The radio control hobby started to produce jet turbine engines about 15 years ago. These are real jet engines that run on real Jet A fuel, some of them are capable of producing 50+ lb of thrust. At first, the cost was great with smaller engines costing 5K or more but the costs have come way down now whereas a hobbyist that I am I could afford to build a model to support one of these. Today's engines are computer-controlled, they are autostarted using propane, and are very reliable.
They also explode