BACKGROUND

A typical jet engine compresses air and forces it into a combustion chamber. Here fuel is added and ignited. The rapidly expanding hot gases flow past a turbine, causing it to spin. This turbine is connected to the compressors at the front of the engine and forces them to move. The hot gasses then exit out the nozzle at tremendous speed, producing thrust. The thrust is a reaction based on Newton's third principal; that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, the action is the jet pushing air back. The reaction is the air pushes the jet forward. The amount of thrust generated depends on the amount of air blown back, and the speed that it is blown back. The more air and the faster it is blown the greater the thrust produced.

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

#1.   Building a jet engine is extremely difficult. The compressor and turbine blades need to be built to exact dimensions and with close clearances. They also must withstand incredible heat, insanely high RPMs, and be perfectly balanced. Some model builders have utilized turbo chargers off of vehicles to solve this problem. A turbo charger provides the compressor and turbine, which leaves the builder with only the tricky combustion chamber. This is a great idea, but turbo chargers are expensive, and getting one out of a junk yard means it is usually junk. Using a turbo charger is also extremely dangerous because they will reach 60,000 or even 100,000 RPM! This means that you have red hot pieces of metal spinning at incredible speeds-much higher than it was designed for! This is a recipe for shrapnel and explosions. A system like this also requires a complicated pressurized oil system, a tachometer of some sort, and money.

FSP has designed a jet engine system that uses an external compressor to provide the air that the jet needs. This system is safe, easy to build, and doesn't have a turbine stealing power from the jet. Any external blower can be used for the jet (leaf blower, shop-vac), or air can be stolen off of the hovercraft's lift system if you have built that project. A turbocharger jet needs an external blower to get started, but this is already present in our design.

#2.  Building a combustion chamber that keeps a flame from blowing itself out, and establishes a rich to lean mixture is a bit of a black art with few guidelines available.

FSP has detailed plans to take the guesswork out of construction. The kit is a fun and exciting experience, not a frustrating one. The combustion chamber can be made out of scrap metal and piping, which saves the builder money.  Learn more about combustion chambers on our TECHNICAL PAGE.

OTHER FSP DESIGN FEATURES

Along with a detailed plans and diagrams for the jet, FSP provides a high-flow propane hose that can be attached to any standard BBQ propane bottle. (We suggest using a normal 5gal propane tank available at Wal-Mart or just about any hardware store.) This hose is specially made for the jet, and it provides the high amount of fuel the engine needs.  The difference can be seen below.

You can view more pictures of our high flow hose and jet in action HERE.

A super-high voltage igniter is also provided. This igniter creates a spark approximately 10mm long. A spring loaded hammer in the igniter hits a piezoelectric crystal, which generates thousands of volts across the face of the crystal. There are very few amps produced making this igniter very safe (and fun) to use. These push-button sparkers are often used as igniters in BBQ's, and in those prank packs of gum that shock you when you try to pull a piece out.  Our jet is so stable that a this simple ignition system can be used.  There are no confusing wiring diagrams, sparkplugs, or constant ignition systems needed.

PURCHASING OPTIONS 

Detailed plans and diagrams are available, and come free with any jet component purchase.  Please see our ONLINE CATALOG to view your options.

SPECIAL NOTE

The FSP jet is a model of a real jet. This means two things. First that it is relatively dangerous because you are working with high amounts of explosive fuel. While we believe this is the safest model jet available, it still utilizes fire; which is inherently dangerous. Secondly, the jet is a model and doesn’t create huge amounts of thrust....yet.  It does create some thrust, but not enough to propel a large contraption forward. Learn more about thrust and how to create it with our simple design on our TECHNICAL PAGE.