Hey Jerry, look at this photo!

[Mike Everman]

A guy named Chuck Kinzer sent me this today. Wondered if you know the guy?

[Tim36]

ha ha... That's the sort of idea that's been floatang around in the back of my head for a while... but more aerodynemic...

[dynajetjerry]

Mike,

Yep, I knew him quite well. He's Wm. L. Tenney, CEO of Aeromarine Co. The pic. was taken by commercial photographer Charles Kling in about 1948, shortly before I began working there. Bill is astride a light-weight motor bike that was modified by the Aeromarine crew for being powered by 2 of their D5-1 pjs, utilizing 5 slightly modified Dyna-Jet valve head assemblies. Fewer than a dozen of the engines were made, usually only after an order was received. Thrust was about 25-35 lbs. and field starting was with the aid of an air tank that was part of the installation.

With no useful throttle, the bike's speed was controllable only with the brakes or stopping one engine. Max. speed was never determined because the 1/5 g accelleration required much more space than was available, either on the airport runways or on U. S. 25 (the "Dixie Highway"') that borders the field. I would guess that the test technician (NOT Bill,) probably reached about 50 mph before having to shut down.

The building behind Bill contained the low pressure steam boiler that provided heat for Aeromarine and the other business also there, Unidev Corp. Actually, Unidev's Donn Davis leased the bldg from Dayton and sub-let part of it to Bill. (Note the spelling; a street in nearby Tipp City, where Unidev moved in 1953, is named for Donn, his son, Jim runninng the business these days.) Beyond the boiler room, facing due west, is the Dayton Municipal Airport, now enlarged and renamed Dayton-James M. Cox International Airport. The shop bldg remains (behind the photographer and to his left,) but the boiler room is gone, having been replaced by gas heaters.

During Aeromarine's heyday, we (Jerry Nolin, George Felkley and others,) and I tested production D-Js in the boiler room, being too dumb to wear hearing protection. Jerry and I still suffer damaged hearing from that mistake, though all the others have passed away.

Bill died in 1993 during a fishing trip to Siberia, along the Lena River. He had gone, earlier, to Lake Baikail in southern Siberia and loved it, only to have a fatal heart attack a few months later. He was 68 and left 2 children and his wife, Patty.
I travelled with Bill a few times to help in his outboard speedboat racing, though I contributed nothing but hands and a back.

All this and much more is in my "'book," if and when I get all the pictures organized and printed.

Anything else?

Jerry

[larry cottrill]

Jerry -

I think you mean Lake Baikal, but there may be several English spellings. It's a huge lake, an inland sea really, and there are Russian folk songs about it.

Were there any real problems with getting multiple Dynajet heads to run such a large motor? Was there no attempt at throttling at all up to that time (what I'm really asking is, was throttling just considered "impractical", or what)?

Fascinating stuff.

L Cottrill

[Mike Everman]

Thank you so much, Jerry! Very interesting. Here's another photo forwarded to me by Mark.

[dynajetjerry]

Larry,

I think you are correct as to the spelling of Lake Baikal; I failed to check. Bill fished there in early 1993 and enjoyed it very much, even though all he caught were pike, not the fish he was trying for.

The only way to adjust thrust in the D5-1 and similar pjs was to reduce fuel (always gasoline,) flow, not very effective and damaging to the reed valves. Almost all work on that design had been completed when I arrived so I can't be sure of the difficulties with multiple heads. I suspect the physical layout was dictated by desired thrust and size of the valve heads, with minimal possibility of interference between the air flow from each head. The O. D. was about 7 iinches and the exhaust pipe was about 4, with modified flojectors being installed for starting. A needle valve controlled fuel flow, permitting a safe reduction in thrust to about 18 lbs. I don't know how or if fuel flow to individual heads was balanced. Incidentally, Jerry Nolin told me the aluminum shroud circling the heads was made from trimmed cooking sauce pans.

And Mike,

I think your top, left picture is of James Hartley, a photographer associate of Charles Kling; he is holding a version of the Dyna-Jet Speedster, the plans for which were included with every D-J sold. The top, right photo is, I think, of a Plymouth Motors advertising exec who helped organize the Plymouth Internationals of many years ago. He is holding the BJ-4. a speed jet from Bob Thor and Harold Lundquist. Their BJ-6 set a controlline speed record of 179+ mph in 1948, using 2 lines and burning gasoline! There are many questions as to how this was possible, including the chance that too few laps were counted. The bottom, left photo shows Aeromarine's plant manager, Scoville Knox, holding Jerry Nolin's 3 fuel tank speed jet, based on a piece of flue pipe. At his feet is a purpose-designed jet cable car. And the last picture shows Bill Tenney holding the BJ-4 amid several other D-J models including 2 semi-scale craft that employed the fuselage halves of an all metal FF gas airplane called the "Skyvahl." All the models excepting Jerry's were designed and built by Joe Fallo for Aeromarine.

Thanks for your interest.

Jerry

[dynajetjerry]

Hi, Gang,

An update to the material I've sent:
I met and visited with David Tenney, Bill's son. He told me his mother, Patty, passed away last January and the old home has been razed, near Minneapolis. I also passed the site of Aeromarine, later, and found all those buildings were also razed, as well as the old GM Aeroproducts/Delco/Delphi facilities across the highway. In other words, there are no buildings in that area that were there during the operations of Aeromarine, 1947-1952. Sad.
Jerry

[dynajetjerry]

Gang,

I have another, very sad update on this subject: Jerry Nolin passed away Aug. 16 at age 86. He was instrumental in my being hired by Bill Tenney to work on Dyna-Jets, in 1949. We were both modellers and enjoyed many of the same things. I told Jerry and many of our friends that he helped start me on my life of crime (as a wage-earning model-maker.)

My youngest brother also died, in June, at age 77. My immediate family is down from 7 to 2, brother George, one of the diminishing members of the "Chosin Few" who endured the Korean and Vietnam wars, and me. In many ways, this summer has been pretty depressing for me but my own physical health is better than I probably deserve.

I am in touch with Bill and Patty Tenney's son, David, and am receiving useful information from him about his father and his boat racing and p-j work. (David also dabbles in boat racing.) I hope to include some of it in my still-in-process book on pulse-jets. To complete it, I may be obliged to enlist the aid of a professional writer-editor-publisher, perhaps Frank Anderson.

Jerry

[Mike Everman]

Hi Jerry, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss, and glad at the same time that you are healthy! I do hope you finally finish your book. I will buy 2!

[55dcyinely]

Mike
I'm a little late on the set forgive me. But did you think to send Robert Maddox a copy of this photo?
He might ask if that was one of his engines on that bike.
He asked Erik, from Sweden if the engine used on his sled was one of his?
Just a though.

[dynajetjerry]

55dcyinely,
I'll answer for Mike. The man on the motorbike is Bill Tenney who owned and operated the Dyna-Jet business. The p-js on it are Dyna-Jet-based D5-1 pulse-jets, developing about 30 lbs thrust, each.
Jerry Wiles

[55dcyinely]

Jerry,
Thanks that is just so cool.
Doug

[dynajetjerry]

Sorry, Gang,
The B-J series of speed jet models was the work of Bob Thor and Glen Tempte, not Bob and Harold Lundquist. Harold came up with his "Hell-to-Hold" speed model, later kitted by Berkeley as their "Squirt."
Jerry