NEED help building personal jet aircraft?

Question

theres a lot of people making their own ultralite air craft using jets
and for the most part i dont like the look of most what i want to do
is build my own jet from the ground up using a homemade jet engine i will build

the model i have in mind is a bvm BANDIT to use as a large scale jet i want to make it out of fiber glass if any one can help
me getting started it is very appreciated

what need help on 4 the most part is what demensions should i use for the jet by trying to upscale the origanal size

and making a turbine powered engine with enough thrust to support it

Answer 1

Unless you're an aeronautical engineer, I would not suggest this. If you want to build a jet, there are plans available. This gets you past the first hurdle, proving the design WILL fly. Start by googling for the BD5J, the jet version of the BD5.



Once the FAA approves the design, you can start building.



If you mean "ultralight" as in a cloth-wing tubular frame aircraft - well, the problem with jet engines is that they're not terribly efficient until you hit 200+mph speeds.



I would also suggest that you do what most "personal jet" builders do, and use an existing turbine unit. The ones in BD5 jets and similar are from ground-based powerplants or discards from drones, but put out enough thrust (about 80lb, IIRC?) for a one-man jet. They probably cost about $10K to $50K...



Building your own turbine is not a good idea for a project until you can build V8 auto engines from a block of metal in your sleep. Turbines are high-temperature high-speed spinning precision pieces of equipment. The metal castings have to be flawless, the metal used is special to tolerate the high temperatures and to minimize expansion during high heat and the blades are machined to complex curves.



Even the first one built by engineers in the 1940s had the habit of flying apart or bursting into flames. Sometimes the "don't try this at home kids" thing really means what it says.



If you mean a "pulse-jet" engine, like the old V1 German flying bombs from WWII - the "build your own jet engine" stuff you see in the back of Popular mechanics - that is also not very efficient. For an experimental aircraft running off normal airports, as opposed to an ultralight or sport plane, you need to have 45 minutes fuel reserve when you land. Pulse jets usually run off propane and a tank will not last even that long.

Answer 2

It only took the Germans and the English about 10 years of trying during the 1930's to come up with a workable turbine engine. And that was by trained aeronautical engineers.



If you can build one from scratch, or spare parts, you will do one of two things, set your house on fire or be hailed as the greatest aeronautical engineer of all time. I don't know too many people who could even design and build a piston engine from scratch but it would be much easier than a turbine. The tolerances and metallurgy required to build a turbine are out of the reach of most of us.

Answer 3

I hate to contune the rainstorm on your parade but your idea of downscaling the F-16 won't work either. The fundamental design of the Falcon is unstable. Stability and maneuverability are diametrically opposed. In order to achieve extreme agility, the F-16 was designed with such a high degree of instability that it had to be designed with an autopilot that constantly corrects the divergent tendencies of the aircraft. In other words, if the autopilot quits, the airplane comes out of the sky like a wheelbarrow of bricks chucked from a 10th floor window.

Answer 4

i'm in the same boat, except my plane is gonna be a piston engine aircraft. as far as building a turbine motor, dont. thats alot of bad news in one small package. you're better off getting an old one that can be rebuilt. the simplest way to build the aircraft itself is to actually scale down from the origional, build it, and then do trial and error. alot of high speed taxiing will let you know if the airplane could fly etc. the only thing you would have to worry about is its weight and balance and figuring out where the cg should be, and to know that you need to know where the center of lift is. once you know where center of lift will fall, then you can start judging where you need to move things to get the cg in range. there is alot more i could explain on here but that would take up way too much room. if you'd like send me a message on here with you're e-mail and i'd be glad to help you any way i can.

Answer 5

You would be much better off spending the money on going back to school and learning how to use the english language in a correct manner.

Have you even thought of the resources that you need to build a gas turbine engine from scratch?

You want to make the aircraft from fibre glass? You seem to have a death wish my friend!

Answer 6

Your wording of the question shows your ignorance. What you are dreaming about most aeronautical engineers could not do. Harry Potter's broom would be easier for you.



Ultra lites are small and light not four times bigger!

Homemade jet engines based on truck turbochargers often EXPLODE!

Fiber glass is not strong enough, aluminum or carbon composite is needed.

BE SMART and SAFE, Buy a kit and assemble it for your first learning experience.

Answer 7

Do you want to make an RC plane or a real one you can fly in? If it's an RC, you can find a little turbine engine for like one or two thousand I think. But a real plane, thats a whole nother story...

Answer 8

Hey people stop bashing this guy! It's nice to see someone trying to build something constructive.



Good luck with your project but I would recommend you study some aeronautical engineering first.

Answer 9

Before you begin, ensure that you have yourself insured enough so your family has enough money to survive on after you crash and burn! I could conceive building your own plane but buddy the FAA ain't going to certify that hunk of junk to fly, if you tell them you built the engine too.

Answer 10

GE or Rolls Royce could help you with the engine!

Answer 11

strap a bottle rocket to your butt...