Self Maintenance on Turbines
 

Hi folks,

I used to fly RC and turbines awhile ago and assembled a KJ-66 and flew it in a BVM Aggressor back in the beginnings of RC turbines. Haven't flown RC since I got back into full scale flying 15 years or so ago. I have some ideas for land/water based small turbine power but obviously the entire market has changed a lot since then. Understanding that my land based ideas are a lot more harsh on the rotating components/bearings, I would want to inspect/service the engine more frequently and by myself. I would like to leverage the kero start technologies and all the new gizmo/gadgets that are in todays turbines.

So my question is.... Which manufacturer is the most accommodating if you want to service your own engine? I am not worried about voiding warranties, etc. and accept that for use outside of RC, I would forfeit any kind of warranty. I would just like a modern engine with parts availability from a manufacturer that is willing to provide such parts and answer a few questions I might have on maintenance. So without starting any kind of "who's the best" forum war... Who is most likely to serve my needs?

Thank You,
Rick

Sadly no one likes to provide parts anymore. All work inhouse or not at all.
Your best bet would be to find an old RAM or similar.

More modern turbines have tighter tolerances and are far more sensitive to vibrations from being out of balance or alignment.
Self servicing is not easy these days.

Our turbines are 1/2 the size and put out twice the thrust compared to the KJ-66 days. You wont be saving any money that's for sure.

The only one turbine company will provide all the parts is jetjoe the have all the parts and the will shipp it to USA and other countries .

I do the maintenance myself and get parts directly from manufacturer, but I had to sign a document where I accepted that the warranty on my engines is void, that all new parts supplied come without warranty, and that my engines are blacklisted, meaning that if one of my engines is sent for service, the manufacturer has the right to return it back without any work done. Plus a liability discharge document.




So, it is possible to do what you want, but probably not worth, unless you are trained and you have access to well equipped workshop.

Joe

Which brand is your turbine?

Félix

Rick, you also have to take into consideration the reputation of the manufacturer. If they "sign off" on you doing all maintenance and the motor grenades in front of others, the spectators wont know that ot wasnt the engine manufacturers fault, they might incorrectly assume that manufacturer makes bad products. I'm sure that is not a risk they take lightly, after all, reputation is everything in this hobby. Just ask FEJ.

Thanks all,

Looking like JetJoe is the way to go. I designed and programmed my own Fadec for my KJ-66 but that was with a PIC in assembler and C. Thinking about rewriting it on the Arduino platform to offer it up to students as open source. I have access to CNC equipment to build an engine from scratch but there is only so many minutes in a day.... and I'd rather cash those chips on the other 80% of the project I'm looking to tackle. Good to see there is still a company out there that maintains grass roots possibilities.

Cheers,
Rick

An Arduino based Open ECU would be awesome, i have been dreaming about this for quite some time (did quite a few smaller arduino projects in the meanwhile).
if you ever do this, i would love to assist :)