a friend has a line on a gas turbine powered APU setup....

Allegedly it's an old APU from a B52 disassembled in the 1970's with a red tagged (DEAD) generator but a functional gas turbine
engine that according to the data plate (I'm getting this third hand) makes 150hp.

It MAY be a derated version of something else
but according to the friend it does not look like a variation of an Allison 250.

But I sent him a picture of an allison 250 and he compared it to a cellphone picture.

I'd go look at it myself, but I'm in pennsylvania and the generator is
in northeast Wyoming.

I would say that would make a cool conversion for a super cub but I HATE the smell of jet a exhaust!! I think one could market the smell of 100 ll exhaust as a men's cologne!

Sounds interesting regardless!

dunno -- but i'd love pics and weights! stick THAT in a bd-5!!!

Turn it around, use as a pusher and collect.

Did a quick search and found this:

http://ronkilber.tripod.com/luscombe/luscombe.htm

Which uses a "150 hp APEX T62-32"

Hope that helps!

I can think of several amusing ways to use a 150hp gas turbine engine that do not involve emulating Jay Leno's Motorcycle.

And I can think of several aircraft that would be a real "hoot"
with such an engine.

One of the issues with this engine is that any documentation for the engine is 40years gone...

So I seriously doubt it would be practical to "make it fly"
without building an "expiremental" aircraft around it.

The thing I need to find out is what input RPM the generator
was intended to run at... that way I'd know what kind of reduction gearbox is already mounted to it

I've seen electrical generators that require inputs anywhere from 1750-6450rpm.
While it would be "slick" if this generator required a 2400-2650rpm input I doubt I'm gonna be that lucky.

experimental does not ALWAYS mean amateur built ... just saying

A super cub dose not carry enough fuel to be able to fly very far as currently configured. Besides by the time you did all the engineering and managed to do it, the amount of money you would end up spending would buy you enough Avgas and engines to fly a Super Cup for a good 20 years if not more. You could drop and easy 500K on such a project. One of the reasons why nobody has bothered. Now Rolls Royce has a turbine engine for airplanes that use the IO-540 type power plants, its the R-300, and it would cost you better than 500K to convert. The think is with the EPA and some California loud mouths going after 100 LL Avgas, so far there is not a suitable replacement. Small turbines like the R-300 has some interest, but at the current price tag a lot of airplanes would end up going to the scrape heap. This is going to kill GA if they don't find a replacement for 100 LL or the EPA gets its way any how. Some 13.5 billion dollars worth of aircraft would be effected by this and that is just here in the States.

Actually what I had in mind was that there is a local gentleman who has a Rutan Long EZ that has a dead O-235 lycoming 115hp engine in it (it sat, it seized)

I personally think a 150HP turboprop Long EZ would be
a laugh riot.

Allan
Think he would sell the 235 cheap cheap?

I should have said "had"

I've asked and I've been told the engine was removed after the AC was used for a couple years as a static display to mark the turn to the road to the rural airport. (It made a hell of a sign)

I'm not sure the engine wasn't seized then...

As I hear it now is that the engine was out of the aircraft and was a victim of "flood damage" when the shed it was stored in found itself unexpectedly full of Susquehana river water and mud in 2006

at that point in the story I found myself losing interest in hearing any more....

if the engine and associated "bits" were scrapped (as flood damaged stuff often is) I didn't really want to be listening...

quote:

A super cub dose not carry enough fuel to be able to fly very far as currently configured.

That's why god created drop tanks.

quote:

I HATE the smell of jet a exhaust!!!

Somebody needs to pull your man card, if it hasn't already been pulled!!