Hello All,

New to the forum but not to the jet engines world.

I have been working on domestic designing and manufacturing of jet engines/gas turbines for a while now.It's kind of strange that I never found this forum before but maybe because I was never into RC flying etc.

I was pretty successful in building and testing my prototypes and now I have engines running on gaseous and liquid fuel.
I will be happy to serve the Indian RC community with my products and maybe take the Indian Aerospace sector forward(distant goals but doable).

Here are some of the videos of me testing my Engines, some are tested with an afterburner(Reheat).









Let me know what you guys think.

Cheers.
Madpatty

Really commendable job. But can you sell them legally in India? I believe you should get to DGCA as soon as possible if not already done 

Even if you manage to get that coveted permission... lack of suitable plane bodies will significantly block your endevour to a very limited set of fliers (who I don't know how manage to import them and fly). So you may wish to contact customs and then may be them...https://carf-models.com/en/

I may not sound very encouraging what I really wish I should have... but thats how it is now in india. We are thinking of customs and DGCA first and then about our hobby. Proper flying fields for jets ...... thats another story. 

I even know some veterans with decades of aeromodelling experience seriously considering leaving the hobby because there are no more flying fields available.

Hello shirsa2001,

Thanks for letting me know.
But I don't know why customs will be a problem if everything is manufactured domestically.

That thing apart, I think it's not illegal to sell a jet engine in India but I think flying without permission is illegal.

Now question arises why will someone buy an engine if you can't attach it to something and even if you do, government not allowing 'that something' to actually leave the ground.

The reason behind me working on this thing was my immense interest in this.
I predominantly designed these engines for stationary power generation use(that's why the bigger size). So if in coming times anyone wants them for any purpose(flying included) then it's good to have a domestic company able to fulfill that need.

Cheers.
Madpatty

PS- Some companies are already importing foreign made micro gas-turbines for power generation though.

@madpatty,
Sir,
Congratulations on excellent development work.
The video with the water was really impressive.

Have you tried to estimate the thrust? Towards finding the power/weight ratio?
For airborne applications, this may be a very important consideration.
And for model airplane use, much miniaturisation is required.
Last Sunday, one of our local flyers brought a turbine weighing only 250gms!
(Last year he ran a bicycle with a turbine mounted on the carrier!)

I guess you must also be exploring the potential for captive power generation, an application that does not need lightness. How will this compare for fuel efficiency, with DG sets?

But whatever be the power/weight ratio or fuel efficiency at this stage, you have set a wonderful example what can be done, even in India, if only enough determination is there!

Regards and best wishes for further progress.

Quote from: Madpatty on June 21, 2018, 06:32:24 PM
Hello shirsa2001,

Thanks for letting me know.
But I don't know why customs will be a problem if everything is manufactured domestically.

That thing apart, I think it's not illegal to sell a jet engine in India but I think flying without permission is illegal.

Now question arises why will someone buy an engine if you can't attach it to something and even if you do, government not allowing 'that something' to actually leave the ground.

The reason behind me working on this thing was my immense interest in this.
I predominantly designed these engines for stationary power generation use(that's why the bigger size). So if in coming times anyone wants them for any purpose(flying included) then it's good to have a domestic company able to fulfill that need.

Cheers.
Madpatty

PS- Some companies are already importing foreign made micro gas-turbines for power generation though.

Thanks for your reply.
You got it right.... why some one would get a jet turbine if there is nothing to attach it to.
Have you seen the latest confiscation letter from customs. Available at this thread... http://www.rcindia.org/chatter-zone/tarot-450-helicopter-kit-stuck-at-bengaluru-customs-office/msg289878/#new

Importing any UAV/drone without DGCA nod is illegal and will be confiscated.. And we don't have any RC aviation industry here. Then where would we get the planes to attach it.

In that scenario the "handful" very few who are able to get jets on shore would be your client base.

So if you (and indeed "if") want to produce turbines in somewhat mass scale you have to give customers a full package. Engines, fuses, electroincs and all. And that need serious customs/DGCA clearance.   

But if you are not thinking of a commercially viable product and actually selling it then there is no issue at all.

But again really commendable job.

@Madpatty
Great Job!

I want to my own pulse jet engine.
I am interested in jet. I want to make my own pulse jet engine. But problem is of design and material.
High temperature metal is very expensive. I have talked with one manufacturer and manufacturer company director said "tungsten pipe costs 2k+ for one pipe." As bulk pipe manufactured in factory, they can't make one pipe for me.
Metal curving machine and cnc and many machinery is a need for making a good jet engine.
Can you tell me how you made this jet engine?

Thanks guys for the encouraging words.

@K K Iyer.

The thrust is around 30 lbs. That corresponds to around 30 hp in power generation application. I totally agree with your point that size and weight is important for Aero-Aplications but as I said, this wasn't intended to be used in an aeroplane and also for initial development I had to sacrifice the size as achieving combustion in a small combustion chamber is a real pain, so I had to make some compromises there. But now that i have done that and also worked with the commercial rc jet engines, I don't think smaller design is a problem.

Now coming down to efficiency.
Efficiency is a really obscure term and is highly application dependent. It's not always fuel in and power out. DGs will be inherently efficient(thermal efficiency) because of their higher pressure ratios etc. but then there are places where they cannot be used, no matter what. High altitude applications, remote access areas(transportation issues), quick power needs (startup times on DGs is really worse when you bring bigger generators into the picture, 0.5-2 MW etc., trust me on that). I have worked on 1-2 MW units and they are nowhere close to your normal car engine startup times.

And then there are fuels which just destroy normal IC engine or atleast harmfully effect their reliability eg. Landfill Gas etc.

So there are many areas where a certain kind of engine will win and of course this topic of efficiencies is a long discussion.

And obviously there's no doubt that these engines can be built in India.

Cheers.
Madpatty

@taksh.

I will suggest to go with normal stainless steel pipes for now.
SS304 or SS316.

Just go for thicker pipes (atleast 2mm thickness). You don't need any exotic materials for design and development.

Also these SS pipes are fairly common in industrial applications and are easily available at most hardware/metal selling shops. Don't let them fool you by saying that these are really special material etc. etc.

At the time when i bought these materials, SS304 was about Rs 250-260/Kg and SS316 was about Rs 350-360/Kg and this is about 2 years ago.

So don't expect any skyhigh rates and try to research a bit before buying.

But I am sure SS pipes are the way to go for you.

Also don't go for CNC machines etc. for now.
You just need a good machinist that knows how to use a manual lathe and a welder.

Having a machinist with a manual milling machine, I will consider a luxury.

So don't just stop here, jump right into this design and development and you will be surprised how easy it was and how helpful people are 'usually'.

Cheers.
Madpatty