Polaris's T-62 Turbine engine powered Storm
| These pictures were taken by Paul Diersen in 1999, at North Dakota State University in Fargo. The sled was there undergoing dyno tests for Polaris. Paul was fortunate enough to be invited to see the sled and they allowed him to take these pictures. They are a bit grainy and out of focus because they were taken in low light with a point and shoot camera, but I have done my best with the scanner. | |
| The two black center guages on the dash are straight out of the CH-53E helicopter's cockpit. One reads in percent of gas generator RPM, The other in degrees celcius for Engine exhaust temperature. | |
| This view shows how the T-62 is mounted in the sled, it actually sits sideways in the chassis. Note all of the metallic insulation to protect the chassis components from heat and reduce noise. | |
| The exhaust stack is probably the most noticeable difference from a stock 800 Storm. I understand that the paint inside one pickup truck was badly burned when this machine was started up while loaded! | |
| If you were following this sled, it would look pretty normal, but you might wonder about that high pitched whine. | |
| The clutch and gearbox are custom made. Since the engine is designed to run at a constant speed, the clutch must be modulated by the rider and the governor is, in turn, adjusted automatically according to the RPM of the power turbine. | |
| I understand the clutch system was the most difficult part to engineer. I'm not sure why Polaris built this thing, but what a ride it must be! | |
| I find this sled very interesting because its powerplant is a Solar (international Harvestor) T-62 turboshaft engine that just happens to be the same powerplant that serves as the auxilliary powerplant on the Sikorksy CH-53E helicopters that I worked on in the Marines! On the helicopter, it was used to operate hydraulic and electrical systems on the ground. For those of you not familiar with turbine engines, here are some illustrations from my old maintenance training manual... | |
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