Aircraft engines are bitchin’. They’ve had a place in hot rodding since the beginning with guys like the Arfons brothers and Jim Lytle using piston mills in their race cars. Later, turbine engines were used in exhibition drag machinery and legendary LSR racers. Enginehistory.org is the homepage for the Aircraft Engine historical society and it totally rules.
Our first love in terms of “plane power” is definitely the WWII era piston engines. We think these rate the highest on the gearhead scale with mills like the Allison V12 1710 and wild W-24 3420, along with the mighty Rolls Royce Merlins. These are hot rod engines in the sky.
The site covers all the bases including even rocket engines, and we get giddy thinking about the antics of 1970s rocket dragster acts at the strip. We could have made this one a Monday Time Killer because it’ll suck you in for hours with all the different options and areas available to cruise.
Click the link to spin the prop!
