Merlins

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Originally Posted by rick130

IIRC (and the ol brain is a bit hazy ATM, life's been a touch hectic over the last few months. Thank my deity for the AULRO relief :D) the adoption of the Merlin over the Allison engine in the P51 totally changed the CofG and therefore the balance of the aircraft.

The Allison engined aircraft was apparently quite a nice thing to fly, with the Merlin being bigger and heavier and it really upset things in a steep dive and to a lesser extent general handling.
There was a fusealge fuel tank behind the R/T (which was a huge thing behind the pilot) that needed to be kept at least 1/2 to 2/3rds full or you may not pull out of a dive.

Col Pay (now deceased) had a P40, Mx IX Spit (David Lowy now owns it) and P51 (CAC-18 ??) and he preffered flying the P40 out of the three.
We'd sometimes be shopping in Scone and Col would be doing circuits over the town. Nothing sounds quite like a Merlin. :D

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Alan Hewson from Mt. Cotton had a Mustang. Jack McDonald of Gumdale had a Mustang and a Kittyhawk. Jack still has a Hawker Hart under restoration. The late Guido Zuccoli from Toowoomba had a collection of at least a Spitfire, a Sea Fury, and a WWII Fiat fighter which had been repowered with a Merlin. Very expensive toys!

Stanley Hooker recorded that the Mustang could exceed the performance of the Spitfire at 25,000 feet using 296 less horsepower, and the Mustang could carry three times the fuel.

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Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

<snip>

Stanley Hooker recorded that the Mustang could exceed the performance of the Spitfire at 25,000 feet using 296 less horsepower, and the Mustang could carry three times the fuel.

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Just what that famous laminar flow wing was designed for.

Col had a huge range of warbirds, not sure what's happened to them since his death, but I'm pretty sure his company is still going.
IIRC they had been pulling things like Trojans out of Vietnam and restoring them for a number of years too.

Used to love the Sea Fury of Guido's.

Now isn't this thread more interesting than one on a TV programme?

John

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Originally Posted by JDNSW

Now isn't this thread more interesting than one on a TV programme?

John

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Yes.

Ezekiel 27:28

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Originally Posted by JohnF

Ezekiel 27:28

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I think he may have been talking about sea pilots!

John

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Originally Posted by JohnF

Ezekiel 27:28

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28 The shorelands will quake
when your seamen cry out.

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And the relevance to this thread is???

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Oh God, Christians...

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(As usual, there is a Simpsons quote for all occasions.)

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Originally Posted by rick130

Used to love the Sea Fury of Guido's.

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About 1992 he told me it then cost about $150 of Avgas to warm up and taxi around Toowoomba airport, take of and do a circuit, land and taxi back to the shed.

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Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

About 1992 he told me it then cost about $150 of Avgas to warm up and taxi around Toowoomba airport, take of and do a circuit, land and taxi back to the shed.

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Which raises the interesting point that none of the engines we have been discussing can be operated at their rated output today, because the fuel is not available. The Sea Fury, like the later Merlins and Allisons, were designed to run on 115/145 octane - best available today is 100LL. You would have to run at less than maximum designed boost unless running with extra octane enhancers!

John

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Originally Posted by JDNSW

Which raises the interesting point that none of the engines we have been discussing can be operated at their rated output today, because the fuel is not available. The Sea Fury, like the later Merlins and Allisons, were designed to run on 115/145 octane - best available today is 100LL. You would have to run at less than maximum designed boost unless running with extra octane enhancers!

John

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You sure? Wikipedia disagrees:

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100/130

Avgas 100/130 had a higher octane grade aviation gasoline, containing a maximum of 4 grams of lead per US gallon, maximum 1.12 grams/litre. 100LL "low lead" has replaced avgas 100/130 in most places, but Avgas 100/130 is still sold in Australia and New Zealand as one of the two manufacturers in Australia is unable to make Avgas 100LL.[citation needed]

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