Racing Aircraft Ideas and Inspiration

[The Big Gimper]

In 1/72 from High Planes you could get if still available from Victory Models or Ebay:

Precious Metal



Vendetta


Red Baron



Roto-Finish


Rare Bear


Critical Mass


BLIND MAN'S BLUFF


SMIRNOFF

[kitnut617]

I've got quite a few of those kits in the stash Carl    :) :) :)

But this is my idea of an ""ultimate"" piston-engined racing aircraft. I made it up after I had been to the Reno Air races way back when --
'Course it got the camo treatment --- 

[kitnut617]

Or even this one, the idea was to use a RR Crecy based engine.

The V-12 Crecy was a 2-Stroke, sleeve valve engine of about 5000 hp, in the book I have called 'The Rolls Royce Crecy', a fellow who's name was Trevallion (I think that's how you spell it) and a combustion engine expert, had down-sized the engine until it was a X-16 of about 9 litres putting out about 2500 hp. That was then re-worked into an X-24 of about 25 or 30 litres which was theoretically able to put out 8000 hp.  The book and the one called Rolls Royce and the Mustang, both say that 1 pound of thrust is about 1 hp so I needed an airframe designed for 8000 lbt  ------- sooooo --- I came up with this --- another ""ultimate"" piston-engined powered aircraft

[The Big Gimper]

Nice builds Robert. Like the P-86 where P stands in for piston.

[GTX_Admin]

Mmmm....

[GTX_Admin]

One can get many of the High Planes kits in 1/48 too - see here.

[GTX_Admin]

I love these guys:

[Kerick]

Those aircraft look like sculptures.
Works of aerodynamic art.

[kitnut617]

F1 racers are just beautiful   

I was fascinated by them when I went to the Reno Races some time ago, these look even better than back then ---

[kitnut617]

Mind you, this one is something I've been waiting to see:

http://www.shockwave600.com/the-concept.html

[kitnut617]

Does anyone know if there are any surviving Napier Sabre engines ?  I've read that some Sabre VII engines were bench tested to 5500 hp (they were originally 3000 hp rated)

Although it was a big engine, it wasn't as big as a Corn Cob

[The Big Gimper]

There is a cut-away Sabre at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum. And maybe one in the stash but their website sucks.

[GTX_Admin]

Shiney!!!

[FAAMAN]

Mmmmmm Tigercat 

[GTX_Admin]

I wonder if there has been given any thought to adopting evaporative cooling systems for any of the modern day racers?

[perttime]

Evaporative cooling has been used. At least Stiletto and Galloping Ghost had it (P-51s without the doghouse) and I think some radial powered racers. I recall some of the more normal Mustangs spray something onto the normal radiator.

[KiwiZac]

I thought GG had something like that. Now there was a pretty airframe with potential. Such a terrible loss - Jimmy and the plane, both. Still breaks my heart.

There are Napier Sabres out there but they seem divided between museums and Typhoon/Tempest restoration-to-fly projects. Not sure there'd be one available for a racer but that is an idea definitely worth pursuing in plastic/whatever.

[Daryl J.]

Race 42...isn't that Kevin Eldridge's plane named Relentless that suffered the propeller separation a few years back?

[GTX_Admin]

Evaporative cooling has been used. At least Stiletto and Galloping Ghost had it (P-51s without the doghouse) and I think some radial powered racers. I recall some of the more normal Mustangs spray something onto the normal radiator.

Yes some Reno racers such as Galloping Ghost (pictured below) had a kind of evaporative system.  Specifically, it uses a system whereby the oil cooler functions as a boiler, with ADI fluid (Anti-Detonation-Injection fluid, a 50:50 mixture of methyl alcohol and water) serving as the boiling medium. Since all of the equipment is internal to the airframe and no air is required, the result is a very clean airframe and low drag installation. The one downside is that range is severely restricted, that is, the aircraft must have sufficient quantities of ADI fluid to sustain it for the duration of the flight.



I was thinking of a system similar to some of the 1930's racers which had surface panels (often in the wings) to aid the evaporative/steam cooling systems.

[GTX_Admin]

Speaking of modifications related to cooling, another option was that used by Anson Johnson’s highly modified Mustang looked at the 1949 Cleveland Air Races.  This moved the radiators to the wings





Details of the inlets/exhausts during restoration:

[perttime]

Race 42...isn't that Kevin Eldridge's plane named Relentless that suffered the propeller separation a few years back?

It is on youtube, so it really happened:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhyEnqudx8M

[kitnut617]

Evaporative cooling has been used. At least Stiletto and Galloping Ghost had it (P-51s without the doghouse) and I think some radial powered racers. I recall some of the more normal Mustangs spray something onto the normal radiator.

Yes some Reno racers such as Galloping Ghost (pictured below) had a kind of evaporative system.  Specifically, it uses a system whereby the oil cooler functions as a boiler, with ADI fluid (Anti-Detonation-Injection fluid, a 50:50 mixture of methyl alcohol and water) serving as the boiling medium. Since all of the equipment is internal to the airframe and no air is required, the result is a very clean airframe and low drag installation. The one downside is that range is severely restricted, that is, the aircraft must have sufficient quantities of ADI fluid to sustain it for the duration of the flight.

Reading the technical stuff about the Shockwave Fury, it seems to have something similar

[jcf]

I was thinking of a system similar to some of the 1930's racers which had surface panels (often in the wings) to aid the evaporative/steam cooling systems.

Those aircraft didn't use evaporative or steam cooling, the surface radiators were simply that, radiators for the water-cooled
engine. Which is why as the engines got bigger/more powerful additional radiator surfaces were added to the floats.

[KiwiZac]

Race 42...isn't that Kevin Eldridge's plane named Relentless that suffered the propeller separation a few years back?

It is on youtube, so it really happened:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhyEnqudx8M

I have a chill after watching that!!! Hell! I'm so focused on the Unlimiteds that I don't remember that happening.

[elmayerle]

How about a racing P-38 retrofitted with the late-model Allisons and four-bladed props of the F-82?  Perhaps also extend the center nacelle like the "Swordfish" testbed for reduced airframe drag.