08.28.20
Family turns dad’s hobby into business venture
Cindy Larson, KPC Media
Excerpt
What does a mechanical engineer do in his spare time?
In the case of the late Fred Erickson, over the course of 25 years he built and perfected a new type of engine, one that could have military and commercial uses.
Erickson, a Purdue graduate, was a mechanical engineer for Magnavox (now Raytheon) for 30 years, working on Sonobuoys, which were used by the military.
But he had an idea for a new engine design, one that he spent 25 years perfecting. The Erickson Migrating Combustion Chamber engine is the product of all that work. It is a multi-fuel, cost-effective, and, most importantly, quiet engine that doesn’t even need a muffler. It can operate on many fuels, including biofuels, E85, JP-8, JP-4, diesel and standard gasoline.
So why is the government so interested in a quiet engine?
Drones. With the increasing use of covert drones in military applications, the quieter the engine, the better. The MCC engine also has uses in commercial applications.
