You have to wonder if this is the first jet-drive. It's hidden away in a private collection in a secret location in Southern Illinois.
UPDATE! Info gleaned from SmokStak: Walter Schnacke of Evansville, IN built these until he passed away at
age 94. This one has a Tecumseh engine with a Lauson carb, and is most
likely from the early 1960's. In later years he used Briggs engines. A
commenter on the Smokstak forum says that about all these were good for
was to make smoke and noise. Mr. Schnacke worked at the Hercules factory in Evansville from 1915 to 1920.
Well, in the aircraft world that would be a "ducted rotor". I hesitate to call this a "jet" since a true jet squirts water out the nozzle, much like a garden hose.
You are correct! I looked up jet boat drives, and this thing doesn't really qualify for that name, but you can see how the builder was thinking. Jet drives use multi-stage pumps to move the water, and eject it from a nozzle. There's a lot more slippage in this primitive upstart.
Well, in the aircraft world that would be a "ducted rotor". I hesitate to call this a "jet" since a true jet squirts water out the nozzle, much like a garden hose.
ReplyDeleteMerle
one man's impeller is another man's propeller.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct! I looked up jet boat drives, and this thing doesn't really qualify for that name, but you can see how the builder was thinking. Jet drives use multi-stage pumps to move the water, and eject it from a nozzle. There's a lot more slippage in this primitive upstart.
ReplyDelete