Flite Test - EDF Afterburner

A Vampire Mk6 modified with a real working EDF afterburner! Powered with butane and ignited with parts from a stun gun, David attempts to fly this EPO foam RC airplane with real flames shooting out of the exhaust tube!
More photos and details at the website write up:
flitetest.com/a...
Watch the extended EDF Afterburner episode here:
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Thanks for watching!
Royalty Free Music by AudioMicro
Montage Music - "Dramatic Rising" by caramusic

[@curlybeckster288]

Ah, the old days of flite test. Can't believe I was just a kid when I watched these videos back then

[@DominicGreen432]

Haha same here for many of us!

[@htpjay0927]

Same

[@mr_moose4529]

I was 5

[@James-C24]

I was 15 ah the good old days

[@defenestration5008]

Yup same here This was one of there many videos that amazed me

[@mysterygamer48]

Oh the nostalgia coming back to these videos 6 years later

[@adrienperie6119]

*You could actually make it much more reliable, fast and increase its life expectancy at the same time by having the coil wrapped around the metal tube that protects the polystyrene*, it would keep it cool while the afterburner is on as well as make sure the fuel is turned into a gas reliably, and remove the need for the heater, improving flight time in cold weather, and canceling the slight weight increase due to the additional tubing. Additionally, now that the protection tube is cooled by the incoming fuel, you could put in a bullet type cone in there to actually generate thrust from the combustion just like an actual afterburner would, making it a true afterburner.

[@TheUlitamateStunt]

Somebody needs to sell EDF afterburner packs using that design, that would be incredible.

[@terranovarain2183]

Yeah that would be so cool and definitely would work

[@wojtik1980]

I spent my teenage pauses at the secondary technical school watching the M701 jet engine cut and thinking about WHY are some technical solutions as they have been built by the engineers 50 years before me. One thing remained in my mind the fuel (kerosine) tube was let inside the combustion chamber meander-like. That solution will heat the kerosine using the heat from inside the combustion chamber. The kerosine is already near vaporized when is mixed with the air so you get a better mixture. The combustion chamber on rocket engines is cooled with fuel (not oxidizer) and then the heated fuel flows into mixing nozzles in the back of the combustion chamber. This is the same manner as you described.

[@Rogue9]

Awesome job. And the sound that thing makes!!

[@adamharith911]

Didnt expect to see you here

[@Xynudu]

Really good episode. But then again, they are all really good videos. A real pity David couldn't stay in the USA. His enthusiasm and knowledge make it very interesting.

[@colepatrick5019]

He needs to be a citizen, why isnt he, he is a part of flitetest that does experiments, plz come back david. :c

[@woutchauvaux6672]

He has to come back i miss him haha

[@jeffk464]

***** "he's not a citizen" Ha, havent you been paying attention its now basically legal to be in the country illegally. :)

[@alexhafemeister1948]

ProgramThat Peter is Ethiopian?

[@panzerken]

+99smite So true. What a shame. Send the creative smart white guy back home, but let uneducated non english speaking people in by the thousand. All is lost............

[@AstroHopefulBenjaminGottsch]

That is just the coolest sounding plane ever.

[@joesilvestri4925]

I agree

[@psygn0sis]

fake sound!

[@placeholdername4068]

psygn0sis Rubbish.

[@djay6651]

That things sounds like a full sized jet.

[@maximvm945]

Yes and its looks cool

[@maximvm945]

Yes and its looks cool

[@feefeee]

+Abonnerende Abonnee Yes and its looks cool

[@l0af_o]

+DavidSixSixFive yes it does

[@l0af_o]

+BlackCats Ikr

[@Lunumbrus]

You guys have no idea how much I wanna see more jets and afterburners from you guys. The KSP nerd in me just has to see what you rig up.

[@heyitsclayyy3002]

Lunumbrus same dude

[@thomas1055213]

remeber when they did cool shit like this?

[@krang07]

ya, these days everyone`s gravitated towards quad-copters and all the shit you can make em do.

[@amk1108]

yeah. i agree to much quadcop[ter shit. plane are cooler

[@amk1108]

exactly its not even that cool besides spying on yur neighbors with it.

[@kevinbatungbacal]

I agree, I am so sick and tired of seeing quad copters. I want to see airplanes and helicopters for a change. I hope Flitetest sees our comments 😞

[@lontongtepungroti2777]

but.. but quad copters cool too..

[@iteachvader]

3:45 It sounds so cool when it activates.

[@thatpolishhotdog]

IKR. Damn I wish I could see this thing in real life.

