Subject: Re: Outlandish projects with old aero engines

From: [email-masked] (Jonathan M. Elson)
Date: 2 Dec 1996 19:59:20 GMT

Henry P. Szostek ([email-masked]) wrote:
: Outlandish projects with old aero engones reminded me of one I 
: saw in 1966 in Saint Louis Mo. I had gone there to interview with 
: the Sunnen co. The taxi from the motel to the plant took me past 
: an industrial building. I dont know what they made but it 

This is right across Manchester Avenue from Sunnen (the makers of the
best honing machines in the world).  It is Cupples Products, which makes
the facades for buildings of what are called 'glass-curtain wall' 
construction.  that means any 'skyscraper' or office building with an
essentially all-glass exterior.  They make custom designs for each building,
and then test the glass and seals for simulated hurricane conditions.
That's where the corsair comes in.  They set up a section of wall,
sometimes a flat section, sometimes a corner, usually with 3 windows in it,
on a tubular space frame they have out back.  The corsair is wheeled into
position and chained down.  When all is ready, the corsair is cranked up
and set to a fast idle (perhaps 1200-1500 crank RPM) and two guys stand
next to it, just in front of the prop, spraying fire hoses into the
prop wash!  Instant simulated hurricane!  Several guys stand behind the wall,
inspecting for air leaks and water seeping through.  The corsair is often
run for 3-4 hours at a stretch, perhaps 3 days one week during a test,
and then shut down for a month or more.  I used to live about 2 miles
>from  that location, and it was easily heard from inside my house.  I would
then take a detour past Cupples on the way to work to catch a glimpse of
the work in progress.  The later moved the setup back a few hundred feet
>from  the street, which made it a little harder to see what was going on.

						Jon

---

From: [email-masked] (Fitch R. Williams)
Date: Fri, 06 Dec 1996 06:25:32 GMT

[email-masked] (Glenn S. Lyford) wrote:

>In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] 
>says...
>>Only one 454 ?

>Hey, it was a county fair, and these guys were amatuers and dabblers,
>not the fanatic commercialists you see in stadiums nowadays...

>On the TV, I've seen some with 6 or 8 engines, and I won't even get into
>the jet engine powered ones...
>                                                   --Glenn

Last time I saw one of these on TV old Art Afrons (one of
the original Allison engined dragster guys from the 50s or
was it 60s) was still at it with a twin jet powered rig.  I
think he was injecting something the the engine exhausts to
make fire, they sure shot a lot of flame.  Very spectacular.

Really tilled some dirt.

Fitch

---

From: [email-masked] (Dave Keith)
Date: 3 Dec 1996 14:54:24 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] says...
>
>In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] says...
>>classmates was telling me about the (to me, brand new) sport of tractor
>>pulling.  One of the tractors used the Allison, though I have no info on
>>the rest.
>
>Saw one of these out in upstate NY about 10 years back...
>Put out about the same as a 454 w/a blower, but I don't know what the
>gearing differences were...

Only one 454 ?  Tractor pulls are quite popular around here for
some reason ;).  Some of the tractors are quite impressive. I've
seen units with 4 (!) large engines,  all hopped up, each driving
a wheel (somehow).  These things have POWER.  I think many of you
who have interest in one V8 in a 2 (or 3) wheeled contraption would
also be interested in these monster tractors.

BTW,  the pull events have several categories just like other motor
sports.  The 4 engine jobs compete in 'unlimited' class,  not in
any 'production' classes :)

dave

Saskatoon Canada,  only a few hours north of North Dakota,
                   home of wheat, oats, barley ... hm, I'm
                   getting thirsty for some reason,  gotta go !

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: 1 Dec 1996 05:12:49 GMT

Seems like an awful waste of a perfectly good fighter (Drool).

---

From: [email-masked] (Roger Grady)
Date: Sun, 01 Dec 1996 04:48:23 GMT

"Henry P. Szostek" <[email-masked]> wrote:

>Outlandish projects with old aero engones reminded me of one I 
>saw in 1966 in Saint Louis Mo. I had gone there to interview with 
>the Sunnen co. The taxi from the motel to the plant took me past 
>an industrial building. I dont know what they made but it 
>required a great deal of ventilation.  At one end of the building 
>there was a Corsair , yes a bent wing radial engined WW 2 fighter 
>permanently mounted in a steel frame and cut off at the back of 
>the cockpit, the tail was missing but the wings and landing gear 
>were all there it was surrounded with chain link fence and there 
>was a layer of chain link just behind the cockpit where it was 
>cut off . the end of the building was open and the propellor was 
>turning I have no way of knowing the throtle setting but I know 
>that some Corsairs turned sixteen foot diameter four bladed props 
>some used a twin row radial and the later models used a four row 
>radial Talk about a stiff breeze. 

I saw a picture of this setup in a Flying magazine years ago. I can't
remember for sure what the Corsair was used for but I think it had to
do with testing something (maybe large windows??) in strong winds,
which the bobtail Corsair did an excellent job of creating. I've
always wondered what happened to it. Planes have been rebuilt from
much less than that.

Roger Grady

---

From: [email-masked] (Glenn S. Lyford)
Date: 6 Dec 1996 15:50:22 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] says...
>make fire, they sure shot a lot of flame.  Very spectacular.

Jets kinda tend to do that on their own anyway.  Some of them even
had WATER injectors right next to the fuel injectors (added mass to the
air flow through the engine and kept the final stage temps down).

Saw a fighter engine on a test stand, in full afterburner.  It gets
these neat cone shaped mach waves in the exhaust...  Were in a soundproof 
room, so got to enjoy it rather than feel it. :^)  Should have seen
the fuel meter go click-click-click....  several gallons per second.

All he'd really have to do is let them get a bit outta tune....
                                                     --Glenn

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: 7 Dec 1996 03:46:52 GMT

Re the multibank tank engines -- they were Chrysler straight-sixes, five
mounted on a ring arrangement. Lots of detail information in an excellent
book, "Some Unusual Engines" by LJK Setright, pp 81-85. 12000 were built.
Made 470 hp at 2500 rpm, max torque 1070 lb-ft (!!!) at 1200 rpm.
Displacement  20.6 liters total. 

Book says it was used in M4 Sherman. So was Continental radial.

Pete

---

From: [email-masked] (Jim Shockey)
Date: 10 Dec 1996 15:58:01 -0700

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] writes:
>From: [email-masked]
>Subject: Re: Outlandish projects with old aero engines
>Date: 7 Dec 1996 03:46:52 GMT

>Displacement  20.6 liters total. 

Tanks...er...thanks, Pete. I thought they were made up
of GM blocks. I appreciate your correction. 

>Book says it was used in M4 Sherman. So was Continental radial.

Shouldn't that be M-48 Sherman? The ones found in 
just about every small-town municipal park in the US. 
Again, I could be nuts. If so, remain calm,I'll be OK. 
8-) 

--jim	    <[email-masked]>	Idaho, USA

---

From: [email-masked] (Glenn S. Lyford)
Date: 4 Dec 1996 12:30:56 GMT

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: 11 Dec 1996 06:30:26 GMT

Jim Shockey wrote

Yer velcum. Maybe GM made the same thing. Wartime makes strange bedfellows
etc. 

>Shouldn't that be M-48 Sherman?

No, the M48 was a lot later. After the M47 presumably. More like Korean
War vintage or past that. I think the M48 (was that called the "Walker"
tank?) was used in Vietnam. M4 Sherman, in its various versions, was the
kinda tall WW2 tank you see everywhere -- as you state
>The ones found in 

Remaining calm. There is no need to panic. Proceed in an orderly fashion
to the nearest exit..

Pete

---

From: [email-masked] (Duane Forth)
Date: 13 Dec 1996 18:48:16 GMT

In regards to the subject, I once saw in a motorcycle mag an article on 
an Australian nutbar who sliced two cylinders off a RR Merlin, mated it 
to a 3 spd auto Holden car trans & built a motorcycle around it.  The 
ultimate V-twin (~2500cc)?
Duane Forth

--

---

From: [email-masked] (John Ross)
Date: Fri, 13 Dec 1996 21:57:19 GMT

>ultimate V-twin (~2500cc)?

It was 2500cc PER CYLINDER.  A 5-liter V-Twin.  And then he put
nitrous on it.  A man after my own heart.

JR