Build Your Own Turbojet? Some People Do

Whittle multi turbojet An early turbojet prototype. Sal Aiello (www.salvatoreaiello.com)

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Earlier today, I came upon the site of a man who is building his own jet-powered motorcycle. That's right. He's converting turbochargers into jet engines and building a motorcycle around them. But that's not all; there are apparently a lot of these crazies out there. Here's a look at some.

The main components in a turbojet are the compressor, the combustion chamber, and the exhaust turbine. Although the physical configuration is different, turbochargers provide two of those three parts; namely the compressor and the turbine. Adding a combustion chamber more or less completes the package. Some bold DIY adventurers, having realized this, have gone a bit wild.

Sal Aiello's Jet Project website does a great job of describing how people are building DIY turbojet engines. It also shows his work in progress: The Jet Cycle. Have a look in the attached photo gallery and these videos for a sampling of some of the other DIY jet projects out there.

And, if you need a hilarious way to spend three more minutes, there's always these Jet Trucks.