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The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Bob Maddox is Still Pursuing His Pulsejet Dreams

By Paul Crowe

Bob Maddox ready for a run in his pulsejet kart.
Bob Maddox ready for a run in his (Acme?) pulsejet kart. Wile E. Coyote in the flesh.

You have to give Bob Maddox a lot of credit, he’s got a passion for pulsejets and while some people might learn all about them and be able to cite chapter and verse of their history, Bob is out in the shop welding and wrenching and making his own history. The first time we wrote about him was way back in May of 2008 when we noticed one of his early creations bolted to the side of a bicycle. He’s come a long way in the intervening years and it’s good to see him still making noise.

Bob started a new Youtube channel posting videos of his jets on what he says will be a weekly basis and it could be fun. After all, if he knows he has to put new material up once a week, he might be prompted to push ahead with even more outrageous projects than some of the rolling thrust powered platforms he’s already done. Skateboards? Yep, already done it. Go karts, of course. Who knows what’s next, but you might want to tune in and see or as a commenter in a previous post said, “If at first you don’t succeed, at least leave a crater,” but I have more confidence in his skill than that, so it really could be cool.

It's probably best to keep moving for a little help cooling those jets.
Ever had anyone tell you to cool your jets? I bet Bob hears that a lot.

He’s also trying to build interest in a new event:

… come race with us at the dry lakebed at Cedarville Ca. I’ll be starting an all thrust powered event this summer called the “Thrust-O-Rama” anything Thrust powered ( even propeller ) Come have fun with me on the huge lake bed, bring your toy or just come watch, and help me build this into a real event like a small burning man

Now, for the technically oriented, it sounds like an event worth attending or participating in, far more so than Burning Man which has evolved into some bizarre gathering of the weird. An all thrust powered event, considering the multiple power sources available today, both surplus and home built, could provide endless possibilities. I’m still waiting for someone to resurrect an old Turbonique rocket engine, but Russell Sutton has a couple of homebuilt engines that would fit right in and think of those surplus turbines that show up now and then. The big dollar guys tend to show up on another lake bed, some little obscure place called Bonneville, with full size jet engine powered cars, but if this event were limited to the garage builder on a budget, it would still be a hoot.

Pulsejets like the ones Bob builds have no real practical use, but if you’re thinking about a great project guaranteed to get some attention when you fire it up, Bob has plans for sale. Then, too, if you were wondering about finding a little father son project that would get a youngster interested in building it, how about a red hot and very noisy pulsejet? The possibilities for all sorts of fun are there, but some assembly required.

Check out Bob’s Youtube channel and if you’re in the area, Thrust-O-Rama could be something to put on the calendar. (Still waiting for the date)

Posted on January 21, 2018 Filed Under: Alternative thinking, Workshop projects Tagged With: pulsejet


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