Wild Rides: Fire-Breathing Exhausts
Going by the moniker Rocketman, Robert Maddox does not owe his title to being a space explorer or admiration for the legendary Elton John number. Rather, this individual constructs pulsejet engines and then affixes them onto motorbikes and go-karts. The recent video that was released captured Maddox and an associate getting two of these modified machines up to speed on some dry land.
The two machines are something to marvel at. The individual atop the sapphire-blue one is seated in a similar fashion to someone riding a motorcycle; though, this one has four wheels. A huge exhaust pipe emerges from its tail end. Meanwhile, the red go-cart showcases three stacked pulsejet engines that look something like a design taken straight from an old cartoon.
Motor1.com contacted Maddox for additional information regarding these builds. The blue car is equipped with his Maddoxjets 250-pound-thrust pulsejet engine, which runs on gasoline. It has a reed valve that allows air to enter the combustion chamber but closes off during the detonation. Maddox informed us that “the valved engine requires a lot of air to be blown into it to get it started, and a large leaf blower is more convenient to use in the field than compressed air.”
“The red kart employs a valve-less design that has no moving parts,” said the engineer. “It generates a total of 150 pounds of thrust from the three pipes. He added, ‘If I crafted a single engine that produces 150 pounds of thrust, the engine would be too bulky to fit onto the kart.'”
Maddox proudly explained the mechanics of his vehicle, noting that it utilizes both liquid propane and diesel. “It’s my own fuel injection that I should patent,” he said. “Diesel has more power than the propane and runs cooler, plus it’s simple to just pour into a fuel tank, so I take advantage of both for the convenience of not having to constantly refill the propane tank.”
The video above gives an insight into how Maddox puts together these pulsejet engines, with him currently working on a bigger one for his red kart. He employs a waterjet cutter to fashion each element and afterwards rolls the components into tubes prior to welding them all together.
If you are desiring to gain an insight into the technical aspects of a pulsejet, then this senior venture by the pupils of the California Polytechnic State University could be your perfect source. They presented a plan comprising dual air intakes and only one exhaust port.
Source: Robert Maddox via YouTube
