What Is a Pulse Jet Engine?
A pulse jet engine is an extraordinarily simple device, little more than a hollow tube that produces thrust by burning fuel in a series of rapid pulses. This very basic design makes the pulse jet engine both easy and cheap enough for an amateur to build, requiring only basic skills and equipment. Pulse jet engines have become especially popular among model airplane enthusiasts. There are two distinct pulse jet engine designs. Some engines rely on a set of one-way intake valves to regulate the airflow, but the valveless pulse jet engine has no moving parts at all and instead relies on the engine’s shape to regulate airflow. Both designs, though, take advantage of the same principles and operate in the same way. Fuel ignited in the combustion chamber expands explosively and is forced through the narrow exhaust. The force of that exhaust produces the thrust that moves the engine forward.
