Pratt & Whitney 50 litre 18 cylinder Radial Airplane Engine

[alanmeires]

dose this thing do any thing apart from make alot of noise?

[fiddlinjd]

guys, seriously... newtons basic laws. if you chock it and constrain it in one direction, it will be unable to move in the other direction. for further study, i suggest reading into "degrees of freedom" in the kinematics field of study.

that prop is not only modified, it is not configured to produce any usable thrust. its primary purpose now is to fan the engine for cooling as well as provide some kind of load on the engine.

[partyman6666]

Will that thing move the trailer the way you have it setup there if you revved it high enough?

[fishsponge]

@partyman6666 it's not actually my engine or trailer... i was just filming it, but my understanding is that the propeller on the front is there to simply give the engine something to push against.

it creates a bit of wind, but it is not designed to actually move stuff around - i think it's too small and the angles of the blades are not designed for that. I could be wrong though...

[predator5723]

what plane used that engine?...

[WEITESTAL]

@predator5723 Hellcat and P-47 Thunderbolt I reckon

[Poopingbotham]

Must be an aero engine rally!

[fishsponge]

@Poopingbotham it wasn't an aero engine rally, as it happens!

it was the Corvette Club UK's National Show back in 2008, would you believe! :-)

[goodkarma33]

drop that whole thing into a boat and head for the Florida Everglades!

[gavelwacker]

@goodkarma33 Been done! My family builds Airboats. Nowadays, most use automotive engines, due to availability of parts and gasoline. In the old days, most were powered by aircraft engines, both radial and in-line designs, but the price / availability of aviation grade fuel (avgas) and repair parts went through the roof!

[TucsonRobb]

...But the pickup gets 40 MPG with this running behind it!

[t28cj]

holy sh*t what an engine!!! 

[69bassmr]

I worked on those in the early 70s,,,Fantastic motors

[MYcareLEVELis1]

now thats one good optical illusion :D

[MrSkyl1ne]

nice airbrake for your truck

[CRAZYSTOO]

yea.... i got yer 1.21 jigawatts doc!

[gamers209]

Why don't you put a decent propeller on it and take it for a ride across the grass

[Boatdrunker]

The prop looks like its no moving becouse the shutter on the camera works lake a strope light.

[skeligandrew]

@24preacherboy the fan is actually turning very fast, so fast that the camera cant keep up and can only capture it slowly

[redreaper2020]

I want one in my dodge.

[SuperBmxbadass]

at 43seconds the prop isnt even moving..... lol : )

[gymover]

Zero MPG, right? 

[fishsponge]

@gymover indeed... the trailer isn't moving, so any engine would give zero MPG :-)

[BrundukasLT]

@fishsponge why would you need 18 cylinders engine for a plane??? isn't 4 cylinders engine enought?

[fishsponge]

@BrundukasLT i'm no expert on airplane engines, but to make a propeller plane go as fast as these ones did you needed one hell of a lot of power. radial engines work better the more cylinders they have, I guess, as they are smoother and i suppose they kept adding cylinders until it gave the power they needed to achieve the necessary speeds and climbing abilities they needed!

They'd need to get 4 seriously large cylinders to lift a few tons off the ground at several hundred MPH too!

[kaysandesses]

@fishsponge "They'd need to get 4 seriously large cylinders to lift a few tons off the ground at several hundred MPH too!"

Good post. Another reason why that type of engine would never work in that application is that the larger the reciprocating mass (the piston and connecting rod) of an engine, the slower it runs to keep from flying apart.

[sultros]

@BrundukasLT For a number of reasons. Survivability for one. Keep in mind most of these engines saw placement in WWII fighters and bombers where often pistons were literally shot off. These motors can take an amazing amount of abuse where as a motor like you mentioned would be dead with one bullet.

[skeligandrew]

You can see that propeller wouldn't be the type you fly with, I reckon its just a fan to keep it cool not an actual propeller which gives thrust

[fishsponge]

@skeligandrew you are spot on... it generates a hell of a lot of wind, but it's not even really enough to drag the trailer across the grass even with no brakes on. Looks very dramatic and generates enough noise and wind to be scary, but you're right - you couldn't fly with it! :-)

[24preacherboy]

@skeligandrew

Considering the fan is hardly turning and at times is turning backwards it wouldnt be a good idea to use this for an aircraft.

[AK49Gunner]

@24preacherboy

Tell that to all the fighter pilots who flew R-2800 powered P-47's, F-6's, and F-4U's during wolrd war II.....

[WEITESTAL]

@skeligandrew Yes certainly the original airscrew was about 4 meters in diameter!

[BB1951]

More power dammit.... MORE POWER!!!!

[Osteele]

You make a good point fishsponge

[Osteele]

You couldn't pay me to stand in front of that thing !

[fishsponge]

@Osteele I was more worried stood at the side to be honest! In front of it, you'd see it start to move towards you, but if a prop blade flew off and went sideways you wouldn't have a chance! lol

[cwb1265]

@fishsponge i wouldnt stand in front of it, if the prop comes off it isnt going side ways, its going forward, and depending on which way it rotates, a little to one side. TBH the safest place to stand near a prop plane, or a test trailer like this, is beside it, since you dont get it shooting rocks at you, and not the possibility of the prop flying off at you.

[jallan1407]

they could totally take these things and make drag racers lol, simple rolling chasis with WW2 fighter engines bolted on :P... exit NASCAR

[samacem]

queria ver sair tudo voando....

[CBKillas]

Good job. Everyone stand in front of it so if there is an issue, we will have another episode of "Will it Blend". BRILLIANT!!!

[dopenhagen2009]

messerschmitt is better

[GMDxFlyer]

The guy who looks like he's operating the engine is also holding it back from flying into the crowd. His name is Chuck Norris.

[bert0mac]

that isnt a 4360 by any means. i see a 4360 on a daily basis. it as 4 rows of 7 cylinders. this engine has 2 rows. looks like an r2800 or an r 3350 but if its a 3350 it does NOT have the PRT system installed.

another interesting note. the prop attached to this engine is just a test cub. it can flow enough air to keep the engine cool during run up and test but i doubt itll make enough power to ever move that engine let alone the stand.

[doddling]

its a 4360 cubic inch about 57 litres

[FiveCentsPlease]

@5959512

They are assembled mostly from parts that can't be certified for airworthy use anymore and time-expired parts. One of the V12s actually came from a crash site and was dug out of the ground, then slowly rebuilt. Ground running engines are fine for display and will last a long time.

[FLY172M]

I have a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major under complete restoration in my basement. I'm gonna convert a 20 foot car trailer to use as a dino. I found the engine in a barn in Alabama, bought it for $4,500.

[nolifemerc]

50 litre are you sure

[yankeeclipper2]

The P-51 had a Packard V-1650 engine. American modified, and American built to significantly higher standards than the R-R version of the Merlin. When the first of the Packard built Merlins were shipped over to the UK, the engineers at R-R disassembled and measured them and were shocked to find the production line built Packard engine had better tolerances than the labor intensive, R-R version. Packard also made numerous improvements to the engine, including main bearing and supercharger design.

[shakeitbeforeubakeit]

won't that make him fly away? I just saying, whats keeping that there?

[fishsponge]

@shakeitbeforeubakeit if i remember correctly, there was a pin hammered into the ground at the tow-hitch end!

[Statek63]

@shakeitbeforeubakeit also the propeller seems clipped heavily, so it likely takes less power and produces less thrust

[GreatRedTiger]

@shakeitbeforeubakeit he can't fly away just like that because there is no wing shape onto an produced airflow could affect, producing aerodinamic lifting force. that's the basics of aviation, you should know that

[tubara133]

no fun?

[brazzr]

drink a redbull

[GodlessMartyr666]

I dunno about that piston heads flying out of the cylinder talk man, they are still attached to the crank afterall

[Moose6340]

Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp, 2804 cubic inches or 46 litres, good for around 2000 horsepower at war emergency power (60" manifold pressure IIRC). The engine that powered the P-47 Thunderbolt, the F6F Hellcat, and the F4U Corsair among many others...not the most powerful radial engine ever built, but certainly one of the most widely-used and greatest.

[hopper1]

@Moose6340 You forgot reliable ;) Any engine that can have a couple of cylinders shot off and still run commands respect.

[hjbpnb]

FIFTY LITRE ??? Really ???

That translates to 3,052 cubic inches !!!

Holy moly !!!!!!!!!

That is a MASSIVE AIRPLANE ENGINE !!!

[FiveCentsPlease]

@bedobear

Yes, depending the dash number (version) of the engine.

[BlackWiiOwner2010]

Thank you kenfo0 and edslittleworld for the description and explanation.

[Jthetinman]

Fifty fuckin liters!

[72Z15SS]

I want one!!!

[angelb650650]

release the brakes,please.. ;)

[angelb650650]

this coasted 20 litre kerosene in the air... :)

[BlackWiiOwner2010]

Very, very cool!! What is the term called when the throttle in revved up and the propeller looks like it isn't moving but it is? What the term when the propeller is spinning counterclockwise as the throttle is revved up then the propeller starts to spin clockwise?

[kenfo0]

@BlackWiiOwner2010 It is called a "stroboscopic effect" and there are more than one way it is "delivered". One is a camera that is recording frames faster than a revolution of the prop or wheel. In other words, if it takes a frame 3/4 of a sec to be captured, but 1 sec for the wheel or prop to rotate, it will appear as if the wheel is moving backwards, as the frame is captured 25% before the complete rev every time. Your brain does the same thing...it processes info in time, like a camera.

[edslittleworld]

@BlackWiiOwner2010 The camera is acting as a stroboscope and it's deceptive to watch the propeller.

[Tremolux59]

Max RPM is determined by maximum allowable piston speed in the cylinder bores. And on how reliable you want the motor to be. On these big radials max rpm is about 2900. Stroke is about 6 inches.

[julien2493]

.00000000000000000000000000000­00001 mpg .....

[awadcock]

what the hell is the point of this?



[MrPheonix5]

I know the world has gone health and safety mad,But those props should have a cage around them.

[falconoilcompany]

hair raising

[menormice2]

funny how the fan blades hit the same rpm as the camera f.p.m so it looks like the blades arnt turning. ive of loved to have heard it

[angryace13]

must feel like a hurricane behind that beast!!!

[Hanglands]

Ive seen these chaps at Duxford a couple of times. Great arent they? Certainly make the earth move for you! Last time I saw them they had a RRWelland too... got quite warm stood next to that thing! Nice vid!

[xue12301]

holy crap its spinning pretty fast i didn't realive it was spinning fast!

[neomuttley]

I ride sportbikes. I'd like to see what Jesse James could do w/that one, though ;-)!!

[travieboyxxx2001]

I want 1!!!

[pathosbedlam]

This must be what superman does after retirement. Hold big airplane engines back while on full throttle. LOL. No way I'd stand in the direction the engine was facing it whatever is holding it back lets go.

[gilly87S]

a lot of comments about holding this engine back... If you look close that is not a constant speed prop on the motor. The pitch of the propeller has massive effect on power transmission just like the pitch of a boat propeller. A test prop is specifically designed to load the engine with the drag of a propeller but not create thrust on the horizontal axis

[pathosbedlam]

Thanks for the info. I guess that makes it a bit safer. Still I guess it is pretty impressive. I would love to fly an old plane from WW2. Back then YOU flew the plane, not some damn computer.

[94Clubsport]

they should have trailer races

[snooppupc130jrketmas]

dorks, get a job!!!

[Teslalabor]

It would be great to see if one wing of the propeller breaks of and causes an extreme inbalance at the crank shaft and so a total crash of this motors ;)

[12stringmiser]

You wouldn't catch me standing in front of that thing! There's not much holding that little trailer from launching.

[TrutherD1]

Learn about "chemtrails"

[MrGopherhead]

that sure is an expensive cloths dryer

[psybmw]

trike for paraglider

[supressorgrid]

Take off the brakes and lets see how fast the crowd can run!

[TK42138]

I'd pay money to see that...

[scott93257]

@supressorgrid

Yeah really right LOL

[TIMOTHYSAARINEN]

Radial engines sound beautiful, especially the big ones. It's a shame their heyday has long since passed. ):

[aksgamewiz]

indeed, thay have a sound unto there own. i wana see someone try to make a radial diesel just for kicks and see what that sounds like

[Tennant909]

shit iv just realised.... that propellor was turning really fast? i thought it stopped haha

[flourburger]

18 not 14 cylinders? Thanks for the demonstration. I was just thinking that double wasp was two banks of 7. Best, Charlie

[DFX2K9]

I think your right, (am I they only one who finds radial engines sound kinda odd? lotta power..)

[Xantec]

@flourburger

i think the wright cyclone is the 14cyl series

[AlbertaWildman]

Even with a cut down propeller, the prop wash is considerable. You can see the operator bracing himself when the engine is on throttle.

[BigWolfBoy50]

Its running, your seeing the strobe effect on the prop that at 30 frames per second the camcorder uses.

[KanineKruizer]

Is it just me, or did that Pratt & Whitney radial fail to fire?

[Bamchucknorris]

no it has a brake

[belanjoe]

can we put on the car?? how much would it give if it is fitted on car??

hehehehehhe..lol

[crk1121]

That is sweet!!

Hope the brakes on that trailer don't fail!! :-P

[macro820]

I doubt I would stand straight in front of it

[fanfarigoule]

Nice stroboscopic effect !

[cart123948]

Honey, I'm feeling strong this morning. I think I'll go stand at the controls of the Prat' for a while. Later..

Mam. What did you say that thing is for again? I don't think I was listening carefully enough. Anyway, I'm sorry that he obviously didn't make it. None of our men can get close enough to it to turn it off. We have to call in an air strike.

[YearOfTheDog82]

HAHAHA, brilliant!

[Paiste402]

would use a car sized fuel tank on start-up

[coolpooper]

that looks like one of those things from star wars that race around canyons.

[fishsponge]

nobody mentioned hitting NOS... not there on the day anyway. there is no NOS on this thing at all - just normal fuel :-)

[shloop4]

but could i put nos in there, and a turbo, and put it in some sad, F$@Ked up motorcycle >:)

[theMMaI]

weighing a whopping 4 tons for a motorcycle will be kinda odd to keep stable on 2 legs while at the trafic lights ;) apart from that nobody is stopping you :D

[shloop4]

well i would put of hydraulic suports 'n' stuff

[TerminatorFRA]

@fishsponge NOS is for boosting small engines that have no power and that are unable to run on normal fuel. XD

[fanmanJ]

He said something about hitting nos......

[BabyyJesuss]

Thats not extremely dangerous or anything

[pogodrummer]

nope (:

[obzelite]

how much of mess would you get if the brakes on the trailer fail and that thing take off across the fairgound.

[Bbdrew]

VTEK KICKED IN YO

[fanmanJ]

Wow... that comment is extremely intelligent..

[Bbdrew]

why thank you professor fanmanJ

[pogodrummer]

hey what did Bbdrew say?

[spdkilzasoundsuck]

damn u thaught a sai wat i was gonna say

[zythepsarian]

i had an old 2-stoke 250cc dirbike with half a muffler and a shaved flywheel, goddamn i musta got 18000 rpm off of her..ears would ring for hours after a ride, and she had a horribly vicious high end powerband that nearly killed a few of my friends who thought they could ride an evil beast, i wish you could hear that bike cranked to the max..a real screamer

[grogadile225]

Full power take off with the CB series was 2400 HP with 2800 RPM with 60" manifold preasure . These were used in commercial aircraft such as the DC6. Octane ratings of AVGAS were typically in the PN range of 115/145 (lean mixture/rich mixture) Also ADI fluid (water/methonol) was injected into the blower to cool the intake charge. This enabled a leaner mixture on take off. Cruise RPM/1950 with 30" manifold preasure @ 24000 feet. Running on 100LL AVGAS power is down by around 600 HP.

[fishsponge]

it's certainly not unlimited rpm... no piston engine can run unlimited rpm, or the pistons would fire through the cylinder heads!

I think it runs somewhere in the region of 3000rpm flat-out... i could be very wrong, but it's somewhere between 2000 and 5000 i'm sure!

[AKAllTC90]

that is correct, although running it at 5000 would mean a total tear down and overhaul.

[RedSkyline]

@fishsponge IF thats a PW R-2800 it should operate at about 2,400

[muskokatone]

that's some crazy ass HP - unlimited RPM?

[fishsponge]

to be honest, i've no idea what capacity it is exactly... it could well be 46L. 50 was more of a rough estimate combined with what i remember hearing on the day (perhaps "this has nearly 50L capacity", for example).

If you know whether this is an R-2800 or not, for definite, please let me know and i'll update the title if i can.

[Maartenbr01]

Hi there,

Hearing the stationary sound and knowing that it is a 18 cyl. Pratt & Whitney: yes, this is an R-2800 (military designation) aka Double Wasp (civil designation). The R stands for Radial engine, 2800 stands for a displacement 2800 cu, in. (= 45-46 litre). Depending on the version it would run max 2700 or 2800 rpm.

With the current fuel grade (100LL Avgas) the maximum take off power for a CA-series or CB-series engine would be 2,100 hp (dry) or 2,400 hp (wet).

[convair240]

@fishsponge 2800 in the number of cubic inches of displacement on that model of the engine, like cars!!! In this case 2800 cubic inches is 45,88 liters of displacement. That is the volume of all cylinders of an engine (18 in this case).

[koolkitty8989]

Are you sure it's 50L? The only mass-produced P&W 18-cylinder radial I know of is the R-2800 "Double Wasp" of 46L displacement.

[fishsponge]

i'm afraid I have no idea what model this is... and despite what the video looks like, i was standing *outside* the fencing as a spectator.

The reason for all this is just a demonstration for the people visiting the Corvette Show in Huntingdon, UK.

The engines are owned and maintained by the two people running them as far as i know.

[wolfmanjeffrey]

My question to you is what model engine is this and what's with the ground test? Is that an "inspector" it looks like your ground testing the engine to have an inspector certify it, is that right? But MAN this motor is smooth and consistent, no misfires or shuttering at ALL!