My goal with this design was to
show an infallible means of injecting atmosphere into a pressurized tank
without dissipating the energy already in the tank. The drawing
shows a compressor in a full tank boosting tank air which drives a jet
pump to induce atmosphere into the tank through a double bank of check
valves. A Roots blower supercharges the atmospheric intake line.
Both compressors are driven by an air engine using air from the tank.
During the 1890s, General Herman
Haupt spearheaded a drive to make air cars a reality. He supported
the work of inventor Robert Hardie, whose air powered locomotives ran on
the streets of New York City for several years. This Scientific
American front cover shows the 1500 horsepower compressing station
(steam-powered) that was built to provide compressed air for the Hardie
locomotives and for the Hoadley-Knight locomotives. The locomotives'
tanks could be filled in a few minutes at the air station.
From U.S. Patent #2,030,759
(1937). Bob Neal was a shoemaker from Arkadelphia, Arkansas who had
to fly his engine to the patent office to prove that his invention was not
a perpetual machine; he was granted a patent based on the obvious fact
that his engine worked. The Pneumatic Options Research Library
catalog is full of information related to our search for how it was
possible for a series of check valves to allow low pressure air to be
pumped into a high pressure air tank against a very small resistance.
See especially the Acoustic Power section.
Bill Truitt is shown here holding
up a picture of the air car he built in 1920. He perfected his
design in the 1970s and gave the rights to NASA and the Army. Bill
was from McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. His design disclosure was
fairly complete with the exception of one or two aspects which he said
were top secret.
I built this
go-kart in the late 1980s. It consisted of a scuba tank, an old wood
boring drill, and a valve. From a dead stop headed up a steep hill,
it accelerated so fast that it was hard to steer. On a straight,
flat sidewalk its range on a scuba tank of 125 psi air was about 25 feet.
This is the only air car I have built in 24 years of doing research, a
situation which I am eager to correct.
A
photo of the guest register of the North Star Gold Mine, January 1, 1899.
Edward A. Rix was the founder of Rix Compressor Co., which still exists in
Oakland, California. He designed air powered locomotives for the
gold mines in Grass Valley, CA, and held dozens of patents on pneumatic
machinery.
Our catalog contains many
hundreds of pages of information on the behavior of waves in compressed
air in compressed air and other fluids, based on our search for the
explanation behind Bob Neal's mysterious equalizer, which we call the
Magic Valve. This diagram was made for us by a mechanical engineer
who got us started on the search for the sound wave solution when he
suggested we look into the pulse jet engine. The diagram illustrates
the building-up of pressure because of the reflection of compression and
rarefaction waves in a closed-end cylinder of the properly tuned length.
The founder's concept design for
a linear air engine/compressor unit with interheaters to absorb ambient
heat and compression heat. This type of air engine was patented by
Charles B. Hodges in 1907 and his invention was sold to coal mines in the
U.S. European designs took his two-stage engine a step further by
adding a third stage, and were able to increase the driving range of a
tank of air by 60%, using ambient heat to expand the engine's air supply
by reheating expanded air between piston stages in order to increase its
energy content.
During the 1890s, General Herman
Haupt championed the air car cause by finding investors for Robert
Hardie's locomotive design for street transit. One of the concepts
proven by their effort was that of regenerative braking, that is, using
compressors to slow the vehicle down while heating and compressing the
tank contents to increase the range.
This 30-foot diameter Pelton water wheel was used in Grass
Valley, California to run a 1000 horsepower compressor that provided tool
air and ventilation to two of the largest gold mines in the world.
The spokes of the Pelton wheel are seen in the background. It was
one of the largest water wheels in the world; Mr. Pelton lived a few miles
away in Camptonville. We'd like to see you generate gasoline or
diesel fuel with a jet of water piped in from Wolf Creek. The shape
of the water cups was inspired when Mr. Pelton squirted one of his cows in
the face with a hose. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to
understand the simple ideas in the Pneumatic Options Research Library
catalog.
Terry Miller was the second air
car advocate in recorded history. This photo shows him being driven
in circles by the founder of Pneumatic Options, who compiled
Pneumatic Options Research Library and AirCarAccess.com, the
world's largest collection of information on compressed air automobiles.
Terry showed his air car from coast to coast, including Times Square, and
we learned of him from an article in People Magazine. This photo was
taken by Terry's wife at the Wichita Energy Expo in 1985. While the
electric car at the booth next to us sat idle, we gave free rides on Air
Car One nonstop for three days. People love air cars!
