water rocket a fire extinguisher and fire suit would probably not be needed, but on the other hand a high temp silver proximity suit may be more useful.
David Leikvold
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Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by David Leikvold »

The steam tank or boiler could have an automatic pressure relief valve that blew off steam straight up if the pressure got too high. Just label it clearly so nobody stands near it. Or maybe the steam could dump into a vented water tank where it goes through the water and expands quickly to cool down before it gets near the blow off valve. That would be safe while standing still or at speed. If the driver was in the car he could operate the valve. If the throttle/nozzle was closed with a locking pin on a "Remove before Flight" tag there wouldn't be a problem. If the pressure tank was enclosed at the front by a strong metal shield and open into the same area as the blow off valve steam would have great difficulty reaching the driver.

I like your idea of having designer/builders submitting details about safety before the build. Perhaps we should form a "Thrust Vehicle Safety Committee" so that the current technical inspectors don't need to be involved in the build process. It might also be a good idea to require approval of the committee before approval to build is granted. We need to get these vehicles right before they run. We could also scrutineer these vehicles at Speedweek, with the other inspectors checking the normal stuff that applies to all vehicles.

Cheers
Dave :mrgreen:
Good, Fast, Cheap, pick any two!
David Leikvold
Posts: 981
Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:57 pm
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Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by David Leikvold »

Here's an American jet bike streamliner. Chassis first:

http://images.motorcycle-usa.com/PhotoG ... bike-9.jpg

and the finished streamliner:

http://images.motorcycle-usa.com/PhotoG ... ike-13.jpg

Cheers
Dave :mrgreen:
Good, Fast, Cheap, pick any two!
David Leikvold
Posts: 981
Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:57 pm
Location: Brisbane

Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by David Leikvold »

And here's another interesting link:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/di ... es-feature

Enjoy
Dave :mrgreen:
Good, Fast, Cheap, pick any two!
oxliver
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Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by oxliver »

andra allow jet powered rails , funny cars and trucks and I am in the proses of getting jet bikes passed with them . and in a couple of months my bike witch is powered bye twin jets will be tested in the stated and sent over . the amount of thrust will be kept a secret in case someone else is going to be running one . the main problem with andra is the insurance witch we are discussing in depth at the moment . i'll keep you informed with the future of it's unfolding . to infinity and beyond .
if your not breaking anything your not going hard enough
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gennyshovel
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Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by gennyshovel »

These look safe ?
http://youtu.be/tkb583BMd0E
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oxliver
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 8:35 am
Location: burnett heads

Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by oxliver »

so if I have a cage around me i'll be safe .
if your not breaking anything your not going hard enough
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Greg Watters
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Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by Greg Watters »

Do we need a cage too :lol:
oxliver
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Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 8:35 am
Location: burnett heads

Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by oxliver »

here's the bike at my face book page I'm not trying launch into oblivion . just do something different https://www.facebook.com/oxliverracing?ref=bookmarks
if your not breaking anything your not going hard enough
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Greg Watters
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Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by Greg Watters »

Wow,

Ok apart from if you do or dont fit within the DLRA regulations,
Have you thought about lean angles ?
With 75mm clearance and 250mm wide at the bottom i have rubbed through the back corner of my fairing in a cross wind
the 75mm reduces at speed to maybe 50mm
Stayt`ie
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Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by Stayt`ie »

yeah, pretty impressive stuff :!: ,, i know absolutily nothing about "thrust" vehicles,, one thing that im thinking is, "weight", ya gunna need plenty, otherwise im thinking the thing will be uncontroable, :? ,,, please enlighten me as this project looks "very interesting",, 8) ,,
First Australian to ride a motorcycle over 200mph at Bonneville,,,
oxliver
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Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 8:35 am
Location: burnett heads

Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by oxliver »

the one main problem that I'm getting is that I will probably need my insurance , as I think i'll have to have my own . apparently there will be a lot of noise coming from the two holes out the back . like every new project every step is a small one , we will be teething them out one bye one and tuning the handling wether its going to need weight or not there is a slight angle on the jets witch is to do a couple of things one of is to reduce the amount of salt getting blown around and a bit of down force .
as it will be light there will be issues and gravity won't be enough to over come them , I might make up some counter weight to take with us in case we need them .
at least we don't have to worry about rear wheel traction being run bye thrust so we don't need extra weight there . the jets weight around 20 kg each so there pretty light for the power they put out . fuel I'm tossing that one up in the air because these engines can run on anything since I live near the Bundaberg rum distillery I was thinking if they could make my fuel for , ethanol not alcohol . kerosene , methanol , ethanol or with an additive to increase combustion . i'll add some more later cheers
if your not breaking anything your not going hard enough
oxliver
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 8:35 am
Location: burnett heads

Re: Pulse jet Bike

Post by oxliver »

here's a test on a trailer of the bike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BEAY38 ... video_user
if your not breaking anything your not going hard enough
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