Davidson is the proud owner of an ambulance built from scratch, complete with the kerosene-powere... Satisfying the need for sp

Submitted by admin on Sun, 2006-09-10 11:00. ::

Davidson is the proud owner of an ambulance built from scratch, complete with the kerosene-powered engine of an F-4 Phantom fighter jet in the back.

"I had seen jet semis and wanted to do something different," said Davidson. "Kids love it and EMT and rescue people get really into it as well. As far as I know, it’s the only one in the world."

Davidson began building the vehicle, with the help of friends like Steve Hickey of Sutton, in 2000. Four years later, after some trial and error, it was ready to go.

"There’s always a weak link," said Davidson. "When we were building it, we would run it, see what broke at 100, fix it, and run it at 150."

"It was who he was when I met him. I love it. I wish I could go racing more," said Erica, who works full-time as a project manager for an education software developer. "When I go, it’s great."

And for the engine, he simply turned to two of the world’s largest, well-known entities capable of providing him with a fighter plane’s engine -- the Internet and the U.S. government.

"I went online and found out Hill Air Force Base in Utah had decommissioned its F-4 fleet, and they had 600 engines they wanted to move," he said.

"The Greek Air Force bought the majority of them, but for about 25 engines the government lost the paperwork and couldn’t export them or reuse them in other aircraft," he said.

Last fall, Davidson added a jet-engine-powered fire truck to his Davidson Racing Team. Davidson said the Hawaiian Jet Eagle Jet Fire Truck earned a Guinness Book of World Records entry by reaching a top speed of 407 mph in 1998 under its previous owner.

Although many of his crew share in the tuning and upkeep of the vehicles, Bob Reed, one of the workers, said one part of the routine is off limits to everyone except Davidson.

Reed is referring to the two 16-foot parachutes that help bring the roaring ambulance to a halt. Davidson said the force of the engine is enormous -- flames shoot 50 feet backward when the engine fires up, with a force equal to 1,800 pounds.

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