[@iteachvader]

Narwha1Gaming EU Are you following me?

[@thatpolishhotdog]

No... Why do u ask?

[@iteachvader]

Narwha1Gaming EU I feel like I've seen you somewhere else very recently. I recognize your username.

[@thatpolishhotdog]

Ahhhhhhh... Well I guess I am following u

[@heater165]

Saw this video 10 years ago. This has been my best flite test video till date ❤. Very beautiful weather, calm. Twilight and that afterburner colour, Looks so good!. Not to forget the evil tower 😅

[@dominicrichardson5546]

Weirdly the most nostalgic thing for me was hearing David mention "hotwiring" a new tail. I completely forgot that all the hobby/craft channels like TKOR etc used to use nichrome wire to precisely cut foam for projects.

[@Nottalottasleep]

Squashed tube for a limiter? So freaking brilliant - to know the elements of the process so thoroughly, to know the processes so well that he can wing it - can't believe that pun just fell out of my mouth - but to be so at ease with the project that David could make a jet fly, yes that's amazing! But to be able to put this knowledge into action - thrust angle, load versus flammability off the wire ( gauges so fine ), it just boggles the mind.

[@greggv8]

Could shield the tail with aluminum flue tape. Instead of having the metal exhaust tube in direct contact with the foam, make it with an air gap and have it so some air can flow through the gap. Then the burner can run longer without melting things.

[@MelindaGreen]

If it provided no substantial thrust, I was dubious about the idea but the sound it makes is perfect, so kudos!

[@regchavez1831]

Melinda Green it's all about the sound it makes. That "sound" makes logic do weird things.

[@Crimsonedge1]

And light does actually have mass.

[@MrCountrycuz]

can we talk about your rates?

[@keenanbartlome8153]

umm actually, light (photons) do not have any mass.

[@MelindaGreen]

Keenan Bartlome Light has no rest mass but mass and energy are equivalent, so photons do have a mass equivalent to their wavelength.

[@ishigamiyu1991]

The old sweet flightest with the old sweet music

[@NiclasHorn]

I miss the Old Flite Test

[@cryptosalmon]

Same

[@texmex9721]

Swede! Swede! Swede! Swede! Swede! Swede!

[@gracklefpv8811]

Me too

[@laludeaka]

Niclas Horn me too man

[@jhoni_48hz95]

yeah me too

[@Raycefan]

So thankful to have had "THE SWEEDE" and his engineering genius working with y'all back then. Such a great guy and so knowledgeable about such building projects.

[@CuriousKitchen]

That is absolutely awesome. All along I was like "this Vampire will burn in midair". And what a sound!

[@henryatkinson1479]

Still my favorite episode of all time, when I finally get around to making an RC Mitsubishi F-1 Ill do this.

[@michaelrudge9880]

Wow, mother of all inventions, I love it, like the choice of aircraft, when I was in the RAF in the 1950s we had vampires and jet provost aircraft. so it took me back to the best time of my life,,, thank you

[@Cheeseoverdose]

this was the very first flitetest video I ever watched and I have been watching since.

[@toysareforboys1]

Wow, the sound it makes is absolutely amazing!!! :D

[@ejb654]

David Johnson umm actually flaming gas by itself does not produce thrust, the sound is dubbed

[@19leon73]

ejb654 The Thrust is from the EDF.... You did notice the plane flying before the afterburner was lit? The sound is not dubbed... Ignorant buffoons...

[@ejb654]

thrust from an electric fan does not sound like a gas turbine engine, im not ignorant, you're just stupid

[@19leon73]

ejb654 Try it before you call it fake it my last suggestion for you.

[@isyourshitfixed]

Leon the sound is dubbed , look up a Rc edf video and listen,

[@skakpedersen]

Burn, butane baby, burn! What a bunch of clever thinking, behind this project. Well done guys. Thanks for sharing.

[@Pulse589]

You have inspired this newb to get into rc quads! just dropped a few hundred bucks in your store now! God bless and keep on keeping on. I will continue to binge watch your channel.

[@BobAlexander]

Perfect application for my inverted V-tail!

[@kpopRC]

THIS IS THE COOLEST!

[@zippy3711]

If you constrict the output hole just a little, it will give more thrust.

[@Hellsong89]

But it would collect huge amounts of heat, so i would presume it was like this for reason... and it being foam+heat dont mix well... but that can be engineered around ;) I start to like this idea, though needs bigger fuel container so its not just for 60sec...

