When geeks have time on their hands...
 

OK, so what happens when you have a spare silver 2000 VW Beetle and a extra General Electric T58-8F jet engine lying around, and a little too much spare time? Yup - you shove one into the other and get the meanest street-legal bug around! There is no other way to say it: this thing is freakin' awesome, and the guy that built it is nuts! You can see the full story here and even more on Ron's web site.


Ooohh!! Fire!!

-dave

p.s. I REALLY want one of these!

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

Haha .. I remember seeing this (or a related news) video last week some time. I had to back up and listen again to see if I heard the '15 GALLONS per MILE' correctly. Watching that beetle try and hold the car stationary was amusing, too.

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

Oh my....

Uh, is that REALLY road legal!? I doubt it would be over here...

*looks worried*

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

Haha, I wish.

Hey Dave, if you can get me one, we'll install it on my S4 and go cruisin'! :D

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Yup, it is. The California Highway Patrol can't find any statutes that are being violated. Since he left the original engine in place, and uses that one for most driving functions, he can't be cited for an illegal engine modification (because he didn't modify the original engine - he just added an extra one!).

-dave

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

They don't have a problem with the 15 feet of flame coming out the back?

Amazing. I need one now.

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

Between the jet-engine Beetle and the dual jet-engine scooter that's quite the pair there.

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They could probably cite you for exhibitionism.

If I ever had time on my hands, I'd be yelling "quick, get it off!"

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

And here I was thinking Dave was a Ford guy. :rolleyes:

If you didn't click the link to Ron's web site, scroll back up and click it. Now. The craftsmanship involved in that one car is simply amazing.

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

now that would be a nice first car

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

That's awesome! Dave's not kidding, this guy's crazy, a missile silo in his front yard? Boy, the Pentagon isn't going to like that one bit. I would've bought the MiG instead. (Two tanks would be nice too...)

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

Now that we have the jet engine, all we need now is a replica of the Batmobile.

Underground Pimp My Ride, anyone?

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

Dude imagine that thing on the Autobahn. You guys across the pond have much better highways than we do.

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

I orignaly posted this on engadget when i saw it on there about 2 months ago...

I saw this car a few (days) months ago at the Detroit autorama and it looks VERY unsafe. jet is inside the car and the intake comes up to right behind the front armrest with just a screen protecting the intake. There is no way that this gets enough air to get goin very fast and even if it did the noise would be deafening. But you car would be very clean afterwords (huge vaccuum cleaner in back seat)

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

This guy, not Lebron James, not Michael Jordan, not Michael Vick, is my true hero.
THAT IS AMAZING
Missle from the Polish Army...? Wow.
Well my mentor has a VW bug and we are always looking for summer projects for team building activities....

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

oh my... that got my adrenaline pumping and some fun thoughts. :D that would be awesome to ride in.

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And even if it wasn't, I'd like to see the cops try to catch him. ;)

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

Yeah, Collin Fultz and I debated on how hard it would be to put a Rolls-Royce Model 250 turbine in his dads Suburban. Because the 250's primary power output is a rotating shaft for helicopters it would just require a wicked clutch and some super sticky tires.

The problem is that it is hard to change the amount of power applied to the wheels. Either way, grossly over powering the vehicle.

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

On the German Autobahns, yes... but definately not on the British Motorways. Our roads are too busy, you'll have toasted cars for breakfast. Plus it'd destroy the roads.

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

Wasn't there a Darwin award for something similar to this where a guy strapped a missle to an Impala.........and, well....to make a long story short, decided the gene pool was too crowded to stay in.

I wonder if they've decided yet whether having a jet engine on your car has been known to cause cancer in the state of California yet! :p

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

heh heh heh... All of a sudden this post just doesn't seem quite so strange any more, does it?!!?!! :) So I am thinking that this:

might make a perfect little robot-sized version of the General Electric T58-8F for next year's game...

-dave

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

ooh pretty flame....

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

Can you elaborate on what's in the photo? It almost looks like a pulse jet made out of water pipe and fittings but I just can't believe that it is. Is this one of your toys?

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

are we starting to see the darker, more destructive side of Dave :ahh:.







...Or is it all a hint for next year's game :p.
flying jet robots would be fun..... :cool:

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

It's a direct hint to next year's KOP!!! Dave has just ensured us all teams will be able to build a rocket powered robot next year!!!

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

Supposedly a guy strapped a JATO rocket to his car (Urban Legend). It states that a guy strapped it on, fired it off and became airborne and hit a mountain. JATO stands for Jet assisted Take Off. Once lit, it can not be shut off.
Mythbusters proved it wouldn't work.
I saw the Navy's Blue Angels C-130 use them. It's very impressive to see a C-130 take off at about a 45 degree angle :ahh:

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

But what happens if the autonomous code sends the robot in the wrong direction (toward the audience)? :ahh:

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

hah maybe its another hint, everyone in the audience becomes a human player, and their goal is to not get hit :yikes: we could win plenty of safety points like that too :p

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

Effectively, it is a low-impulse version of exactly that. Click on the image to go to the original post that explains why the burner was built.
There is a simple solution for this concern. A bank of special switches will be located at the scoring table. Each switch will be directly connected to the FTS (Flight Termination System) that will be required on each robot. Military demolitions personnel from the USAF 45th Space Operations Wing at Patrick AFB will be on hand at the competition events to arm the FTS at the beginning of each match. That is why every operator interface station will be equipped with one of these:

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

Thanks Dave. I didn't realize the photo was hot linked. After reading your post on making a home foundry I suddenly feel inspired!

Re: When geeks have time on their hands...
 

Got one in my neighborhood. You mean you don't????:p:rolleyes: