There was one flying around last weekend in Tulsa. Saw it right after it took off, less than 1000 ft, it's was impressive to say the least.

I love the old videos. Here's a great one. I'd love to have one delivered.

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Uncrating and Field Assembly of the P-47 Thunderbolt - 1943

https://youtu.be/V2D3k0sJ8HM

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Originally posted by AUTiger89:
I just finished The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, which contained this little tidbit.

Early engines for the B-29 had a part made of magnesium, which, as many know, is highly flammable once it gets hot enough to combust. Many of the engines caught fire during flight.

Rather than replace the magnesium part, engineers upgraded the engine cooling systems to prevent the engines from catching fire.

The R-4360 doesn't have a cooling system. Rather, it has no coolant system. Cooling on the 4360, like all radials, is by air only, much like a big Volkswagen bus engine. With four rows of seven cylinders, 28 total, the reason they caught fire was induction leaks, and they still catch fire, regularly. We had five of them catch fire within 20 hours, on new engines. They're tightly packed, and the exhaust and induction tubes wind around the meninges with very little room for cooling airflow.

Cooling is by air entering the front of the nacelle, let out by large cowl flaps, or flaps that open and close to vary the airflow.

There's a lot of magnesium in the engine, just as magnesium continues to be used today in various parts in aircraft engines, including turbine engines (generator cases, etc).

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Originally posted by newtoSig765:
A friend who is an A&P used to work on a civilian-owned Corsair. He told me the spark plugs were torqued to something like 230 or 250 ft/lbs., and that he had to attach an extension to his torque wrench and hang from it to get that much torque!

I'll admit, he was a skinny guy, but the image of him hanging off that huge motor, dangling from an extension bar, is still funny today!

Your friend was shining you on.

300 in-lbs, or approximately 25 ft. lbs, would be more correct.

The only place that I can think of off hand that he'd have needed an extension would be for the propeller, on that engine.

If he was using one on spark plugs, he'd have been stripping out helicoils right and left. Same for most of the fasteners on the engine.

On YT, Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles channel has good stuff about WWII airplane engines and design of.

The one is about the Corsair, enjoy!

https://youtu.be/rNcV13uayxw

During my early days as an Air Force navigator on C-124 Globemaster aircraft, powered by Pratt & Whitney R-4360 engines, I amassed over 5500 hours. The engines were for the most part very reliable; however, engine failures were not uncommon.
My experience on C-130s with T56a Allison engines, and C-141s with TF-33 Pratt & Whitney engines proved to be more enjoyable due to fewer engine failures. I finished my flying career with over 10,000 hours total time.

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Originally posted by SevenPlusOne:
There was one flying around last weekend in Tulsa. Saw it right after it took off, less than 1000 ft, it's was impressive to say the least.

Yes was walking the dog when it flew over head heading West. I could not imagine what a squadron of them sounded like. It was a real treat.

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Originally posted by Yellow Jacket:
What is astounding to me is that they constructed the entire plant, achieved full production and then shut down completely in just a little over 3 years and 3 months.

Today it would take longer than that just to get the facility built.

Today it would take longer than that just to get the permits to start building it. Not to mention all the litigation from all the NIMBY's/PETA/GreenPOS/Audubon Society/etc. you'd have to fight.