'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

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ed knesl
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re: 'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

Post by ed knesl » Fri Sep 02, 2005 1:02 am

Larry,

Sorry, I dropped the ball on this one, for obvious reason -
Annular engine.

I have one more thing in the mill and right after that I"ll get going
on your FWE desig.

Ed
...Nobody is right, nobody is wrong...

Mark
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re: 'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

Post by Mark » Fri Sep 02, 2005 1:34 am

Wired magazine! I use to have that subscription, and really liked the topics. They had a really good article on platinum catalysts and fuel cells one time too. Boy, now I am jealous.
Mark

Actually, I'm very happy for you. Getting attention or being noticed is often a strong motivating force that grows.
Last edited by Mark on Fri Sep 02, 2005 1:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Presentation is Everything

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Re: re: 'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

Post by Mark » Fri Sep 02, 2005 4:06 am

Mark wrote:I was wondering if you are left or right-handed Larry. I was trying to figure out which way I would hold the torch and rod. I'm right handed but as a child my parents said they didn't know which I was going to be. My Dad was left-handed. Looks like the engine is coming along nicely.
Mark
A bit more on the topic, some comments humorous.
http://www.sculpture.net/community/prin ... php?t=1141
Presentation is Everything

larry cottrill
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Re: re: 'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

Post by larry cottrill » Fri Sep 02, 2005 2:01 pm

Ben wrote:Congratulations on the Wired article. All your promotion has paid off.
What the writer told me was something like, "your name keeps coming up" when valveless pulsejets are talked about. The guy must travel in some strange circles. Seriously, I think the reason this happened is that (a) I always lay my designs out on the table to try to get people interested in building them, providing construction photos, etc.; and (b) I use my limited tools and skills to my advantage by making designs that you don't need anything like a well-equipped shop to build.

I really believe in bringing this hobby to 'regular' people, even people who don't think of themselves as "mechanically inclined" but who just want to do something unique and exciting. I think that's the one real contribution I might be able to say I've made - "popularizing the sport", even if just a little.
Mark wrote:Wired magazine! I used to have that subscription, and really liked the topics. They had a really good article on platinum catalysts and fuel cells one time too. Boy, now I am jealous.
Don't be too jealous. It's supposed to be about a one page deal, with a single photo. What I dread is the possibility of gross inaccuracies ("Larry Cottrill, father of the valveless pulsejet concept ...") - however, the writer seemed to be interested in the real story of the Short Lady, so I'm hoping for the best. It seems reasonable that a writer for Wired would be better equipped to handle this topic than, say, a typical writer for USA Today or some such. At least he seemed to me to be asking the right kinds of questions. The photographic team they hired were a couple of really decent guys, too, very professional yet seemingly thrilled to be doing the shoot.

Thanks, Ben and Mark!

L Cottrill

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Re: re: 'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

Post by steve » Fri Sep 02, 2005 5:50 pm

Larry Cottrill wrote:What I dread is the possibility of gross inaccuracies ("Larry Cottrill, father of the valveless pulsejet concept ...") -
L Cottrill
don't lie larry- we all know that you would secretly love it if they printed that!

(meanwhile, bruno would be franticly emailing copies of his valveless pulsejet 1.5 paper to everyone at wired mag so they will realize their mistake!)
Image

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Re: re: 'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

Post by Bruno Ogorelec » Sat Sep 03, 2005 11:56 am

steve wrote:meanwhile, bruno would be franticly emailing copies of his valveless pulsejet 1.5 paper to everyone at wired mag so they will realize their mistake!
You mean, so that they immediately learn that it was really Marconnet in 1906? :o)

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IMPORTANT NOTE TO BUILDERS

Post by larry cottrill » Mon Sep 05, 2005 5:19 pm

Ed et al -

Note that to get my finished Smooth Lady to sustain, I had to add 3 inches (75mm) to the tailpipe length. If you haven't cut your tailpipe yet, you will want to lengthen it accordingly. Remember, it can always be cut back some if you can get away with it on your build.

Note also that I think the dome temperature during the run was excessive. I think you should make your hammered spout pretty large, as I showed in the Intake Detail drawing, rather than minimizing it as I did. I really think changing that was a mistake, and that a more heavily deflected flow down into the bottom of the chamber would have been better.

See my new thread on running the Smooth Lady for more on starting and running.

L Cottrill

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Re: re: 'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

Post by larry cottrill » Tue Sep 06, 2005 5:18 pm

Mark wrote:
Mark wrote:I was wondering if you are left or right-handed Larry. I was trying to figure out which way I would hold the torch and rod. I'm right handed but as a child my parents said they didn't know which I was going to be. My Dad was left-handed. Looks like the engine is coming along nicely.
A bit more on the topic, some comments humorous.
http://www.sculpture.net/community/prin ... php?t=1141
Whenever I did stone work, it was always with the chisel in the left hand and mallet in the right. Some good comments on that page!

