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Re: Question of the Day: Are Old War Planes BangShifty?
I'm definitely a big fan of old planes. I was into planes in a big way when I was a kid, then drifted into muscle cars around 15 years old. I realized that a P-51 Mustang was out of reach, but a muscle car was in my price range. A few years ago my interest in planes resurfaced in a big way. I've been reading and acquiring a lot of stuff related to warbirds in general, and especially the '46-'49 National Air Races in Cleveland. I've been to several aviation museums since, and I've got a lot of pictures.
I'm a little obsessed with the Goodyear F2G Super Corsairs that raced at Cleveland, and I've actually got a plaque with swatches of fabric from 2 of them, one being the '47 winner, plus a swatch from the P-39 that won in '46. I actually considered buying a Pratt & Whitney R-4360 that came up for sale last year - it was the same model that powered the Super Corsairs, still in a storage can from it's last overhaul. 4 banks, 28 cylinders, 56 spark plugs, and capable of 4000 hp in race trim. What's not to like?
I picked up some original Goodyear engineering drawings of the Super Corsair too. I believe they were used by Cook Cleland's team, as they are all of areas modified on his planes. They were clipping wings, adding air scoops, swapping rudders, and boosting the horsepower way above the original rating.
Here's the '47 winner, which is currently being restored in ND.
Here's the plaque I mentioned. The red and white swatch is from Super Corsair "Race 57", currently owned by Ron Pratt, the rich guy who buys all the big ticket cars at BJ. The blue swatch is from Super Corsair "Race 74", seen above.
I'm definitely a big fan of old planes. I was into planes in a big way when I was a kid, then drifted into muscle cars around 15 years old. I realized that a P-51 Mustang was out of reach, but a muscle car was in my price range. A few years ago my interest in planes resurfaced in a big way. I've been reading and acquiring a lot of stuff related to warbirds in general, and especially the '46-'49 National Air Races in Cleveland. I've been to several aviation museums since, and I've got a lot of pictures.
I'm a little obsessed with the Goodyear F2G Super Corsairs that raced at Cleveland, and I've actually got a plaque with swatches of fabric from 2 of them, one being the '47 winner, plus a swatch from the P-39 that won in '46. I actually considered buying a Pratt & Whitney R-4360 that came up for sale last year - it was the same model that powered the Super Corsairs, still in a storage can from it's last overhaul. 4 banks, 28 cylinders, 56 spark plugs, and capable of 4000 hp in race trim. What's not to like?
I picked up some original Goodyear engineering drawings of the Super Corsair too. I believe they were used by Cook Cleland's team, as they are all of areas modified on his planes. They were clipping wings, adding air scoops, swapping rudders, and boosting the horsepower way above the original rating.
Here's the '47 winner, which is currently being restored in ND.
Here's the plaque I mentioned. The red and white swatch is from Super Corsair "Race 57", currently owned by Ron Pratt, the rich guy who buys all the big ticket cars at BJ. The blue swatch is from Super Corsair "Race 74", seen above.
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