Update time again.
The IHI turbo is out and a Garrett is in.
Not sure what it's supposed to fit, but it was listed as military surplus, rebuilt and still in the box. That means I get to rebuild the combustor, but that's OK. The new one will be bigger, louder and more dangerous. 
It should be here next week.
More to come.
Toyman01 wrote: The new one will be bigger, louder and more dangerous.
I'm likin' this build 
Might be from a Predator drone...
JohnInKansas wrote: Might be from a Predator drone...
Predator turbo would be tiiiiiny.
And it's update time again and there is good news and bad news.
The previously posted picture didn't do the new turbo justice. This thing is huge. I'm really looking forward to starting it for the first time.
Sitting next to the old one.
20oz Pepsi bottle sitting in the compressor inlet.
And in the turbine outlet.
And a couple of more.
The bad news, this thing is probably going to require rebuilding the entire frame as well as the combustor.
Ferb, I know what we are going to do today...and tomorrow. 
In reply to Osterkraut:
Hehehe... No.
Been there, did that, multiple times. Used to work at a lab that tested turbos for surge, efficiency, endurance, etc. We had several endurance tests for the drone turbos.
The size and oil ports look remarkably like what we dealt with. I can't say absolutely that that's what it is, but you can tell your buddies that some guy on teh interwebs tol' you it was from a Predator. I'm reasonably confident.
Edit: Looking at additional photos (updated while I was typing), I'm more confident.
We ran the drone turbos pretty hard and for long periods (think 12 hour intervals non-stop). Don't think I came away with any pictures of it, but we got some AWESOME shots of the turbine exhaust glowing several feet from the outlet. Pryometered at something like 1600 degrees F.
Turbine flange looks similar.
Is the compressor housing about 5 or 5.5 inches in diameter?
In reply to JohnInKansas:
Closer to 5 3/4 not counting the bosses where the bolts hold it together.
Ferb is glad he's ~100 miles away. That'll give the shrapnel time to cool off and hit the ground.
In reply to Curmudgeon:
JohnInKansas wrote:
Yes. Yes that could be stuffed into a 914.
(Disclaimer: not responsible for broke-assedness, divorce, busted transmissions or any other idiocy which results from acting on this observation. Y'all are on your own. All rights reserved, copyrighted, yada yada yada.)
In reply to Toyman01:
Yeah, I betcha that's what you've got there. My 5 or 5.5 was a guesstimate trying to recall about how big they were relative to my hands.
I'm interested in how this turns out.
In reply to JohnInKansas:
If that's the case I hope I can keep the thing on the ground since it's so used to flying.
A little more.
Somewhere in this 20 feet of pipe is another combustor and flame tube. I've just got to go find it. 
I've been getting conflicting info on combustor size, but I finally settled on 4" for the combustor and 3" for the flame tube. Construction photos to come.
JohnInKansas wrote: In reply to Osterkraut: Hehehe... No. Been there, did that, multiple times. Used to work at a lab that tested turbos for surge, efficiency, endurance, etc. We had several endurance tests for the drone turbos. The size and oil ports look *remarkably* like what we dealt with. I can't say absolutely that that's what it is, but you can tell your buddies that some guy on teh interwebs tol' you it was from a Predator. I'm reasonably confident. Edit: Looking at additional photos (updated while I was typing), I'm more confident. We ran the drone turbos pretty hard and for long periods (think 12 hour intervals non-stop). Don't think I came away with any pictures of it, but we got some AWESOME shots of the turbine exhaust glowing several feet from the outlet. Pryometered at something like 1600 degrees F.
Could be that I've only seen the Predator engine in a Predator so my scale is off, but that turbo looks too large. Clock angle is wrong too, though the Pred very well could have an atypical setup.
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That is not from a predator drone, they use a turboprop engine. Specifically a Honeywell TPE 331-10T. The MU-2 that I fly has the same engines. We could not get a 3rd stage turbine wheel for 8 months due to the goverment taking all of the production for drones and unspecified delays. Perhaps it is from some smaller drone or a prototype.
In reply to pilotbraden:
I did a little digging after John mentioned the Predator Drone. Apparently the first iteration of the Predator, the MQ-1, used the turbocharged 115hp flat four Rotax 914 engine pictured above. When the Predator MQ-9 came out it had a 950hp turboprop.
In reply to Toyman01:
I talked to someone at Honeywell today and they told me the earlier one had a piston engine. That is a cool project that you have. I am certain that you will be cautious but be very aware while starting that you do not overtemp, bad things can happen.
In reply to pilotbraden:
Yeah, like this. 
Many valuable lessons were learned from this mistake.
Toyman01 wrote: In reply to pilotbraden: I did a little digging after John mentioned the Predator Drone. Apparently the first iteration of the Predator, the MQ-1, used the turbocharged 115hp flat four Rotax 914 engine pictured above. When the Predator MQ-9 came out it had a 950hp turboprop.
Y'all are taking about the MQ-9 Reaper. It's not a Predator like the C-17 isn't a C-47.
So, it's update time again.
I managed to get a little bit done this weekend. Combustor construction has begun.
EMT conduit is a little thicker wall than exhaust tube. It was kind of a PITA to bend and get right. The other pain was having a square input to the turbine. Round would have been easier to build.
Cutting this out of 1/4 plate was a pain too.
The flanges are 6" in diameter and the tubing is 4", to give you an idea of size.
18 holes drilled and tapped.
Size comparison, old to new.
Combustor.
Flame tube.
I still have to drill the holes in the flame tube. Still doing some research on that.
More to come.
Bump so we can move this to the build thread area.
I can't wait to see this start.
I'm looking forward to it too.
I got sidetracked helping my BIL do the top on his Miata and by the Super Coupe I picked up the 4th, so I haven't worked on it much this month. I did spend a couple of hours the other day redesigning the stand. The metal is cut, but it's been too hot for me to do any welding and I don't like welding in a closed shop with the A/C on. The fumes probably aren't good for the lungs.
I'll get it done but it might have to wait for cooler weather.
Edi: Thanks for the bump and the move David.
You are quite mad sir,I love it.Can't wait to se more.I think I need one to.Love it love it!
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