Date Started: 2/2021

Date Finished: 04/2021

Current Dispositon: Scrapped for parts

The original name for this project was "Boost Buddy" - The idea being that I could make a gas generator from a single large turbocharger that then fed the hot side of another turbocharger to then spool the compressor, providing a ready source of very-high-cfm air. You could theoretically put this in the trunk of a 1994 Honda Civic D-series with a hugely oversized turbo that typically wont spool until 4500+RPM and plumb the output to a giant ball valve on the center console that went into the instake manifold. You could then theoretically start the gas generator prior to a pull and build pressure in the line, avoiding compressor stall with a blowoff that you were smart enough to put in the cabin of the car. Once you start loading the drivetrain up and engaging what you mistermed 'launch control', you would signal the gas generator to target 110% power and open that valve... But you could also have the person at the inspection hut be genuinely speechless at what they believed was a bomb in the back... The 2 upside down propane tanks in the back seat did not help.... Theoretically.

Okay so it failed as that. So it just became another jet engine. A bit of an improvement from the one I built when I was in high school (shout out to this 17 year old youtube video):

I had obviously learned a couple things like how to properly design flame tubes, and had since then acquired a couple new tools and techniques :)

A fun additon here was the "FADEC" (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) - which was based on a pi and a series of input/output processing. The general idea is the user (me) has no control over the actual running of the engine (eg start/RPM/shutdown) - I'm not supplying fuel directly to it with a knob - Instead I'm requesting a certain power factor from it, and the computer is adjusting its parameters (fuel out, mixing doors etc.) and reading inputs to safely make that request happen. A fun coding exercise! More on that in the build.

Some things never change.