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View Full Version : A real "Jet" boat!



smoothie
03-10-2004, 07:17 PM
All I can say is check out the all the videos :shocking:
videos (http://www.nyethermodynamics.com/squirt_2.htm#videos)

gcarter
03-10-2004, 08:01 PM
WOW!! :nuke: :nuke:
Did you notice the size of the fuel tanks?
Now if the burn rate is 1.5 Lb/HP/hr, then it would burn 283 GPH!!

George

LGMAZ
03-11-2004, 07:34 AM
Now there's an exhaust note!

DonziMon
03-11-2004, 08:40 AM
Wow! I spent years working on and around jets (mostly F-15s) and will always get a thrill of that sound!

Fish boy
03-11-2004, 09:34 AM
coincidentally, I heard an unbelievable story a couple of days ago from someone who used to be intimately involved with the company during the late 80's.

Donzi was approached by a guy named craig arfons (son of the drag racer and rocket car pilot art arfons) who wanted to try to break Ken Warby's water speed record. Arfons had a boat designed and built, but need funding to continue. He proposed that for some $$$ ( the recollection was $75,000, but not positive), arfons would put the donzi name on the side of the boat giving donzi incredible publicity when the water speed record was shattered, and also giving arfons the needed $$ to make the assault on Warby's record happen.

Arfons' team spent a few days with Don Westerman, Donzi's chief dsigner and nautical engineer. after considerable discussion, the decision was made by the Donzi's owner that while the publicity could be fantastic, if something should go wrong, the negative publicity would be worse. They declined to do the deal with Arfons.

The gentleman I spoke with said that Arfons eventually did attempt the record, and his boat went by some estimates well over 300mph before it blew apart. Mr arfons was killed during this attempt.

Just a little trivia for you donzi fanatics...

Craig
03-11-2004, 12:06 PM
I always thought it is was the Cambell boat of long ago (50's or 60's?) called the Bluebird.

Went to the sight (link below) and found I was wrong. Although, apparently the Bluebird did run about 10 or 11 mph faster (328mph) than the current record (317mph+-) mentioned in the post, Cambell died in the crash that resulted from the run and so I guess it didn't count!

It's a grim history. Most of the guys who've tried to set a water speed record died.

Noticed also (on this site) that a guy named Taylor (who also died) had a boat powered by Hydrogen Peroxide! That's what it says...

At least with that boat, all speed record attempts would be, I guess, "infection free".

This was wierd. A number of years ago, I was telling my kids about the fastest boat I'd ever heard of.

Hadn't talked or thought about it for years, but I remembered "the Bluebird" and the story of the wreck and all, so I told them about it.

Just for fun, we got on the web and did a search for "Bluebird" and "Water Speed Records."

Came to find out that just about 2 or 3 days before our discussion, they had found and raised portions of the Bluebird from her deep watery grave.

I was kind of amazed. I am certain I didn't hear anything about this, like on radio or TV that week prior to the discussion. Just a coincidence, but kind of funny.

One things for sure, those guys gotta be crazy.

http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Sideline/8707/

gcarter
03-11-2004, 01:07 PM
Hydrogen peroxide (99% pure) is some pretty interesting stuff. The Saturn 5
first stage booster fuel pumps were H2O2 powered. When exposed to the proper catalyst (NASA used a silver screen) , an expansion rate of about 1000 times is experienced. :shocking: :shocking: So the stuff can be used in a couple of different ways; it can be used as a direct reaction rocket, or as ateam to power a turbine (ala NASA), so it could be used to power a propeller. But the idea of a propeller at 350 MPH is pretty scarry.
There have also been some attempts to power dragsters with H2O2 (Don Garlets Museum) as a rocket.
On a slightly different subject, during WW II, the Germans built several Hydrazine (rocket fuel) powered submarines. Now the idea here is these were standard diesel electric subs with some auxiliary steam turbines built into the propellor shafts. The Hydrazine was used to boost speeds for a short period of time and speeds of over 40 knots submerged were demonstrated. The problem with Hydrazine, like H2O2, is it becomes a bomb if not handled with respect, or if not stored too long.

bverd
03-11-2004, 05:46 PM
I believe this is the boat you guys are talking about. Don't pay attention to my mug.

