Steam Powered Airplane

Who is going to be first to replace their engine with this when their engine time is up? :)
 
I like the reverse feature. Sign me up! What could possibly go wrong with a steam powered plane? ;-)
 
I think if the idea was so great, we would have seen more of them.
 
Actually, by the very end of the steam car era, they'd actually cracked it. But by then it was too late.

Look at this clip of Jay Leno's Doble E steam car from 1925. It's remarkably ahead of its time and pretty much solved all the problems with steam. It had a clever coil system that superheated the steam in no time, and it also condensed the steam back into water and reused it, thereby using very little water. It is possible to build completely closed steam engines/turbines, it just takes pretty big condensers to do it. They can be very efficient and have tremendous torque if designed right. And they can be heated by anything - wood pellets, garden refuse, coal, oil, gas, whatever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACO-HXvrRz8
 
Last edited:
Henning said:
I like how he put the condenser right in the middle of view.
Click to expand...

Maybe this is where Pietenpol got the idea for the radiator placement on the original Model A Ford power plant in the Air Camper.

1932pp2.jpg
 
stratobee said:
Actually, by the very end of the steam car era, they'd actually cracked it. But by then it was too late.

Look at this clip of Jay Leno's Doble E steam car from 1925. It's remarkably ahead of its time and pretty much solved all the problems with steam. It had a clever coil system that superheated the steam in no time, and it also condensed the steam back into water and reused it, thereby using very little water. It is possible to build completely closed steam engines/turbines, it just takes pretty big condensers to do it. They can be very efficient and have tremendous torque if designed right. And they can be heated by anything - wood pellets, garden refuse, coal, oil, gas, whatever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACO-HXvrRz8
Click to expand...

I also remember a clip of Jay Leno talking about his steam powered cars in which he mentioned their cost to maintain. He didn't give specifics, but it was obvious that it was astronomical.
 
MAKG1 said:
Yeah, at least when people talk about gasoline engines "blowing up," they are only being colorful.
Click to expand...


Tell this to Amanda Franklin. I don't believe she would agree with this statement.

Tony
 
Found another one, this one has a little more capacity.;)

(for proper credit the creator is Michal Kwolek)
 

Attachments

  • CoalPoweredAirplane.jpg
    CoalPoweredAirplane.jpg
    300.7 KB · Views: 21
1600vw said:
Tell this to Amanda Franklin. I don't believe she would agree with this statement.

Tony
Click to expand...

That was a fire. Steam engines can genuinely explode in ways that gasoline engines simply don't.

Some of the worst transportation accidents in history are related to steam engine explosions.
 
MyassisDragon said:
Found another one, this one has a little more capacity.;)

(for proper credit the creator is Michal Kwolek)
Click to expand...

I always thought alternate history/steampunk stuff like that was super cool.
 
MAKG1 said:
That was a fire. Steam engines can genuinely explode in ways that gasoline engines simply don't.
Click to expand...

No.... This is not what Kyle told me. It exploded then went down. It was not just a fire, the fire was from the explosion.

Tony
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top