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Big Wind: Fire-Fighting Machine Made from Tank and Jet Parts (2015)

50 points by vinnyglennon 9y ago

inamberclad 9y ago
The M1 Abrams actually uses a gas turbine for propulsion too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeywell_AGT1500 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeywell_AGT1500
- na85 9y ago
  Well, not really. The power plant is a gas turbine but the tank is propelled by treads which are driven by the turbine through a transmission. To say it's propelled by a gas turbine is a little misleading and implied it's a jet tank of some sort.
  - RobertRoberts 9y ago
    It's NOT* propelled by a diesel piston engine, it's propelled by a turbine engine. Seems like a fair assessment, nothing misleading. *Edit: added required negative
    - chrisseaton 9y ago
      > It's propelled by a diesel piston engine I don't think it is - the power pack is a turbine which is connected to the drive. If you look at cross sections you can see it doesn't contain pistons. https://grabcad.com/library/honeywell-agt1500-engine--1 https://grabcad.com/library/honeywell-agt1500-engine--1
      - RobertRoberts 9y ago
        lol, I know, I was thinking faster than I typed and missed a "not" in there... fixed it. :P
  - pluto9 9y ago
    > To say it's propelled by a gas turbine is a little misleading and implied it's a jet tank of some sort. No it's not, unless you think it's also misleading to say a car is propelled by a piston engine. Is a car propelled by its tires?
    - na85 9y ago
      >Is a car propelled by its tires? Yes.
- njharman 9y ago
  Jet engine and gas turbine are not same or that similar.
jtbayly 9y ago
Since the video on the page isn't loading correctly, you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EYRPJgZdp4&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EYRPJgZdp4&feature=youtu.be
niftich 9y ago
In 2001, Car and Driver magazine wrote an article [1] on this that supplies additional narration, context, and detail. [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20140913050248/http://www.caranddriver.com/features/stilling-the-fires-of-war https://web.archive.org/web/20140913050248/http://www.carand...
- bjelkeman-again 9y ago
  That was very interesting reading. I am surprised I never heard about it before.
dejv 9y ago
I actually seen photos of those in action: during 70s, my parents had natural gas well in their backyard and one day it did catch the fire. Fire fighters waited for week or two and hoped the gas will deplete itself, after that they bring those machines which blow out the fire. So those machines are probably few decades older than stated in article.
Animats 9y ago
This is a bigger version of the Soviet TMS-65, which is a jet engine on a turret on a truck. It's for decontaminating tanks after a chemical attack, and can also be used to generate smoke screens. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBI43LKuW00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBI43LKuW00

50 points by vinnyglennon 9y ago

The M1 Abrams actually uses a gas turbine for propulsion too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeywell_AGT1500 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeywell_AGT1500

na85 9y ago
Well, not really. The power plant is a gas turbine but the tank is propelled by treads which are driven by the turbine through a transmission. To say it's propelled by a gas turbine is a little misleading and implied it's a jet tank of some sort.
- RobertRoberts 9y ago
  It's NOT* propelled by a diesel piston engine, it's propelled by a turbine engine. Seems like a fair assessment, nothing misleading. *Edit: added required negative
  - chrisseaton 9y ago
    > It's propelled by a diesel piston engine I don't think it is - the power pack is a turbine which is connected to the drive. If you look at cross sections you can see it doesn't contain pistons. https://grabcad.com/library/honeywell-agt1500-engine--1 https://grabcad.com/library/honeywell-agt1500-engine--1
    - RobertRoberts 9y ago
      lol, I know, I was thinking faster than I typed and missed a "not" in there... fixed it. :P
- pluto9 9y ago
  > To say it's propelled by a gas turbine is a little misleading and implied it's a jet tank of some sort. No it's not, unless you think it's also misleading to say a car is propelled by a piston engine. Is a car propelled by its tires?
  - na85 9y ago
    >Is a car propelled by its tires? Yes.
njharman 9y ago
Jet engine and gas turbine are not same or that similar.

jtbayly 9y ago

Since the video on the page isn't loading correctly, you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EYRPJgZdp4&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EYRPJgZdp4&feature=youtu.be

niftich 9y ago

In 2001, Car and Driver magazine wrote an article [1] on this that supplies additional narration, context, and detail. [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20140913050248/http://www.caranddriver.com/features/stilling-the-fires-of-war https://web.archive.org/web/20140913050248/http://www.carand...

bjelkeman-again 9y ago
That was very interesting reading. I am surprised I never heard about it before.

dejv 9y ago

I actually seen photos of those in action: during 70s, my parents had natural gas well in their backyard and one day it did catch the fire. Fire fighters waited for week or two and hoped the gas will deplete itself, after that they bring those machines which blow out the fire. So those machines are probably few decades older than stated in article.

Animats 9y ago

This is a bigger version of the Soviet TMS-65, which is a jet engine on a turret on a truck. It's for decontaminating tanks after a chemical attack, and can also be used to generate smoke screens. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBI43LKuW00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBI43LKuW00