I just purchased what I believe is either a Tigerjet or OS pulse jet engine. The engine was purchased new in 1959, and it is 17.5" long. It is marked "Made in Japan". From what I found on the internet, it looks more like the Tigerjet than the OS, but drawings I found for the Tigerjet indicate a longer (by ~1") engine. Can anyone tell me what make the engine is, and what it's worth? Thank you.

That is definitely a Tigerjet. There were several versions, so that's why it may not match your drawing. A used Tigerjet like that would probably go for $100-$200 on ebay

Calling PulseJetHarry

This appears to be a Tiger II pulsejet, which was a smaller version of the original Tiger pulsejet. The original Tiger was a Japanese clone of the US-made Dynajet.The primary difference was that the Tiger had a welded seam for the full lenght of the combustion chamber and tailpipe whereas the Dynajet was seamless. Both utilized a steel reed valve for the "pulse" operation. The smaller Tiger II had about 2 1/2 lbs of thrust while the large Tiger and Dynajet ran about 4 to 4 1/2 lbs of static thrust. The AMADynajet speed record was about 180 MPH for controline where the model dragged 70 feet of line in a circular path. I believe the current jet speed record is over 200 MPH. I flew controline jet speed as a teenager and hit about 150 MPH which was faster than anything else I flew at the time. Starting involved a large bore tire pump, spark coil and vibrator to light off the unleaded (Amoco) gasoline fuel. You had about 30 seconds from the initial start to getting airborne before the tailpipe started to deform and melt. Those were the days!

Art ARRO

Thank you both very much for the information.  I flew CL as a teenager (nothing fancy...mostly Sterling kits with a McCoy .19 or OS Max .35).  I remember reading articles about CL jets, and the incredible speeds they reach.  I don't know if I'll have the guts to fire this thing up.

200 mph going round-N-round.... Did you keep a bucket close, or did someone just mop up the mess after.

Where would one buy one of these pulse jet engines from? I've never seen any mention of a manufacturer or vendor.

You would probably have to purchase a model pulse jet off ebay or some similar source. I believe the more modern versions are custom built in Texas for controline applications. Note that neither the current nor older pulse jets are throttlable in any sense of the word. They run full BLAST and are HOT and LOUD!

Dr Honda, I had no trouble keeping up with a controline pulse jet at 150 MPH as a teenager. The difficult part was the sprint from the starting tire pump at the model to the conrol handle 70' distant and picking it up correctly so that up was truly on the model. My assistant manned the spark coil and held the model for release once I picked up the handle. You had several laps to get your wrist in the U-shaped pylon at the circle center before the clock timing began. The pilot had to run around this pylon while continuously flying the jet level about 10-15' altitude for timing purposes. Hopefully, the pulse jet did not run out of fuel or quit before the required number of timing laps were accomplished. It was a lot of FUN at the time. Dizziness was never a problemfor me.

Art ARRO

Art, Also that was a long time ago when you could still SPRINT......................LOL

Terry,
True, as my double knee replacements keep me from sprinting now. Maybe that's why I switched to flying RC jets. Now when I land long, my spotters mutters something about "good pilots don't walk". Jets are still a lot of FUN.

Art ARRO

RC pulse jet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCMImUCjr60