Hi-Po Diesels

We are familiar with the workhorses that power the trucks that move products on the open road. It is always thought that while Diesels feature good fuel economy, they are slow and ponderous. But a number of aircraft Diesels could give a spark ignition engine a run for its money in all performance parameters: specific fuel consumption, specific power and specific weight.

This fascinating aspect of aircraft power plant design includes the phenomenal Napier Nomad that incorporated features such as a three-stage turbo-compounding and a sixteen- stage axial-flow supercharger.

Wright R-3350

From a near disaster to the most sophisticated aircraft piston engine to enter production, the massive and complex Wright R-3350 embodied all the attributes of a high performance engine: exquisite workmanship, incredible complexity and advanced technology.

Starting production in the dark days of World War II, many challenges and difficulties were overcome. These include the remarkable production feat pulled off by Dodge, which manufactured more R-3350s than Wright.

After World War II, the R-3350 was refined into a reliable engine that powered many military aircraft and civilian airliners.

Corsair Engine Installations, Part 1

Delving into the engineering that went into all the F4U variants, author Graham White corresponded with Don Jordan, the man responsible for engineering all the Corsair engine installations. Any aircraft installation is an engineering challenge. In the case of the Corsair, it had to accommodate the massive eighteen-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine along with the necessary intercoolers, oil coolers and ducting.

Part 1 covers the F4U-1, F4U-2, F4U-3 and F4U-4.

Reno for Gearheads, Part 1

This series concentrates on state-of-the-art engineering and unique features that make Unlimited class air racing the world's fastest motor sport.