The Greatest Generation...
The Greatest Generation...
Peter Kane
'72 911S Targa
Message Board Co-Moderator - Early 911S Registry #100
I have quite a few hours behind a r985 supercharged radial. 450hp.
The US military's other radial of WWII, the Wright Cyclone engine series.
Jon B.
Vista, CA
Nice stuff..wow.
Those with flying experience may understand the following (P-47) better than rest of us :
Under 5000ft, you're a meat shield
Under 10,000ft, you're at the mercy of any German plane
At 15,000ft, the turbosupercharger kicks in
At 20,000ft, you become competitive
At 27,000ft, all engine types performed their best. You are now pretty OP vs. anything German at this height
At 30,000ft, where bombers flew, you fly faster and out-turn German planes
Your ceiling is 43,000 ft!!!! Nothing the Germans had, even the Fw-190D - was a match for you flying this high
- Climb first. The P-47's most abusive ability was high-alt performance. Etch 15k ft and 20k ft into your mind, because that's when the engine starts showing.
- The plane is heavy and gigantic. Use flaps to help turnfight - but this is a last resort.
- Instead, the -47 is excellent at rolling. Fake your turn direction through roll.
- If you're carrying fuel tanks, use main tank fuel to climb until 50%, as below this is the -47's best flight performance, then toggle your drop tanks for fuel.
- The -47D model is the first 'bubbletop canopy'. D-20 model introduces the R-2800*. D-22 model adds the paddle prop*. You're now OP at 30,000.
- A good defense to enemy boom & zoom is the 'TopGun'. Turn to a side, then apply flaps and roll underneath to get a crack shot on your adversary as they pass.
- You can take damage if necessary. The engine is a piston aspirated monster. Losing pistons is survivable.
I believe there were 3 turbos (back then called Power Recovery Turbines) spaced 120 degrees apart. They did not compress the air back to the intake like a car turbo, but extracted the exhaust energy and they connected directly to crankshaft drive via bevel gears. If I remember correctly from my old power plant instructor, they managed to recover almost half of it's rated HP thru the PRT's.
Mine was a “junior wasp.” Still plenty of torque roll!
Great aircooled!!!
Member #2768 http://www.no-speedlimit.it
- 1973 Biancaneve - 911 2.4 S/F Ivory
- 1977 Fiona - 911 Carrera 3.0 Oak Green Metallic
- 1993 Bellatrix - 964 Turbo 3.6 Black
I keep a registry of 1972 and 1973 2.4 S coupé chassis. Infos always welcome!!!
We should include the Wright R-975 Whirlwind 9-cylinder radial in this thread.
The Continental-built version powered many M3 Lee and M4 Sherman tanks during the war.
Jon B.
Vista, CA
Think you're referring to the Wright R-3350 'Duplex Cyclone' --- 18-cyl, twin row radial, up to 3700 hp . . . used to power the B-29 + completely different engine
http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article...Major&A=113208
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Hm
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt --- aka 'the Jug'
Huge plane --- empty weight = ~10k lbs . . . vs Mustang = ~7.5k lbs
Dunno about its high-altitude performance. It's biggest attractions were . . .
1) phenomenal fire-power --- 8x .50 machine guns = 100 rounds/sec would literally vaporize any target
2) excellent range --- 1st Allied fighter capable of escorting bombers all the way to Berlin; P-47N had a ~2k mi range and was specifically designed for escorting B-29s over the Pacific
Mustang was a better performer, though --- especially in air-to-air . . . so the 47s were put to use as ground attack aircraft --- in addition to their punishing armament, they could carry all kinds of bombs + rockets, and survive damage that liquid-cooled aircraft couldn't. Especially notorious as train-busters. Check-out Zemke's Wolfpack
Not that they weren't fast. There's a special hot-rod version called the P-47M --- hot-rod motors, more boost, water-injection, waxed-polished finishes . . . specially developed to chase down V-1s w/ top-speed =~470 mph . . . + this was NOT a small plane
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