new guy

[pietdriver]

Hi guys, pretty cool site you here. I recently bought a BD-5j plane and would prefer to power it with a jet. A new TJ-100 is over $50,000. TRS-18s are very hard to come buy, still learning about the smaller jets that may be available. What other engines in the 250 - 300lb thrust class are there? I have over twenty years experience with jets and turbines on a slightly larger scale....., I did do a little work on some APUs and start carts. Can some turbines be converted to pure jet?, i.e. T-62.

  thanks for any info you may provide.

Wayne

[racket]

Hi Wayne

Welcome to the Group :-)

Theres not many engines that are suitable , the T62 would only produce half the thrust you want .

Horace at Jetbeetle jetbeetle.com/ is hoping to have something that might be suitable later this year, checkout his Site

Cheers
John

[racket]

Hi Wayne

Before you go too far, have you factored in the fuel usage, even very expensive engines like the TJ100 have SFC of 1.09 , so ~270 lbs/hr of fuel or ~40 US GPH of kero .

Now the info I have for the BD-5J gives a tank capacity of 30 gallons , thats 45 minutes "flying??" time , allowing 15 minutes safety fuel , that time is back to 30 minutes , then theres spoolup and taxi times out , time lost at the holding point , then a runup check for full power , more time lost :-( ...............then once airborne and after the <30 minute flight theres more time lost in the circuit and landing and taxiing................a 15 to 20 minute flight is about all you'll get ...............LOL, how they came up with a range of 380 miles I'll never know , turbines don't like "going slow" so not much point throttling right back to drag out the range .........heh heh , I guess they topped up the tanks with freezing cold fuel at the end of the runway , fired her up and into the air within a minute , then cruised at its service ceiling till the fuel ran out followed by a straight in glide approach ;-)

Cheers
John