Germany did not lose the Battle of Britain

[Crumpp]

piston engine from the 1940's were crude

The designers from the 1940's knew more about high powered piston engine aircraft design and engines than we do today.

Nobody is building 2000 hp (+) piston engine powered aircraft today.


Computer controls, chemical engineering, and materials science have allowed us to build to better engines in some respects today. As far as engine knowledge and engineering, a mechanical engineer from the 1940's would just have to learn today's design tools but there is not any new knowledge we could teach him. We could learn from his experience however!!

[kimosabi]

Yeah rights and wrongs all over the place. Sorry if I offended you MaxGunz, but I am done here and it is how I roll. Too happy inside to jump back on this. Got some good news today and I'll be dancing with polar bears soon. Yoohooo!

Crumpp, some I agree with and some I don't. I'll leave it at that. Hugz and kizzes.

*edit* Nearmiss, I was expecting a counter-attack. It's just that I was done here. Still am lol. Hugz, No kizz for you.

[MaxGunz]

Originally Posted by Crumpp

The designers from the 1940's knew more about high powered piston engine aircraft design and engines than we do today.

Nobody is building 2000 hp (+) piston engine powered aircraft today.


Computer controls, chemical engineering, and materials science have allowed us to build to better engines in some respects today. As far as engine knowledge and engineering, a mechanical engineer from the 1940's would just have to learn today's design tools but there is not any new knowledge we could teach him. We could learn from his experience however!!

Back around 1970 my father took me to see a co-worker who had built a VW-engine powered airplane in his barn. I was told that they ran lower revs with extra-heavy pistons (he showed a regular VW piston and a special 2x as heavy piston) because as he put it, you don't want the engine to seize up there. The extra weight was for extra inertia -- I was told -- to help keep the piston moving.

Was that just something special to VW engines used in small GA AC?

Perhaps 40 years ago is just ancient history. What differences do more modern regular AC IC engines have from ground car engines?

[Crumpp]

Was that just something special to VW engines used in small GA AC?

I have never heard that. I always thought the larger pistons were to increase displacement to increase power.

http://www.eaa.org/experimenter/arti...owerplants.asp

[MaxGunz]

LOL, these were thicker x2 at the head but otherwise the same diameter. Picking both up, it was easy to tell which was twice the weight. He was running the VW engine at around 3000 rpm, not much faster. Maybe just paranoia?

On 4 wheels, 3000 rpm was mid-low end revs for my late 60's Type 3's that I ran in the 80's. 3000 rpm was nowhere near the power end of those. It is the rpms where the gears synchronized and it was possible to shift without using the clutch which LOL was the same speed my 750cc and 650cc bikes did the same. That was a good thing to know when my clutch cable snapped on me one day right in rush hour traffic on rte 13 in Dover, DE. I managed to get from the south end clear up to the bike shop well past the NASCAR "Monster Mile" to buy a new cable and get the thing fixed.

Those old VW engines were very light for what they cranked out. I had one with twin carbs and another with fuel injection. My measure of efficiency is gas mileage, the twin carb engine in the Fastback got 36/gal mostly highway but mixed driving when it was in good tune, and I ran well over the speed limit on highway back then though my pedal to the floor on level road would only get me 75-78 mph. The fuel injected engine only ran in the Squareback body, it got about 30-32 to the gallon with top level speed almost the same. No radiator and that magnesium alloy, and they ran like tops. I had a neighbor who worked on "good cars" who told me that the VW 1600 pancake engine is the same design as in a 914 Posche but with cheaper alloy and looser tolerances. Yet I could still get and hold high revs just fine.

Of course, those were 'crude'. I wish I still had either one.