tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post2602957118105383535..comments2023-11-10T04:17:00.492-05:00Comments on View From The Porch: Quick notes on the day:Tamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07285540310465422476noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-40535402041775337072010-06-15T21:54:25.315-04:002010-06-15T21:54:25.315-04:00Oh, I'm well aware of the differences... doesn...Oh, I'm well aware of the differences... doesn't mean that the aero engine couldn't take advantage of a lot of the more modern automotive technologies. <br /><br />Variable valve timing and duration... instead of stretching out the volumetric efficiency curves to the higher reaches, could be used to lessen effective restriction when under high boost, and on the exhaust side could be used to some degree to help lower valve seat temperatures (as could variable lift or variable duration, but those aren't as mainstreamed as straight VVT). <br /><br />Direct injection... well, it's direct injection. Do it right for aircraft and you get a nice stratified charge effect that gets a good hot burn with a richer 'layer' around the cylinder head and piston crown, and could be used possibly with some manner of 'after-injection' taking advantage of what's usually a much longer stroke to get more fuel utilization than could be possible with natural cylinder filling, without spiking cylinder pressures of an entire stoch'c charge combusting at once. All theory, of course. <br /><br />Heck, could even mix DI fuel with DI water... constant controlled cylinder temperature for any mixture or power level. <br /><br />Hey, if you're already using direct injection and blowers... go two-stroke. <br /><br />Can you imagine the horsepower capability of a Detroit-esque port intake 1500ci 2-stroke aircraft engine running 115 octane fuel, direct cylinder water injection, and 50-60 pounds of manifold pressure? Undersquare and ~3000rpm, lots of time to give a computer to measure and calculate, letting it give you a tailored (and MASSIVE) BMEP without torching the valves or melting the piston crowns/crushing ring lands...Dr. StrangeGunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03349076338197668654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-11029293438978334882010-06-15T19:46:25.796-04:002010-06-15T19:46:25.796-04:00Hamilton, Ontario ... home of the Canadian Warplan...Hamilton, Ontario ... home of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is co-located on the local airport. This coming weekend sees a return of an air show (sorta) on the Fathers' Day Weekend. The Lancaster's four Merlins will be in action. (Last weekend, the B-25 was up and about for us radial engines freaks.)<br /><br />The Father's Day Weekend air show was always spectacular ... especially the fly-bys of the WW II aircraft. But ... the supreme pleasure was for those of us who stayed late on Sunday ... when the pilots and planes took off for home. I remember the A-10s doing low level passes at speed. Great fun.<br /><br />But ... seeing the many P-51s, the occasional P-38 along with at least one Corsair!<br /><br />They just don't make sounds like that any more.<br /><br />I need to locate new radial engine start ups ... to replace the Microsoft bingie-bongies on this PC.<br /><br />Regards.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08123244406605096484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-18242362294176452652010-06-15T15:06:01.221-04:002010-06-15T15:06:01.221-04:00I had an article someplace on why auto engines rar...<i>I had an article someplace on why auto engines rarely make good aero engines and vice versa. You'd have loved it.</i><br /><br />Dunno if it's the same article, but I read an engineer's explanation of the differences between aircraft and industrial engines. It boils down to maintenance-- a guy who can afford a plane can afford a mechanic's time, but John Q. Public would get pissed if his 'stang had to go into the shop every fifth trip.Dixiehttp://dixiecarpetbagger.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-4238383052898011842010-06-15T10:11:19.781-04:002010-06-15T10:11:19.781-04:00I flew my dad from New Hampshire down to Cincinnat...I flew my dad from New Hampshire down to Cincinnati back in the fall of 2007 so that I could take him to "A Gathering of Mustangs and Legends" up in Columbus. More than 150 P51 Mustangs in one place and up and flying...an experience neither of us will ever forget...simply amazing.DarrenSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-72877323100306512822010-06-15T08:00:15.263-04:002010-06-15T08:00:15.263-04:00I had an article someplace on why auto engines rar...I had an article someplace on why auto engines rarely make good aero engines and vice versa. You'd have loved it.<br /><br />(Subies make the transition well, it seems.)Tamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07285540310465422476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-65089245402274130672010-06-15T07:33:16.483-04:002010-06-15T07:33:16.483-04:00Brain wandered a little, and I started thinking wh...Brain wandered a little, and I started thinking what it'd be like if the 1650ci Merlin had been 'kept up with' and updated along with the best modern engine technologies...<br /><br />a ~220ci naturally aspirated V6 nowadays, with direct injection and VVT, is over 300hp on MUCH lower octane than available and shoving exhaust through a precious metal sponge... Hennessy has a ~380ci pushrod V8 pumping out 1200hp...<br /><br />I'm imagining a DI, VVT, multi-turbocharged 1650ci Mustang here making, (with linear scaling)... over 5000-6000 horsepower without pushing hard. <br /><br />And now I'm picturing a 'stunt' of rigging a so-equipped 'stang vertically, revving up and adjusting the prop pitch for a good hard swat at the air... revving up hard and taking off VERTICALLY, and continuing to climb as far as it wants. Yeah, I know it's still not likely even then but it'd be a hell of a sight (and sound... even those high HP V6s have an absolutely rorty engine note, imagine twelve or sixteen cylinders tuned like that roaring at full song!)Dr. StrangeGunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03349076338197668654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-9643000587336489432010-06-14T22:43:56.560-04:002010-06-14T22:43:56.560-04:00Mustang just the coolest plane ever Never miss a l...Mustang just the coolest plane ever Never miss a local airshow where one will show up. Just love to stand next to them and dream.<br />On a different note about 1999 or 2000 went to an air shoe at Mountain Home AFB. At the start of the Thunderbird show, they all split up and the single was to do a barrrel role right in front of the crowd.he forgot to set his altimiter to the local altitude. It was obvious to me he would not make the bottom of his circle. I had my grandson by the hand and began to quickly walk backwards ,tripping over people behind us. he was at least a half mile away from the crowd but when that jet hit the ground we still felt the heat from the fireball. An F-16 hitting the ground at about 450 knots is a hell of a sight! The pilot ejected at perhaps500 ft. and the seat shot him almost horizontal to the ground. the canopy did not fully open till he was at most 100 ft off the ground. He walked away, but what a sight!IdahoHunternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-20915186859327280472010-06-14T22:37:03.926-04:002010-06-14T22:37:03.926-04:00Wife and I got to see one of the two remaining fly...Wife and I got to see one of the two remaining flyable Avro Lancasters take off and land up at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum back in '97. Four synchronized Merlins...<br />They sell hour-long flights in it; cost is around $2K.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-24790867950190411642010-06-14T21:20:07.035-04:002010-06-14T21:20:07.035-04:00I've been going to airshows for a long time no...I've been going to airshows for a long time now and somewhere along the way my interest went from the modern jets to the WWII Warbirds. There is nothing like seeing a Thunderbolt or a PBY up close. Most modern aircraft lack the character or presence that a Warbird has. Here's a link to a list of airshows in the US: <br />http://www.airshows.com/2010UsAirShow.htmMichael in CTnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-15047963850804645882010-06-14T19:41:35.101-04:002010-06-14T19:41:35.101-04:00oh baby, I'm very familiar with the Blue Angel...oh baby, I'm very familiar with the Blue Angels, my dear old Dad being a career Navy Pilot, '66 to '87 as a pilot, (mostly A-6) then er, "State Dept." after that. But I never got to see multiple P-51's; though I did see a flyover by the "Confederate Airforce" @ NAS Oceania in Virginia featuring (I think) a B-17, B-24, P-51, TFB Avenger, & F-6 Hellcat.<br />Great stuff! Love the B-17 at low altitude!James family outpost, Iowa.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00062611090739281431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-13115693855474811362010-06-14T17:14:23.481-04:002010-06-14T17:14:23.481-04:00Wow, just watched the videos! Wonder what it cost ...Wow, just watched the videos! Wonder what it cost for insurance, if they can even GET hull coverage. I think most warbirds are lost in airshow stunts, typically loops at low level. Followed by rolls at near ground level. Hell, any maneuvers near ground level are hazardous. Am reminded of the two P-51's lost doing a formation landing.Willnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-3616762587828362002010-06-14T17:07:21.500-04:002010-06-14T17:07:21.500-04:00perlhaqr: My Dad was stationed at Barksdale, '...perlhaqr: My Dad was stationed at Barksdale, '71-4. When we lived on base there, there was an A1c (busted from SSgt) who spent all his time and what was left of his money in the base hobby shop, stuffing an Allison V-12 into the back of a '56 Chevy Nomad. Firewall right behind his head.