p51mstg
09-16-2010, 10:59 AM
It's that time of year again when I say to myself, "next year, I'm going FOR SURE"
Reno Air Races (http://www.airrace.org/)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpYtxbs2k5w
Sorry, not exactly auto-related, but it is Mustang-related (it's just a different Mustang than the car). The fastest Mustang on the planet right now is "Strega", capable of speeds in excess of 500 mph, and that's on a closed course, pulling at least 4 g's the entire time! I don't know what it's capable of in a straight line. Those speeds were thought to be impossible only a few years ago - the propellers just can't handle it, because the tips go supersonic.
Motorheads might be interesting in knowing a little about the engine: Mustangs are powered by a British-designed Rolls-Royce "Merlin" V-12, produced by Packard in the United States. Displacing 1650 cubic inches, stock output was around 1700 hp. The problem with aircraft engines is that they have to operate at varying altitudes, and the Merlin solved that problem with a 2-speed 2-stage supercharger. The shaft speed was shifted automatically (I'm not sure if this was based on barometric pressure or manifold pressure). Four valves per cylinder were actuated by overhead cams and ignition was provided by two sets of spark plugs.
A stock Merlin consumes enough air to fill a school bus every minute. British engineers discovered that they could gain as much as an equivalent of 70 hp by using straight exhaust pipes pointed rearward to provide additional thrust. The Mustang was able to gain about 5 mph in top speed by designing the radiator scoop so that air exiting the radiator was faster than the air entering it.
Reno Air Races (http://www.airrace.org/)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpYtxbs2k5w
Sorry, not exactly auto-related, but it is Mustang-related (it's just a different Mustang than the car). The fastest Mustang on the planet right now is "Strega", capable of speeds in excess of 500 mph, and that's on a closed course, pulling at least 4 g's the entire time! I don't know what it's capable of in a straight line. Those speeds were thought to be impossible only a few years ago - the propellers just can't handle it, because the tips go supersonic.
Motorheads might be interesting in knowing a little about the engine: Mustangs are powered by a British-designed Rolls-Royce "Merlin" V-12, produced by Packard in the United States. Displacing 1650 cubic inches, stock output was around 1700 hp. The problem with aircraft engines is that they have to operate at varying altitudes, and the Merlin solved that problem with a 2-speed 2-stage supercharger. The shaft speed was shifted automatically (I'm not sure if this was based on barometric pressure or manifold pressure). Four valves per cylinder were actuated by overhead cams and ignition was provided by two sets of spark plugs.
A stock Merlin consumes enough air to fill a school bus every minute. British engineers discovered that they could gain as much as an equivalent of 70 hp by using straight exhaust pipes pointed rearward to provide additional thrust. The Mustang was able to gain about 5 mph in top speed by designing the radiator scoop so that air exiting the radiator was faster than the air entering it.