Painting

Chip · May 20, 2019

anzacjack said:
ill get some vision next time i crank this baby up. (just one engine)

What a contraption! Great find and fun post! I looked it up on Wikipedia which linked to local (Seattle) newspaper article where inventor was quoted as saying something like we have started a few fires, hit a few trees, and my brother broke some ribs so we are working to make it safer. ? You gotta love the 1970s!

AnzacJack · May 20, 2019

Haha. Can you send me a link to that article. Not a lot of info on this beast. When I acquired it I thought some nut job made it himself, I was amazed when I found it was marketed as something you fly around.

Chip · May 20, 2019

Here you go! Very entertaining read. ?

Eugene Register-Guard - Google News Archive Search

news.google.com

AnzacJack · May 21, 2019

haha thats gold. Thanks heaps.

i love that he is claiming to have flown this 100s of times and has had it up to 200ft.
i can tell you, we ran ours and no one not in a full, high temp suit, was running this thing for any amount of time. As far as controlling it if you could handle the heat, thats just a funny thought.
Power controlled by opening and closing gass tap and horizontal control by leaning your body.

great invention just he same and im glad i have one.
Also funny that one of his potential customers was a funeral home. Ill bet he wanted it in his crematorium

AnzacJack · May 21, 2019

this is what i want to try. maybe run 2 jets

Chip · May 22, 2019

I would love to see you fire up the beast on video for a bench test but a go kart? OMG that glowing red hot metal a foot away from head with no helmet! ? Yikes! ?

But, I share your fascination with this type of device. I discovered your Space Ranger is included in interesting gallery of flight devices
at:

Most Comprehensive Website on Rocket Belts and Jet Belts

Love this kind of stuff as you might tell from my avatar! Wish you the best of luck. Have you tried tracking down an original set of blueprints?

BTW Could you possibly convert the jet to spin a rotor like the Puddle Jumper? ? EDIT: (Actually, would jet be used to spin rotor or does rotor auto rotate?)

AnzacJack · May 22, 2019

They use the jet in the rotor tips to spin the rotor. Theory is no torque effect on main craft so easier to control.

AnzacJack · May 22, 2019

Would love to get hold of some original blueprints. I imagine I have the only one in Australia, and haven’t been able to track down the original owners. They probably didn’t survive the 70s.

AnzacJack · May 22, 2019

I saw this guy from New Zealand about 8 years ago at a helicopter conference. He was trying to market this thing

AnzacJack · May 22, 2019

He had plenty of video, but no live demonstration

AMann · May 22, 2019

anzacjack said:
All done. Now, i wonder if decal girl will do me a skinView attachment 72688

Looks nice, and I thought jellcoating our tub was going to be a big job! Put a couple of those jet bottles on your wing tips and tail for JATO’s

AMann · May 22, 2019

anzacjack said:
I saw this guy from New Zealand about 8 years ago at a helicopter conference. He was trying to market this thingView attachment 73164

That looks safer than your charbroiler jet stand!

AnzacJack · May 23, 2019

Only a little. I guess, at least you can jump of my rig. (But then you probably would be in for a prolonged stay in burns ward.

Chip · May 24, 2019

anzacjack said:
Would love to get hold of some original blueprints. I imagine I have the only one in Australia, and haven’t been able to track down the original owners. They probably didn’t survive the 70s.

We need to find a set of those blueprints for you for sure, preferably signed by Mr. Timewell! How hard could it be? Looks like he applied for some patents on unrelated devices in the 1990s. Worth some sleuthing for sure....?️‍

He is probably around 75 and flies a Mavic Enterprise with a JATO unit in suburban Seattle... ? Fair chance will find him or next of kin but no promise and need some time.