As a mechanical engineer I would be proud to work on a team servicing this aircraft. The engin has been well refurbished as hardly no smoke is visible when the engin is idling smoothly. Well done guys.
@@flynn6614 232 raced with an 18 cylinder Wright R-3350, it was a modified hybrid of several 3350 models similar to the engine "Rare Bear" ran for many years. "Dreadnought" has the 28-cylinder Pratt&Whitney R-4360.
I've seen a LOT of vidoes following awesome aircraft at high speed, and this is one of the best! People... it really takes some skill to follow an aeroplane at HIGH speed and not have the footage look jumpy. Massive props to the man with the video camera!!
232 September Fury was my favorite Unlimited Reno Air Racer. Saw it race many times at Reno and and an Unlimited Gold win on Sunday for 2006! She was sold and is being restored closer to original than her September Fury days. I will miss 232 in that role, but I'm glad it will keep on flying. I think it may be the Sanders team doing the restore.👍 Nice vid w/no crappy music drowning out the real music.
Outstanding job on the video. Great camera work, framing, and knowing how to use (and NOT use) the zoom button. Love the sounds. Thanks for not dubbing over with music and crap.
Fantastic job on every aspect of this video. Special attention to the take off. This guy knows how to take off a tail dragger (rare nowadays). What a beautiful flying bird to see! Congratulations!
What a sound!! I noticed a four blade prop instead of the five bladed prop like the Sea Fury's have with the Bristol Centurus. Sounds like a Wright 3350 spinning really fast.
Perfectly true. It’s a Wright. The clue is the little scoop on top of the engine cowl. The Centaurus would sound different from this because of its sleeve valve design but also because the five blade prop is quieter. As good as this sounds - and it’s better than any Merlin - the Centaurus sounds better.
HOW CAN ANYONE NOT LIKE THIS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sea Fury is/was an awesome aircraft. As a Brit I can just about about live with the replacement of the Mighty Bristol Centaurus (love the name) with a presumably mightier Curtis-Wright R3350, Whatever, superb video and no music brilliant, let the plane perform it's own overture.
The R-3350 with traditional valve system probably is better suited for power enhancing modifications. Especially in an environment where virtually nobody has experience with sleeve valves.
@@billbonnington7916 Not really, i'm just saying that although Hawkers did make some fantastic aeroplanes, including the fastest piston engined aircraft in the world, none of them had the aura of the Spitfire. You have to remember the Spitfire went throughout the war into the 1950's with constant improvements..... People also forget that Hawkers used to be Sopwith, also a fantastic aircraft manufacturer.......
Robert "Hoot" Gibson ripping off a blistering 479mph qual speed in the Hawker Sea Fury, September Fury (Fastest qual speed for a Sea Fury ever) during the 2013 National Championship Air Races held in Reno NV.
Wilbur Finnigan The only original production model mustang with a V1650 that was faster was the P51-F at 491 Mph. But that was at a specific altitude in level flight. It was also an experimental model that only a handful were made which probably never saw service.
GGigabitem the comment I made that it, the Sea Fury, was not as fast as the Merlin Mustangs was at RENO AIR Races......Merlin Mustangs are still the fastest, even faster than the Precious Metal Griffon contra rotating prop model and the Big engined Bear cats. the F model Mustang was an expermental and never saw service the H model Mustang was available at the end of the war and on the way to Japan when the war ended 555 were delivered, the H did fly occupational missions over Japan...
Wonder what sort of power they are getting out of that thing . I would love to know. The plane descends from the tempest which was giving well over 2000hp.
When the plane was owned and raced by Mike Brown, it had a R-3350-93W which was the later variant that was fuel injected and at race power it was producing over 4,000HP.
Beautiful aircraft. There are quite a few of these still around which is unfortunately not the case with her siblings, the typhoon and tempest so watching one of these is about as close as you can get to seeing a typhoon fly (for now)
Can anyone tell me exactly how the engines on the Reno Racers have been modified compared to the original WW2 engines? I know that they've put special fuel in them and they suspend the normal operating limitations - but what other modifications have they made, exactly? Many thanks.
Do you know if that's the sleeve valve Centaurus or a Wright or Wasp in that animal? Sounds like they're tipping some Nitro Methane to it whatever it is.
Thank you. Sea Fury and a (corrected) Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major wins unlimited gold this year. Awesome beautiful machines all. They growl. My bulldog growls back.
Has anyone ever tried a late mark griffon engined Spitfire at Reno? Given that those late type spits had the mustang beat on level flight acceleration, turning and top speed (though only slightly) a well tuned model aught to be competetive in pylon racing.
+Maltsters Arms I don't think so, BUT there's a P-51D series with a griffon engine and contra rotating props similar to the Seafire Mk.47 and some Spiteful models.
I think that one's called Precious Metal. The one I find interesting, is the P&W 4360 engine Sea Fury, Furais. They had a mishap a couple of years ago, and I don't know if they've been back, but that's a nice aeroplane.
This engine was the R-3350, you can always tell when a Sea Fury is powered by an American engine as they turn the opposite direction and spin the 4 blade propeller.
