SWB Custom Projects

SWB Turbines has done several custom projects for a variety of customers from NASA to the Guy next door. We focus on quality in everything we do. If you have a Idea and would like us to work it out for you, contact us at

Phone: (920)725-3721

Email: swbturbines@sbcglobal.net

Single Engine Go Kart

       

       

 

We have always used our innovation to take things to the next level. We have seen lots of Go Karts out there with a JFS Engine, for one of our customers we developed an Afterburner which increased the thrust by 50%. But we did not stop there! We mounted TWO JFS Engines With Afterburners to the back of his Go Kart.

   

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Jet Bike

Another fun project that we did was we took a JFS Turboshaft Engine and mounted it into a modified FLH Harley Davidson Frame. After some time the bike was sold to Arlen Ness. As shown below he made a complete body for the bike and is now known as the MACH NESS.

   

   

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UAV History

Back in 1993 SWB Turbines started a second division building UAV's (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) to several Government agencies along with building the engines to power the Vehicle. Also in the same time frame we supplied the University of North Carolina two SWB - 35 engines for their Super Hornet for the Navy, we were contracted by the University to integrate the engines into the airframe.

   

   

   

 

LoFLYTE Experimental Aircraft

NASA and the U.S. Air Force unveiled a jet-powered aircraft equipped with state-of-the-art flight control technologies at a briefing in Oshkosh, Wis. on August 2, 1996. The 8-foot 4-inch aircraft was built to demonstrate a computerized flight control system that learns as it flies -- especially important for the demands of ultra high speed flight. The experimental LoFLYTE aircraft will be used to explore new flight control techniques involving neural networks, which allow the aircraft control system to learn by mimicking the pilot. The model is a Mach 5 waverider design which is a futuristic hypersonic aircraft configuration that actually cruises on top of its shockwave. Waverider aircraft powered by air breathing hypersonic engines, would fly at speeds above Mach 4, LoFLYTE represents the first known flying waverider vehicle configuration, but in upcoming flight tests at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California it will be flown at subsonic speeds to explore take-off and landing control issues.  The remotely-piloted aircraft has been designed to demonstrate that neural network flight controls are superior to conventional flight controls. Neural networks are computer systems that actually learn by doing. The computer network consists of many interconnected control systems, or nodes, similar to neurons in the brain. Each node assigns a value to the input from each of its counterparts. As these values are changed, the network can adjust the way it responds. The LoFLYTE aircraft's flight controller consists of a network of multiple-instruction, multiple-data neural chips. The network will be able to continually alter the aircraft's control laws in order to optimize flight performance and take the pilot's responses into consideration. Over time, the neural network system could be trained to control the aircraft. The use of neural networks in flight would help pilots fly in quick-decision situations and help damaged aircraft land safely even when controls are partially destroyed.  The construction of the model was completed at SWB Turbines of Neenah, Wis. This company provided the small turbine engine that powers the model. The shell of the model was made at Mississippi State's Raspet Flight Research Laboratory and then shipped to SWB Turbines so that the radio control gear and the engine could be installed.  The wave rider was chosen as the test bed for the neural networks because the configuration has an inherently high hypersonic lift-to-drag ratio. If neural networks can control this "worst-case scenario" configuration, then they should be able to handle any other desired configuration. The wave rider configuration was also chosen because it allows for long hypersonic cruise ranges of up to 8,000 miles. At an altitude of 90,000 feet the Mach 5 wave rider would be able to fly at a rate of one mile per second.

     

   

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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