--bverd

smoothie
03-11-2004, 09:06 PM
Ah yes does that name ring a bell,my dad would take me to the drags to see Art and his jet cars years ago,he was a local boy from Akron,tried to do a test run with his green monster boat on portage lakes until the lake patrol caught up with him.

some links!
speed records (http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Sideline/8707/JetSpeed.html)
craig Arfons boat (http://www.americanjetcars.com/arfons/craig/carf4.htm)
Arfons history (http://www.americanjetcars.com/announcing.htm)

Franklin
06-25-2005, 12:13 PM
http://www.jetwebb.com/forum/micons/m1.gif Jet Boats showPicture("6/24/2005 2:02:26 PM",0,0,0,1699,2)http://www.jetwebb.com/forum/image/board_s.gifhttp://www.racingcampbells.com/content/campbell.archives/index.asp (http://www.racingcampbells.com/content/campbell.archives/index.asp)

http://www.users.myisp.co.uk/~climengs/bluebird/coniston.htm (http://www.users.myisp.co.uk/~climengs/bluebird/coniston.htm)

www.kenwarby.com (http://www.kenwarby.com/)

http://www.lesliefield.com/personalities/lee_taylor_lee_taylor_hurt_in_record_run.htm (http://www.lesliefield.com/personalities/lee_taylor_lee_taylor_hurt_in_record_run.htm)

Franklin
06-25-2005, 12:23 PM
The hydrogen peroxide rocket dragster was developed in late 1966 when Pete Farnsworth, Ray Dausman and Dick Keller formed Reaction Dynamics Inc. and built the X-1, prototype to the Blue Flame land speed record car. Also known as the Rislone Rocket, the X-1 closely resembled a slightly elongated Formula One car and featured an enclosed cockpit, tubular space frame, front and rear independent suspension, four-wheel disk brakes and three drag chutes. The propulsion system used a 2,500 pounds thrust motor fed from a nitrogen-pressurized 11-gallon tank mounted vertically behind the cockpit. Nitrogen was contained in two fiberglass-wound spherical bottles mounted forward of the cockpit. The Formula One configuration allowed Farnsworth to maximize the stopping power of the 750-pound X-1 as well as place the center of gravity where he wanted it.

In August, 1967 at US 30 drag strip in Crown Point, Illinois, Chuck Suba drove the X-1 to a 5.41 second elapsed time (although Pete Farnsworth felt the best elapsed time record on reliable clocks was 5.9 seconds at Oklahoma City). The 5.41 second elapsed time remained drag racing's all-time low ET until November 11, 1971 when the second hydrogen peroxide rocket dragster, Bill Fredrick's Courage of Australia driven by Vic Wilson, recorded a 5.107 second 311 mph pass during private testing at Orange County International Raceway, California. In doing so, it became the first car of any kind to run 300 mph in a quarter mile. The Courage of Australia was essentially a scaled-down Blue Flame clone. Nitrogen was contained in a spherical bottle mounted in the nose forward of the single front wheel with the hydrogen peroxide in a horizontal tank forward of the cockpit.

The Courage of Australia's initial rival was the first Pollution Packer. The Pollution Packer name came from sponsor Tony Fox's trash compactor company. The Pollution Packer was created when Ky Michaelson mounted the motor from the Reaction Dynamics X-1 in his Top Gas dragster chassis. The Pollution Packer had a fuel tank larger than the X-1's but still mounted vertically behind the cockpit. Unlike the X-1, the two fiberglass-wound spherical nitrogen bottles were behind the fuel tank, stacked one on top of the other. The fuel system was pressurized to over 500 PSI, 75 PSI more than in the X-1, thus raising thrust from 2,500 pounds to about 3,000 pounds. The Pollution Packer made its public debut Labor Day 1972 at Union Grove, Wisconsin with a set of 6.13 second 248 mph and 5.68 second 280 mph runs. In September of 1972 the Pollution Packer would be taken to Bonneville where driver Dave Anderson established FIA standing start records of 158.8 mph (5.666 seconds) for the quarter mile, 173.9 mph (6.31 seconds) for the half kilometer, and 234.7 mph for the kilometer. The kilometer record stands to this day. After acceptance of hydrogen peroxide rocket dragsters by NHRA, the Pollution Packer would become the first car to clock over 300 mph at an NHRA National event during the Gatornationals on March 18, 1973. During the 1973 NHRA Springnationals, the Pollution Packer became the first four-second dragster of any kind when Dave Anderson clocked a pass of 4.99 seconds at 322 mph. At the 1973 US Nationals at Indianapolis, Dave Anderson attained his best ever performance with a pass of 4.62 seconds at 344 mph.

Given the aerodynamics knowledge of the time as well as how the speeds rocket dragsters attained left little room for driver error and no room for structural failure or mechanical malfunction, relatively slower less expensive rockets might have been the type most suitable for drag strip operation. Arvil Porter constructed just such a car and displayed it in the pits during the 1973 Gatornationals. This was a medium-sized red and gold dragster with an enclosed cockpit and a motor developing only about 1,600 pounds thrust. In 1970, Porter had built a go-kart type hydrogen peroxide rocket car and drove it to speeds of over 180 mph.

Despite their optimistic beginnings, the rocket dragster fraternity found itself in a series of accidents that began in April of 1973. While driving the Free Spirit, a car built by Tampa chassis specialist Glen Blakely with a propulsion system and 5,000 pounds thrust motor built by Arvil Porter, driver Russell Mendez saw his front tires disintegrate as he approached Orlando Speedworld's finish line. The Free Spirit was using Funny Car front runners at the rear and Avon moped tires at the front. Mendez managed to guide his machine through the traps on bare front rims to complete a 5.38 second 280 mph pass. Afterward Funny Car front runners would be used front and rear. The Free Spirit was the first of the rail type rocket dragsters to use a vertical stabilizer. The hydrogen peroxide tank was mounted horizontally behind the cockpit while the nitrogen bottle was a large steel cylinder located forward of the cockpit. Not only did this move the center of gravity as far forward as possible but also gave the car a high polar moment of inertia to resist spinning. While making another run at Union Grove, during the 1973 annual Memorial Day Championships, Mendez was hit by about a 30 mph cross wind around 900 feet from the start. The wind, unnoticed before due to signs and guardrails, caused the Free Spirit to swerve into a track side ditch at 290 mph. No damage, other than flat spots on the tires, was sustained. Mendez would later record a fine 5.22 second 325 mph pass with the Free Spirit in August of 1973.

That same summer John Paxon was at Irwindale Raceway trying out a new motor in the Courage of Australia. After lifting at the 950-foot mark, Paxon coasted through the lights at 5.52 seconds 250 mph. Unfortunately, when he hit the chute nothing happened. Then nothing happened again when he hit the back-up chute. Getting on the brakes hard, he wore through and popped the skinny land speed tires. The car stayed upright through the sand trap then pole vaulted when it hit a wooden beam at the end of the trap and landed upside down on its vertical stabilizer. Fortunately, due to the car's sturdy semi-monocoque construction Paxon was uninjured. The Courage of Australia was built with one chute tube over the rocket motor and the other chute tube under it. The problem turned out to be the new motor being several inches longer than the old one. When the first pilot chute was released it dropped down, welded itself to the nozzle, and prevented the back-up chute from deploying.

Later in 1973, Paula Murphy had her 3rd and 5th cervical vertebrae cracked in a similar crash with Ky Michaelson's Miss STP rocket dragster at Sears Point Raceway, California. Murphy, experienced with jet cars at Bonneville and Funny Cars on the drag strip, got her rocket car license driving the Pollution Packer. By this time, Michaelson had split from Tony Fox with Dick Keller taking over as rocket engineer on the Pollution Packer team. The Miss STP improved over the Pollution Packer by laying the fuel tank down horizontally and putting the nitrogen bottles farther forward behind the cockpit. Murphy's accident occurred when at the end of the run when she released her first chute and was left virtually brakeless when it ripped away the portion of the frame to which the chute tow lines were secured. The Miss STP car was rebuilt by Michaelson and Frank Huzar and run again by Murphy later that year.