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Which books/courses do I need to build a miniature jet engine from scratch

5 points by vivzkestrel ↗ HN
As a hobby I would like to build mini planes that can fly. The first step would be to understand how to build a jet engine. I know a lot of physics is involved in building one. is there a course or a series of books that would teach me the how to build a jet engine from scratch

12 comments

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bell-cot
IANAAE (Aerospace Engineer), but...

- Is your government okay (both in theory and practice) with you building such a thing?

- How high-performance do you want it to be?

- What's your budget, both time and money?

vivzkestrel
1) government of india i believe would have no issues 2) define high performance 3) i am honestly not aware of what goes into building a jet engine (even a mini one) so not sure how much it would cost, how about we take a number 300$ and work from there for the time being
codingdave
This is not my area of expertise, but I'd think that starting with a jet engine is not the "first step". Wouldn't making an ultralight, or even just a glider be first? Make sure your creation fly... then give them lots of power?
ahazred8ta
https://www.minijetengine.com/ has kits.

To build a jet engine from scratch you would need a $50000 machine tool shop and several years of prior experience.

atrettel
I agree that it would be difficult to build a turbojet engine completely from scratch --- that is, you build every single component yourself --- but you can take some off-the-shelf components and hack together a working jet engine if you know what you are doing and get all of the right parts [1]. It won't be pretty or efficient, but it could work.

Alternatively, if you really do want to build a "jet engine" from scratch, consider building a pulse jet engine [2]. You might be able build one with parts from a home improvement store over a long weekend. It won't be a great engine, but it might be possible.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh34A0b8MrE

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulsejet

JoeyBananas
You have to define what you mean by "jet engine."

A gas turbine? Solid fuel (like a bottle rocket?) Liquid fuel?

vivzkestrel
i am assuming a very small one can be powered by a battery, slightly bigger ones might need diesel i guess or does it have to be aviation fuel all the time?
perilunar
Sorry what? Why would your first step in building planes be to build a jet engine? That's crazy.

If you want to build a jet engine then go for it, but if you really just want to build planes then you can buy electric/piston/jet/rocket engines for much less than it would cost to build your own.

flessner
"mini planes that fly"... that doesn't require a jet engine, and certainly not one built from scratch.

As many have already mentioned, building a jet engine from scratch isn't exactly easy or cheap. In your position I would get a battery, electric motors, propeller, microcontroller and a 3D printer, then figure it out from there.

I know it's probably a bit off from what you wanted, but it's a "cost efficient" way to actually built something. Once you have something flying you can upgrade from there...

I am currently in the process of building my own drone from scratch this way, designing the drone and programming the remote control, flight controller completely myself... it is/was a lot harder than I expected. So, what I am trying to say is: don't be afraid to use of the shelf components and don't make things harder than they have to be. Get started, then get creative.

Just my experience with this.