[@christopherm.9139]

I hope you realize tagging anything with "Do Not Try This At Home" is essentially opening the door to just about every tinkerer and hobbyist to not only try it, but go Bigger! Fantastic Work, Love you Guys.

[@BoodleBops]

WHY IS FLITETEST NOT A SHOW?

[@Fixxate]

Because the need to pay money to get on tv, maybe even Netflix. I was half expecting that plane to explode though.

[@HolyGarbage]

BoodleBops It is, you're literarily commenting the flite test show right now...

[@kaib.5708]

RandomSpaceManInSpace A show doesnt need to be on tv, it could just be on twitch and youtube.

[@alnoso]

yeah but a TV show has a budget of a couple million per episode this one has like a couple hundred

[@planesstevee]

@Mike Louw yep so true!

[@mohammedansari7888]

do not try this at home? where u wanna me to build this awesome thing? in office ? :))

[@GniewnyMedrzec]

You can always build it at your laboratory :P

[@steveofficial4071]

Or at a friends

[@abhishekgourav6144]

Nope in a room filled with dynamite

[@Disinterested1]

where else?

[@breather8758]

@@abhishekgourav6144 Great idea

[@BradfordGuy]

If people in Sweden are half as nice as David, I bet it is a wonderful place to live. David, you did a wonderful job figuring all of this out and making it work! It is amazing to watch AND to hear...WOW!

[@TheBlanco951]

After watching your videos for almost two months now, im considering getting back into the rc hobby. Your videos are so much fun to watch!

[@jamesmaseobrown]

This is the best RC channel I've seen.

[@rcbrosproductions9129]

The AMA Rules state that "No model aircraft shall have a gaseous boost", that means these guys broke the rules #rebels lol

[@corbinpearce7686]

So, there's a lot of rules regarding "model aircraft." However, in this document by the FAA (www.faa.gov/uas/educational_users/media/model_aircraft_spec_rule.pdf) a model aircraft only counts as such if flown within visual line of sight. My point is stick a camera on it, hook it up to a laptop control and fly it far far away :)

[@flowwolf1242]

Genius adding the evaporator coil in the line and adding a heating element to help out with that in the winter

[@kmiya211]

The sound of the after burner is awesome!

[@motoman22atgmail]

The thing about smart people is that they seem like crazy people to dumb people. These guys are genius.

[@harrymeanwell1462]

NO THEYRE CRAZY

[@nerfinator03]

Its funny how you sed "Even if we are showing you all of its components and how its made do not build it at home" by saying this, in a near future youll have one replica of this stuck on your roof

[@torpedo996]

Or a Concorde version of this.

[@arnehollstein3651]

You can really see how moved David is. Nearly brought me to tears...

[@TheTeufelhunden68]

The flames combined with the Doppler are GREAT!!! Gives me an idea for a project. I love this channel.

[@MyWillyboi]

so the coil is like an expansion chamber?? AMAZINGLY WICKED AWESOME

[@TheRocketdrive]

well it serves the same purpose, but it isn't an expansion chamber. By making the butane travel the extra distance and heating it, the butane is given time to go from liquid to gas.

[@HookedOnJonics]

MyWillyboi thought you were AVE for a second.

[@mjpeeved]

HookedOnJonics I thought so too. Shady business.

[@powderslinger5968]

MyWillyboi. No it is a heat exchanger.

[@KevinMillard68]

thats totally awesome man well done

[@purplechicken86]

This has always been, and will always be my favorite intro and episode.

[@joeys5429]

yeah its called the idiots chanel made by and for

[@purplechicken86]

Joey S lmao what?

[@KarsonNow]

03:35 the sound with afterburner is so amazing... Without it it sounds and looks like dust another RC plane... Afterburner ON and this thing looks and sounds just real...

[@prestonwallace7939]

wow sounds realistic

[@EvenStarLoveAnanda]

I think you guys should make videos about ALL the things not worth trying so we don't have to replicate failed experiments. Imagine how much money the rest of the world would save! ;0)

[@furonwarrior]

I love watching these classic Flitetest Videos.

[@qwerty2008100]

i believe this may be louder (in scale of course) than the real vampire. I had the privilege of seeing one at an airshow last week and it was almost silent. You couldn't here it until it was almost directly above.

[@ishigamiyu1991]

Wish they would bring back the opening

[@taevue]

3:44 Goddamn thrust sounds so nice!

[@veizour]

To this day, one of my all-time favorite episodes

[@flappy7373]

3:45 - that is SO AWESOME!!! You, sir, are an artist and a gentleman!