L Cottrill

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Smooth Lady Final Construction Photos

Post by larry cottrill » Thu Sep 15, 2005 7:40 pm

Here are the final shots of finishing up the Smooth Lady.

I'll also add some first run shots to the 'Smooth Lady Sings the Blues' thread. Stay tuned.

L Cottrill
Attachments
Smooth_Lady_designer_crop1_small.jpg
Smooth Lady with designer, right after finishing up. Photo Copyright 2005 Larry Cottrill
Smooth_Lady_designer_crop1_small.jpg (170.13 KiB) Viewed 12286 times
Smooth_Lady_finished_in_hand_crop1_small.jpg
Smooth Lady, completely finished with intake flared and fitted with starting air / fuel tube assembly. Photo Copyright 2005 Larry Cottrill
Smooth_Lady_finished_in_hand_crop1_small.jpg (150.92 KiB) Viewed 12288 times
Smooth_Lady_chamber_weld_done_crop1_small.jpg
Finished chamber welding - yes, there is a lot of weld around the intake tube! Photo Copyright 2005 Larry Cottrill
Smooth_Lady_chamber_weld_done_crop1_small.jpg (135.05 KiB) Viewed 12287 times

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re: 'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

Post by Bruno Ogorelec » Fri Sep 16, 2005 9:02 am

I must say, Larry, you have ended up with a really smooth-looking engine.

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re: 'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

Post by Bob » Sat Apr 01, 2006 9:29 am

Larry !
thank you for your hard work on this thred !
I plan to fabricate one of these or something of the like in the near future
but right now I still have a foot of snow on the ground and no shop to work in so it will wait ! <grin>
...
off the subject but important you mentioned that you had an up right freeze proof water spicket in your horse barn or something, if that 1" upright pipe is out where a horse could run into it and not next to a wall or something for goodness sake put a tall 6ft post by it... a guy I know lost a buitiful applisoosa stud when for some reason the horse "Spooked"
and ran into the pipe ripping him open from chest to mid belly
the vet couldn't save him, and the guy was hart broken ! ... he took the tractor and chained to the pipe and ripped it out, so it wouldn't happen again. just so you don't get a injured horse on your hands !
....
back to subject !
I can't wait to see the running photos of the smothe lady !
great work and thanks again !

Bob......
"the impossable is only a little bit harder"

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re: 'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

Post by larry cottrill » Sun Apr 02, 2006 4:02 am

Bob -

Thanks for the kind words and good luck!

BUT, you must have missed the running and testing threads:

http://www.pulse-jets.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=2276
http://www.pulse-jets.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=2307

L Cottrill

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re: 'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

Post by Bob » Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:11 am

Thank you Larry !
i did miss those ! havn't been here that long and still have alot of reading to do !
thank you very much !

Bob.......
"the impossable is only a little bit harder"

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re: 'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

Post by Bob » Sun Apr 02, 2006 8:16 am

Larry !
Try as I might I cannot find the "Short lady"... even though I married one <grin> but I would like to find her Name shake and hopefully drawings sense the intake is a bit diferent than the "smothe lady"
I found your easy conversion posting on scaleing the engines up and all
...just hope i can find it again because it didn't want to copy it for later refrence ! ....
Could eather of these valveless engines put out arround 10lbs of thrust ? I was thinking for an ultralight copter rotor tip application...
though I realise I'ed probly need more thrust than that , its a good place to start
if nothing else I want to bring one of these beasties to life and hear her roar ! hehehe should be a hoot !
.....
it would be nice if all these verious designes were collected in one place but the ones that are listed at the home page are in under unfimiluar names or in German or something, this farm boy don't know german so it makes it tough ! hehehehehe !
I have enough info on the Smothe lady to begin, but was wanting to see the Short lady as well ,
could ya point me in the right direction ?
thank ya Kind sir !
Bob........
"the impossable is only a little bit harder"

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re: 'Smooth Lady' - Easiest-To-Build FWE Ever

Post by Bruno Ogorelec » Sun Apr 02, 2006 5:15 pm

Larry,

If I may chime in from the sidelines; Bob is an amateur helicopter builder with some serious-looking machinery to his credit. I seem to have put "a bee in his bonnet" about pulsejets (as the British would say).

I also suggested that the FWE might be the most practical place to start. That is where my expertise stops, however, so I've had to steer him in your direction.

Please lead him further down the thorny path of valveless pulsejetting.

(There goes another man, away from sanity and into fire and noise. He could have led a normal life, just like everyone else, but no; he had to dabble in jet engines...)

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