Renaissance Man episode

Related; if you want to know all about Merlins & unlimited hydros, Dixon Smith is giving a great presentation at the Hydroplane Museum on May 19. Will trace their use from the early '50's thru to the end of the piston era, and on into vintage. There will be motors on display; don't know about fire-ups.....


http://thunderboats.ning.com/

 

I've met Dixon and this should be a great presentation; too bad I'm unlikely to be able to make it out to Seattle then. The hydros lost something when they switched to turbine engines; I still have fond memories of full fields of Unlimiteds on Lake Washington all powered by V-12 aircraft engines! Now THAT was thunder!

 

The Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian Air & Space museum at Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia has a great selection of WWII engines on display.

Here is the Merlin engine on display.
What a monster to see in person, from only a few feet away.
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Did you get a picture of the other monster a few feet from the merlin. P&W R-4360. 7 cyl radial, four rows deep! 72 liters makes the 27L Merlin look wimpy.

 

7 x 4 = 28 cylinders... 56 sparkplugs!

4,360 is the model, but also the cu. in. displacement!

Weighed about 4,000 lbs., but turbocharged and supercharged (both) it had about 4,500 hp.

Makes the Merlin look small.

Was developed at the end of the war, so was never used during the war.

 

If you think that the R-4360 is big, consider this monster, also owned by the Smithsonian:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycoming_XR-7755