Hi guys, been busy for a while, but in my limited spare time, got to thinking ‘What if, THE MOST GRACEFUL fighter plane of the 2nd World War, had a radial instead of an inline !’.
Been thinking about it and have come up with a few questions (there are probably loads more but I’ll leave that for you guys to chew the fat over)
Radials have some advantages over an inline water cooled I.C.E.
You wouldnt need the radiators under the wings / fuselage reducing drag…even though the radial would normally have a greater forward cross section
You could get a similar horsepower output (not sure about about fuel consumption tho ?)
Not sure about mechanical complexity either
What view from the cockpit….better or worse ?
Simpler engine change requirements ?
Any difference in engine management complexity
Over to you guys
By: Phil Foster - 19th October 2004 at 12:27
Presumably the forward vision when taxying would be vastly improved, since there wasn’t a long nose in front!
In Butcher Bird Ed Shacklady reckoned that the FW190 had restricted forward view. I think he meant it was restricted on either side looking forward of the nose. Shorter nose but fatter in girth what you lose with one you gain with the other. Or is that the other way around? No sorry. Its very interesting but if its looks you are talking about I prefer the Merlin/Griffon effect.
By: Eddie - 19th October 2004 at 11:06
FW190F had the BMW and looked v. similar to the A model. The D and the Ta152 had inlines
MH
I think they were generally rebuilt A models… the F’s were dedicated ground attack, IIRC.
By: Melvyn Hiscock - 19th October 2004 at 10:35
FW190F had the BMW and looked v. similar to the A model. The D and the Ta152 had inlines
MH
By: turbo_NZ - 19th October 2004 at 02:46
Ah okay, they had the longer nose.
I prefer the short nose radial ones for looks.
pic from http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/annex/an47.htm
TNZ
By: dhfan - 19th October 2004 at 02:42
Got off my backside and looked it up…
Fw190D, originally fitted wth DB603 but all production models used Junkers Jumo 213.
Still looked like radials as they had annular radiators.
By: turbo_NZ - 19th October 2004 at 02:27
I’m no expert on Fw190s but weren’t they all inline from the D onwards?
Same with the non-expertise of Fw190’s but I think these were Ta-152 models.
TNZ
By: dhfan - 19th October 2004 at 02:17
…the FW190 ? (hmmmm, theres a thought, A 190 with an in-line nicked from a 109, wonder what that’d go like). The Fw190 was certainly a potent bit of kit when it come on the scene.
I’m no expert on Fw190s but weren’t they all inline from the D onwards?
By: Avro's Finest - 18th October 2004 at 19:29
Keep a prop on it…….
I’ve changed my mind a bit. I’m not going to use a Centaurus, I’m going to use a PT-6 instead. The weight difference wont to radical with this power plant. And the purists can still see the PROP. I can also use the Rad boats as exhausts for the engine, we can still use the L/H one as an oil cooler as well. I think I will make them a bit smaller though, try to reduce the drag a bit. I can use the original air intake as, Wait for it, an air intake for the engine.
This is going to be the B—–ks. It should have a good fuel consumtion as well.
Ta Ta.
By: Papa Lima - 18th October 2004 at 19:22
Apropos #43, saw this at Abbotsford this year, pity it was so far away, the heat haze has affected the photo, and I needed a 50x zoom as well!
The jet Waco was one of the most memorable things I saw at Oshkosh in both 2003 and 2004, this year the lad was wingwalking, as far as I remember regardless of whether the jet was switched on or off.
By: landyman - 18th October 2004 at 19:21
slightly off topic, or maybe not, i wonder what a twin P38 lightning would look like? two pods, three booms, maybe a contra prop on the middle engine. hmmm, interesting?.
happens thet i have got two airfix P38 models unbuilt in the loft, i feel a whacky model coming on. :diablo:
Greg
By: Olivier Lacombe - 18th October 2004 at 19:10
Oh great!
Jim Franklin is a good performer!
By: Melvyn Hiscock - 18th October 2004 at 18:47
Saw something similar with an artic trailer at HMS Daedalus a good few years ago – think he did it too…
Flood
Brendan O’Brien
MH
By: Andy in Beds - 18th October 2004 at 18:38
Oh wait : he’s strapped when it fires, and walks around when it’s quiet…
Olivier
yes, he strapped to the top wing when the jet fires, then moves around when it’s off.
When I saw them the pilots mother had sadly died the day before and they were doing the show in memory of Mother/Grandmother.
They also had the designer on the PA system. When asked why he chose the particular downward angle for the jet engine nozzle his response was ‘it looked right’. He also went on to say that he didn’t do many calculations because the Waco was travelling 100mph quicker than it was designed so there didn’t seem much point! I love it–crazy but I love it.
Cheers
Andy
By: Olivier Lacombe - 18th October 2004 at 18:06
Really? When I saw it at Oshkosh in 2000, the jet was quiet while the lad was on top.
Maybe they devised a way of doing it or my memory is playing tricks on me!
Oh wait : he’s strapped when it fires, and walks around when it’s quiet…
By: Flood - 18th October 2004 at 18:04
PS Best airshow act I’ve seen in years–since someone tried to land a Piper Cub on the back of a truck at West Malling years ago.
Anyone else see that??–Mike J, I bet you were there.
Saw something similar with an artic trailer at HMS Daedalus a good few years ago – think he did it too…
Flood
By: Andy in Beds - 18th October 2004 at 17:50
Although when his son is wing-walking, the jet stays quiet for good reasons!
Olivier
not when I saw it.
The son was on the top wing when the jet took it vertical.
He didn’t climb about on the airframe though when the jet was going–This is real wing walking folks not your strapped to the wing stuff.
You’d be behind bars if you tried this in the UK.
Cheers
Andy.
PS Best airshow act I’ve seen in years–since someone tried to land a Piper Cub on the back of a truck at West Malling years ago.
Anyone else see that??–Mike J, I bet you were there.
By: Flood - 18th October 2004 at 17:42
Why bother with those old prop engines? Stick a man’s engine in it – a jet! Oh they did, they called it the Swift it didn’t work did it. :rolleyes:
Thought it was the Spitfire-to-Seafire-to-Seafang-to-Attacker – much more direct…
Flood
By: Olivier Lacombe - 18th October 2004 at 14:49
Oh yes, it’s something.
Although when his son is wing-walking, the jet stays quiet for good reasons!
By: DGH - 18th October 2004 at 14:19
That WACO display must be jaw dropping 😮
They look like the Jetex conversion I tried on an Airfix G91 years ago. 😀
By: Olivier Lacombe - 18th October 2004 at 14:08
I’ve seen that WACO fly, and it’s quite fun.
You hear this radial sound coming slowly, and all of a sudden, the jet spools up and it shoots skywards!!
😀 😀
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October 17, 2004 at 8:03 pm