<br /><br />I never heard it fire and don't know what became of it.Billy Beckhttp://www.two--four.net/weblog.phpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-89939660818289194452010-06-14T16:36:15.556-04:002010-06-14T16:36:15.556-04:00According to Yeager, the P-51 had a lethal trait, ...According to Yeager, the P-51 had a lethal trait, that seemed to lower its' appeal for him. He stated that it was very difficult to recover from a stall/spin, which he attributed to the wing planform. It was an attempt at a laminar flow wing. Good for high speed. Reading between the lines, I got the impression he thought it may have killed a bunch of combat pilots. IIRC, you could stall it at high speed, which would initiate a snap roll into a flat spin. Not many pilots would have the ability, or necessary altitude, to recover, and bailing out would have been difficult.Willnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-33914001303177162872010-06-14T15:35:11.480-04:002010-06-14T15:35:11.480-04:00its days like today that make me freekin love you ...its days like today that make me freekin love you and your room mate TamMorsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-44247700178393983342010-06-14T15:27:06.488-04:002010-06-14T15:27:06.488-04:00In Australia some years ago, a guy was lopping off...In Australia some years ago, a guy was lopping off two cylinders at a time of a Merlin engine to make a v-twin engine for a custom bike he produced. Would come to about a 2.3L twin! No idea how many he built.<br /><br />There were some early Chevy Nova's hotrodded with the Merlin engine, about a dozen, IIRC. Think most of them killed the drivers at some point. They were street rods!<br /><br />Never saw it, but a classmate in high school bought a P-51 with his dad. About '69-70. IIRC, price was about $15K, which was the price of a house then. (I lived in the cheap part of a high-rent town, the parking lot at school had a fair number of 'Vettes and other factory hot-rods driven by students)<br /><br />I worked with a guy who soloed his father's P-51 at age 16. Saw it parked in the pits at the Reno Air Races in '84?, but his dad didn't make it, due to an accident investigation in the Air Force of a B1. (Guy's eyes were too bad to fly commercially, but he was working on a jet rating at the time.)<br /><br />Those Merlins were pretty hot for their time, making about 1 HP/cubic inch. They get pretty fragile when hot rodded for racing. When I watched them race in the '80s, maybe half would finish the race. Problem was they were competing against 4-row radial engines hung on fighters that originally had two-row engines. That's 2800 cu in replaced by a 3650 cu in engine. There's only so much you can do with aerodynamics to offset a 2-1 hp advantage. Hell, the turbos geared to the crank returned about 800hp to those 4 row engines!<br /><br />I think more than half the enjoyment of watching those races was listening to those engines. Strange how the Alison engines of the P-38 sounded different from the Merlin's. And when they throw a rod, it puts a hole in the crankcase you could stick your head through.<br /><br />I'm rambling, maybe I should eat before posting!Willnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-77888476825269562722010-06-14T14:50:54.445-04:002010-06-14T14:50:54.445-04:00Unfortunately we missed the Spad. :(
Heh. Last ...<i>Unfortunately we missed the Spad. :( </i><br /><br />Heh. Last one I saw was supposed to do an aerial display, but they blew one of the cylinders and had to leave it as a static display. I had forgotten how BIG they were, though.Dixiehttp://dixiecarpetbagger.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-38102527599931613422010-06-14T14:31:34.211-04:002010-06-14T14:31:34.211-04:00Unfortunately we missed the Spad. :(Unfortunately we missed the Spad. :(Tamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07285540310465422476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-28182586568398172882010-06-14T14:19:01.614-04:002010-06-14T14:19:01.614-04:00Last airshow I was at, they had a Sea Fury. A fly...Last airshow I was at, they had a Sea Fury. A flyover of a Sea Fury, a P-51 and a Corsair is a sound to behold.<br /><br />And I have to ask Tam... what type of show did the Skyraider put on?Dixiehttp://dixiecarpetbagger.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-184178913527354292010-06-14T12:40:44.129-04:002010-06-14T12:40:44.129-04:00I'd love to have one of those engines for a ho...I'd love to have one of those engines for a hot rod.