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Ever since I made my first turbofan in 1996, I have been interested in the fuel efficiency benefits of turbofans. I have always enjoyed the simplicity of my turbojet engine designs, but their fuel economy is certainly a limiting factor in their performance. Over the years I have iterated a number of turbofan designs with the intent of making a small, fuel-efficient turbofan that could be applicable to general aviation or small aircraft use. I designed this engine to produce about 240 pounds of thrust while still maintaining a small diameter (around 9-inches overall). The fuel consumption would likely be in the 0.6-0.7 lbm/lbt/hr range. I plan to continue iterating subtle variations of this engine.

This was a quick design study that I did to flush out the details of a 200-pound thrust turbojet that I was designing in the background for several years. This engine incorporates a medium compression ratio centrifugal compressor and a reverse flow annular combustion chamber with high pressure fuel injection. The intent was to design an engine with a layout and packaging that could be practical for small aircraft applications. The engine has high pressure recirculating oil and an integrated starter generator in the nose.

This is a small 110 lb thrust prototype turbojet engine design that I have been iterating on the side for some years.  I recently decided that I’d give it a little more thought and attention.  It’s in the same thrust range as my previous JA103 turbojet engine, but it is physically smaller and the deign details are a bit more refined.  The design also takes advantage of new manufacturing methods that I did not have experience with during my previous JA103 build. At this time, I’m not sure if I will build this engine or not as I have several other engine designs in work.

After we sold our Unimog, I wanted to design a smaller overland vehicle that had the same basic comforts of our Unimog habitat, but that would fit in a sea container for overseas shipping. After considering many chassis, I decided to design the camper around a modern Jeep JLU Wrangler.  During the design phase, a professional traveler friend asked if I would make a copy of the camper for him, so I built two identical camper boxes, and he and I separately fitted out the chassis and camper interiors differently to suite our personal needs. I fabricated the camper shells predominantly from carbon fiber to meet my strict weight goals. 

Up to date information on the project can be found on my blog and Instagram: wabisabioverland.com and wabi_sabi_overland