There’s nothing as exhilarating as traveling at top speed with the wind in your face.
It’s a feeling that many thrill-seekers love, and Bob Maddox of Phoenix, Oregon is no different. Bob is a former woodworker and fine artist who is spending his “golden years” building rockets you can ride on. Naturally, he tests all of his jet-propelled inventions himself, and he has the time of his life!
Bob is in his 60s, but working on his inventions immediately transforms him to the 10-year-old boy he once was. Back then, he was fascinated by NASA rocket launches and delighted by “Wile E. Coyote chasing the Roadrunner on his rocket/jet-powered machines on TV.”
His first rocket was made of balsa wood airplanes and fueled by Jetex rocket motors. About 30 years ago, Bob took the first of over 2,000 skydives and had an epiphany while in freefall. He realized if he had a jetpack, he could keep up with champion skydivers. He thought it would be fun to work on building his own craft propelled by a pulsejet engine.
About four years ago, Bob started a YouTube channel to document his inventions. On a show he calls “The Rocketman Show,” Bob gleefully rides pulse-jet vehicles he designs himself, from go-karts to skateboards. He now creates some of the world’s largest (and coolest!) pulse-jet-powered machines.
It took 18 years of research and development for Bob to unveil his latest invention, a pulsejet-powered go-kart with injected propane and diesel he calls the “Beast.” This invention reaches a speed of at least 90 miles per hour, and Bob gives it full throttle as he tests it out in the salt flats of Oregon.
The rocket’s jet packs are red-hot, reaching temperatures of between 1900 and 2300 degrees Fahrenheit, but Bob seems impervious to any danger. In fact, he could not look happier if he tried!
This is one senior citizen who is living his life to the fullest. It just makes us smile to know that Bob is out there somewhere, racing his pulsejet-powered go-kart across the salt flats. God’s speed, Rocketman!
Watch Bob driving the “Beast” in the video below, and don’t forget to share.
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