<br /><br />And the budget to fuel it, of course. ;)<br /><br />WV: "gearated" Damn right I'm gearated!perlhaqrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01920117742664645165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-32239607062536022032010-06-14T12:32:25.401-04:002010-06-14T12:32:25.401-04:00I got to see a brace of Spitfires at oshkosh some ...I got to see a brace of Spitfires at oshkosh some years back. It was tastiness, pure tastiness.oghttp://www.neanderpundit.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-88905070063965102632010-06-14T09:25:28.192-04:002010-06-14T09:25:28.192-04:00Merlins and just-fired paper shotgun shells: one t...Merlins and just-fired paper shotgun shells: one to delight your ears, one for your nose as you whiff on a blue October morning.<br /><br />Today's jet engines and plastic shells just don't measure up.John Peddie (Toronto)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-44537666324345151672010-06-14T07:26:27.155-04:002010-06-14T07:26:27.155-04:00When the 1st MarDiv phased out of Korea, their Air...When the 1st MarDiv phased out of Korea, their Air Wing decided to wave Bye-bye here and there around the USAF bases. F4U Corsairs. You get a gaggle of those critters playing "How low can you go?" and life gets exciting. A controller in the tower looked DOWN at an oncoming Corsair. And I swear the eagle on our flagpole at the 50th AA Bn Hq folded in his wings and ducked.<br /><br />A squadron of ROK P-51s came up to K-13 from Pusan to wait out a typhoon. In leaving, they formed up and did a formation pass over the airbase. Beautiful to watch...<br /><br />ArtDesertrathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09860257698839313423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-45431577506155673372010-06-14T07:12:13.969-04:002010-06-14T07:12:13.969-04:00I live just over the fence from Bradley Internatio...I live just over the fence from Bradley International, and whenever the wind shifts to the north I have the commercial birds coming oner with their gear down at about 200 feet. My Springer Spaniel used to point them.<br /><br /> There are several gunclubs near the Rt. 75 strip, as for some reason folks don't notice the noise as much when there's a 747 overhead.<br /><br /> Next to the airport we have the New England Air Museum, and I got invited to a New Years Eve bash up there a few years ago. <br /><br /> Our table was set up under the wing of the B-29, with the howitzer in the nose of the B-25 staring at me from across the isle.<br /><br /> It bummed me out, as I wanted to be on the other side, near the F4U, F6F, TBF, and other Navy birds. But, it was free, so...<br /><br /> The music was period '40's, and really good. We had a group of Andrews Sisters impersonators who were unbelievable, and the booze flowed like, well, booze. Great night.<br /><br /> We have an open cockpit weekend coming up, which always reminds me of NAS Green Cove Springs when I was a kid. I'd go to work with my father on Saturdays, while he got all the old prop birds ready to ship to the French.<br /><br /> The reserve units were all transitioning to jets, and the old F4U's, SBD's, and Hellcats were on their way to Algeria and VietNam.<br /><br /> I got to wiggle all the controls, but had a hard time reaching the pedals. Did you know the gunner on SBD's could fly the plane? There was a detachable stick clipped to the bulkhead, and the pilot could catch a few winks on a long flight.<br /><br /> But for watching them actually fly, all I get is commercial stuff, ANG A-10's overhead all weekend, and the Hueys from Camp Hartell two tobacco fields over.<br /><br /> I'm really looking forward to Virginia in September. Thanks again.Ed Fosternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-36862700998764524582010-06-14T03:03:23.948-04:002010-06-14T03:03:23.948-04:00Sadly, they're not schedualed to hit my curren...Sadly, they're not schedualed to hit my current location, and I missed the original performance by a long number of years. I do hear that the temporary residents at the time were not so thrilled by the USAAF and USN free airshows (with live fireing gun and bomb bonus). Maybe that's one of the reasons they left...Joe in PNGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-72386268423229368092010-06-14T02:52:26.366-04:002010-06-14T02:52:26.366-04:00Tam,
The same has happened for I, but that youtub...Tam,<br /><br />The same has happened for I, but that youtube video would have been better off without it laid over like that. Had it been in the background (and about balanced with the aircraft sounds) then it'd be a better fit I think.<br /><br />Jim<br /><br />w/v: wings. I have a screenshot to prove it, seeing as I wouldn't possibly expect anyone to believe it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com