Strapping a jet engine to a bicycle
A project I obviously shouldn't do, but had to. Current status - crashed, and gloriously so.
The conclusion first: it's in a crashed state right now, and I'm hanging it here in plain sight.
At Syca Labs, an original that's still being explored but hasn't worked out is more honorable than a copied, finished product. This line is the best footnote to that sentence.
How it started
I wanted to know what a bicycle feels like under thrust instead of pedaling. Not an electric motor — motors are too "correct," everyone's doing them. I wanted something obviously unreasonable: a small jet engine, mounted over the rear wheel.
How it crashed
- Thrust, yes. Control, no. On the first ignition the frame vibrated so hard I worried it would shake itself apart.
- Heat management failed completely — the exhaust was too close to my calf, and I burned through a pant leg (I was fine).
- The most fundamental problem: a jet produces almost no usable thrust at low speed, and a bicycle spends most of its time at low speed. Physics itself was working against me.
What I took away from the crash
This failure taught me more than ten successful replicas would: about thrust-to-weight ratios, about my real tolerance for "danger," and about when to back down.
It's parked in the garage now, scorch marks and all. I'm not going to pretend it worked. Maybe someday I'll restart it with a completely different approach — and then its status will change to "restarted." Until then, it stays honestly "crashed."