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Elderly Daredevil Builds Twin-Engine Jet Kart, Proceeds To Race It in the Desert

The Rocketman is one of today's best-known daredevils. Even though he is in his 60s right now, old age isn't going to stop him from pursuing what he loves most. And that's building insane contraptions that have pulsejet engines attached and then driving them all full speed through the barren wastelands. His work would probably be quite appreciated in a Mad Max kind of scenario.
Elderly Daredevil Builds Twin-Engine Jet Kart, Proceeds to Race It in the Desert 7 photos
Photo: Robert Maddox
Elderly Daredevil Builds Twin-Engine Jet Kart, Proceeds to Race It in the DesertElderly Daredevil Builds Twin-Engine Jet Kart, Proceeds to Race It in the DesertElderly Daredevil Builds Twin-Engine Jet Kart, Proceeds to Race It in the DesertElderly Daredevil Builds Twin-Engine Jet Kart, Proceeds to Race It in the DesertElderly Daredevil Builds Twin-Engine Jet Kart, Proceeds to Race It in the DesertElderly Daredevil Builds Twin-Engine Jet Kart, Proceeds to Race It in the Desert
Mr. Maddox has been pulling off crazy stunts like this one for years now. He uploaded his first-ever Youtube video 14 years ago. This was a recording of a 1998 test run he had done using a jet engine that was capable of providing 110 lbs of thrust.

His exploits have earned him the name of Rocketman, and it doesn't take a genius to understand why that's so. Over the years, he has attached jet engines to pretty much anything you can think of, ranging from cars to bikes and even skateboards.

But it seems that as of late, he has developed a special affinity for go-karts. He has been quite active during the past 11 months, uploading over 25 videos of various inventions of his. He doesn't always wear a helmet, but at least his tests are conducted in a traffic-free environment.

Although speeds aren't necessarily off the scale, it still feels rather scary watching him sit so close to the flame-spitting jet engines. In his most recent endeavor, he is driving his twin-engine jet kart dubbed "Black Pearl."

Even though he has fitted some heat shielding to this contraption, it does look like things got a bit hot during the run. What's cool about the whole thing is that he seems to be running a one-man show here. It's just him, the go-kart, and the truck he used to drive to the middle of the desert.

The POV camera is an excellent choice for recording his runs, as it gives you a more intimate sense of speed and excitement. But we can't wait to see what other insane ideas he's going to come up with for his future videos.

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About the author: Dragos Chitulescu
Dragos Chitulescu profile photo

The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S.
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