Entrepreneur Makes 'Back to the Future' Machines

Tom Harper makes time machines.

They take people on fantasy adventures – over the Hoover Dam or through the human blood stream for a heart-pumping adventure.

In reality, they are hand-built, motorized capsules that simulate out-of-this-world adventures, right down to the smell of steam spewing from a pioneering train or the death-defying views of a fighter pilot flying an F-16.

Harper works with a Clearwater boat builder, Aquadyne, to develop the 15-foot-long capsules from a mold. He said that the capsules are about the size of a mini-van.

An Orlando company, Servos and Simulation, that creates simulators for the military adds the computerized effects, which include TV screens and 3-D videos.

“I tie it all together,” said Harper, who admits his out-of-pocket costs per machine are high.

For the public, “riding” the time capsules is more affordable than buying a ticket to an Imax theater. He also said that the experience is more fun.

Currently, Harper and his sub-contractors are making an entertainment capsule that re-creates the sights, sounds, smell and feel of riding a steam engine train. The customer is a railroad museum in York, England.

Harper of St. Petersburg is part mad scientist and part good old-fashioned entrepreneur. The machines that Phoenix Simulation make may sound like they belong in Universal Studios' “Back to the Future.”

“I usually just tell people I’m in the entertainment business,” Harper says about the complexities of describing Phoenix Simulation, his one-man company. 

“But the first thing they think of is ‘adult entertainment.’  It’s absolutely not that.  So I just tell them, ‘Think of the "Back to the Future" ride at Universal Studios. That’s what I do.' ”

Currently, Harper is trying to sell a submarine adventure capsule to a Florida aquarium. Harper said that the simulators can boost revenues for museums and aquariums. Visitors get an interactive experience.

“You definitely have to have an entrepreneurial spirit to do something like this,” Harper said. “It requires a lot of patience and attention to detail. But the payoff is phenomenal.”

For more information

Phoenix Simulation

1177 Venetian Harbor Dr. NE

St. Petersburg, FL 33702

Phone: 864.554.3405

Email: info@phoenix-simulation.com

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