[@rubennouta2406]

Does it actually increase speed?

[@Yman83464z]

15% more.

[@Lanzbik]

Ruben Nouta increases the coolness by at least 300%

[@joeys5429]

haaaaaaah

[@russellalexanderyim8623]

make a messerschmit 262

[@iammircea1108]

.

[@anonymouswatcher6691]

liked your comment even when i dont know what is it. Can you explain to me? heheeheh

[@fastyh2745]

it was the first ever jet aircraft. made by the Germans in WW2.

[@anonymouswatcher6691]

k hahaha

[@tu-95turbopropstrategicbom55]

I wanna see a Komet

[@rodgerhatfield3068]

From one grown up kid to another...great job!!! That’s so awesome

[@N1H1L9]

It is said that simplicity is the hallmark of genius. You Sir, are a genius and this is now my new, 'coolest thing I've ever seen'. That seemed to appreciably assist the performance as well. I mean I know it wasn't putting out serious lbs thrust but it seemed at least to be paying for itself...and it looked just awesome. I'm still waiting for someone with some serious hobbyists machinery to manufacture a genuine micro (perhaps they can call it 'nano') gas turbine; say about two inches long and an inch wide and about a million rpm. Until then, this really is my new 'coolest thing...'.

[@NimN0ms]

Challenge: make an aircraft that can turn into a ball in mid air, stay like that for a while and then turn back into an air craft!

[@EnFuegoDuo]

I don't know why, but the visual of this had me cracking up bad XD!

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

Start small, do Cobra Commander's helicopter/jetfighter first. ;)

[@neweintleul4757]

Hi Guys: Really cool vampire, and the afterburner. I am almost jealous :) . You have doing extremely well, and congratulations. You use a electric motor powering a fan in the duct, right? so you say you got about 15% more trust with the afterburner, right? Keep up doing your nice projects. Have you studied combustion and aeronautical engineering at all? It can be a little frustratin depending on your teachers, but you should go for it since you already know a lot. Once more cheers !

[@phildoethedildoe]

This is by far one of the coolest build/rebuild episodes you guy's have done! I fly all kinds of RC planes, blimp's, copters, and such but this one takes the cake!! WELL DONE DAVID!! Stay crazy and Swedish and keep frankensteining aircraft with the two josh's :) :)

[@pixelslayertv7140]

The sound of the jet is soooo cool

[@Frank-il2my]

while others were busy studying in school,i wanted to be john legend

[@TaubogaCraft]

is this jet sound real? AWESOME!

[@dzfarms8110]

see this is the reason I wind up staying up till 4 in the morning watching your channel lol.

[@veizour]

To this day... never gets old.

[@stevenshaw9559]

Bring david back!!

[@yves3560]

Beautiful work !! sounds good too :)

[@LeviTorgerson]

I enjoy watching Flite Test channel. This is the coolest yet. I just love the sound of that Vampire! Come on David, you must go to the next level with this concept. Be safe, but, be a mensch and develop this.

[@Positrack]

Damn, that Swede is a mad scientist! Congrats on a FANTASTIC job!

[@kuyanatnatdkrx7]

i would pay them to kamekaze that plane at full speed with 80% butane left

[@njd834]

Ok that will be around $1000.

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

Wouldn't do much. At the speeds this thing flies, you're very unlikely to puncture, let alone burst the canister.

[@bepsi306]

omg just fly that over a military base lol 😂😂😂

[@bassemb]

David is amazing, I love seeing how he set up the whole thing. Great video.

[@tomloweshow]

David's such a character, I love his role in Flitetest.

[@mudassirjoomun1442]

can you make a f 22

[@joeholzman1271]

2019 gang?

[@okai_IRE]

2020 gang!!

[@introvertairways]

David was my favorite member of Flitetest I wish he was still part of the Flitetest crew.

[@noahbingham9339]

This was the first flitetest video I ever watched

[@ckfitz]

Who's watching this in 2017

[@alexandersokolnik1596]

+Jan Sittinger somebody had to say that

[@imtypingwords]

+Calum Fitzpatrick who's watching this in 2017?

[@raegaldorn7681]

+Calum Fitzpatrick I watcheth this in the year 1600, I wisheth thou a good day.

[@ArmiYT]

+Raegal Dorn lol

[@henriknykvist]

+Calum Fitzpatrick I'm watching this in 2075 but I travelled here with a time machine from 2292.

[@takay_the_loko]

that guy is crazy , and so fucking smart :o

[@joeys5429]

1 if he is smart wheres fire extuigisher 2 he just made a flame thrower

[@joeys5429]

3 he didnt blow himself up

[@MegaReesesPieces1]

Where ever you guys are filming is beautiful i want to go there in the winter

[@michaelfink64]

Great job, “The Creator” David. The sound of the afterburner was as good as seeing the flame.

[@jetli8703]

Brilliant! Nice work (after you melted the first one!). And a funny video on top of it! Thanks to give us all the important details too. Just keep a small extinguisher in your pocket.

[@thebackyardfamilyoutfitter7284]

Awesome job. Even a 15% gain is amazing considering its a ducted fan. You must of had some serious test and tune time to get that intermix right. I had to use a pre-heater and coil evap tube. I put about 5 days into the build and I ended up with just a little more thrust," about a 23% gain in thrust". I could not get your crimp regulator to work and ended up using a very small fuel injector solenoid in the fuselage in front of the duct then piped to the back. Really love the sound it made and was amazed at how loud and it sounded just like a jet from far away lol. I was jumping up and down when I got it to fire first on the bench vise. Thanks man and If u ever want to get more involved I would be happy to send you the blueprints and design schematic. I found I used about 3 pounds of propane before o got it to run right. Keep up the good work!..Great video, great channel = subcribed thanks... Frank

[@THESERVOMASTER]

very great David Wendistal! very good show! I finally stopped building my planes for a second to make a youtube account to thank flitetest(the josh's, david, chad, and the whole flitetest crew) for making such great videos! I am very proud to say that FLITETEST inc. has givin me such a huge opportunity in aeronautics, I've spent the last 3+ years building and practicing all that I've learned from the flitetest crew! I just wanted to thank ya'll for pulling out the inner "plane" that's always been there in me, I just didn't know it! btw, is there somekind of sharing forum on the flitetest website that ican share some of my ideas straight to the crew?

[@wisegamer706]

thats gotta be the coolest thing ive seen in a while

[@StonyRC]

Magnificent aeromodelling engineering gentlemen.

[@CV_CA]

David is an exceptional good engineer.

[@Blakgryf]

That sound is incredible. Would have thought the heat would damage the horizontal stab control horn after a while.

[@nauuwgtx]

Im also planning an afterburnered rc plane like this someday, finally some new ideas.

[@Silverwing2112]

I want this as a kit, afterburner & all. I've got plenty of butane already, no need to worry about the consequences of selling flammable fuel as part of a kit.

[@tgreenid]

I'm really impressed with this build, nice work and sounds like a full scale jet aircraft. Just remember to keep a fire extinguisher handy for system testing!

[@christopherrimmer3274]

Love your work Lad's, all the way from OZ, the land down under. That plane sounds awesome and flies well, we love watching all your flite tests and have a good laugh at your comments and verbal slouches. Lol. Keep up the good work. Chris.

[@JoakimFritz]

I still remember feeling the jet wash from a Vampire taxiing at an airshow in Sweden when I was a kid. I had seen Top Gun at that point and got a bit nervous when I realised that he would turn right in front of me and point his exhaust straight in my face. Good times.

[@dougiequick1]

It's amazing the teensy budget and effort that can actually PRODUCE the same amazing results that on a "full scale" might cost billions...no?

[@onlygearwarrior]

And thank you for making sure science is only for entertainers, not people who want to learn.

[@ClappaGlappa]

I'm pretty sure he explained how to do it. Don't complain, just do it if you want to try it

[@onlygearwarrior]

Thomas Clapp Thanks for your response. Not entirely my point, but you got the most of it. Didn't wanna troll though. Yes it is neat and congrats on it I'm not sure why you're guys stuff ends up on my recommends in the morning.

[@ClappaGlappa]

To be fully honest, I think they just have to say that stuff for legal things. So they can;t be blamed if I blow myself up with a butane can. Ahaha

[@smly-di8sk]

im speechless.. u guys and the things u can do just amaze me

[@-sickfast434]

if you got the cone shape correct i think you might be able to get some more thrust from this like the propane thumper motors people build with a sparkplug coil and fuel

[@balconio1172]

i kept watching expecting a giant fireball to crash from the sky. that never happened so good build. really cool sound when the burner lights

[@MackenzieClarke23]

It didn't to this but it did to the dh 108 :)

[@Minutemman]

That sound is easily the best part!

[@invicta1313]

JESUS, that thing sounds frickin AWESOME.

[@paleomanjim]

Wow! Very impressive. I like the creative thinking and follow through that made this a reality. thanks....