I’m American, so perhaps it is unpatriotic of me, but the Sea Fury is my favorite WWII (ish) super prop. I believe that the P-51s are current ascendant in Unlimited…guess someone figured out how to get the Merlin to hold together long enough at extremely high boost. But, I loved Reno during the hegemony of the big radials. Rare Bear and September Fury.
The Centaurus was the original engine, but since they're getting rare most of the Sea Fury's state side have been converted to the more plentiful american engines.
soaringtractor You do realize that this one blew the non-British engine to smithereens, and has been sitting for sale in Reno since then. This is your chance to buy one and rescue it, since no one seems to want it.
No British engine here, it's all American!! The Bristol Centaurus is a beautiful engine, but the parts are rare and very expensive (if you can find them). The Wright 3350 which this plane has been tweaked to about 4000+ horsepower.
***** Likewise, the sleeve-valved Centaurus makes a very different sound. The Wright engines were gawd-awful fire-starters when they were first used in B-29s, but became ultra-reliable beasts by the time we had them in our A-1 SPADs in Vietnam. See my other comment above.
An air frame and radial engine design that is now more than 75 years old, residing in a heavily modified 75 year old airplane, is still among the the fastest propeller driven planes of all time. All of the planes racing now are ex-fighter planes, built by governments who absorbed the huge cost of design, development and production in order to prosecute the war in Europe in 1945. It has remained that way. Only governments and companies having access to government cash can afford to design and build aircraft now.
Dig that lumpy idle , Mr Hawker would have a conniption if he heard how hot that idle was, then the approach sound - breathtaking. This would terrorise any Nth Koreans out of their pants - a truly outstanding effort in restoration/ development! - LUV IT
This has to be the ULTIMATE piston engine aircraft.Big plane(Heavy) round the small tight circuit does let the 'littlons' have the edge but in a straight line 'Breath my fumes' I am bias but I know it is true. This SEA FURY is sex with wings attached! Sorry to be common.
The most glorious sound I have ever heard. If you have not already, please consider allowing War Thunder’s game developers to use it as a basis for their in-game sounds.
No matter WHICH way they turn,....the Sea Furies didn't even hit the radar until AFTER the Bristol-Centaurus trash was replaced by 2800's, 3350's or 4360's. And THAT's all I have tuh say bout that. ;-)
Beautiful Machine! But honestly, it sounds like a Dragster at iddle! Bristol Centaurus sounds better! But I get the point, this engine is better as a tuned engine! ;-)
kevin brooks While you can't hop up any air-cooled radial the way you can a water-cooled inline, the Wright 3350 is already twice the displacement of a Merlin 1650. The "duplex" Cyclone was capable of 3500 horsepower by the mid-1950s and could run reliably for 10 hours or more knocking out 2500 or so in the late 1960s. I was told by one of Rare Bear's mechanics at Reno in '96 that under the best circumstances, the engine could make over 4000 shp for the duration of a race. The Bear's 3350 was driving a =very= broad-bladed prop off a '60 vintage Lockheed Elektra airliner / Navy patrol bomber in those days. More on how they get so much power out of these ancient engines at machinedesign.com/recreation/unlimited-air-racers-ultimate-hot-rods.
kevin brooks Well, yes, of course. I think the later (post-war) cylinder heads on the 3350s would support that without getting too hot. But milling them down or stroking, etc., is usually risky with any air-cooled engine, and the 3350 was pretty intolerant at its outset.
The biggest problem with the R3350 on the early B29's was the tight engine cowling...not allowing enough airflow to cool...plus they were running them at max power to get the loaded plane off the ground. Later commercial versions were very reliable and a good engine...they were rushed to production for the war effort in the B29 without having sufficient time to work the bugs out...
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
What a beautiful sound when he comes around that pylon! Goosebumps! Thanks for recording this and for your channel.
As a mechanical engineer I would be proud to work on a team servicing this aircraft. The engin has been well refurbished as hardly no smoke is visible when the engin is idling smoothly. Well done guys.
Holger Finken it’s not the original Centaurus but instead it’s a 28 cylinder radial
@@flynn6614 232 raced with an 18 cylinder Wright R-3350, it was a modified hybrid of several 3350 models similar to the engine "Rare Bear" ran for many years. "Dreadnought" has the 28-cylinder Pratt&Whitney R-4360.
I've seen a LOT of vidoes following awesome aircraft at high speed, and this is one of the best! People... it really takes some skill to follow an aeroplane at HIGH speed and not have the footage look jumpy. Massive props to the man with the video camera!!
Thank you, glad you liked it!!
I love coming back to these videos. Your tracking work and sound quality is second to none! Lots of great memories at the races in '13.
this is the most beautiful thing i've seen in my life.
232 September Fury was my favorite Unlimited Reno Air Racer. Saw it race many times at Reno and and an Unlimited Gold win on Sunday for 2006! She was sold and is being restored closer to original than her September Fury days. I will miss 232 in that role, but I'm glad it will keep on flying. I think it may be the Sanders team doing the restore.👍 Nice vid w/no crappy music drowning out the real music.
Correct sold to someone over the pond, but yes restored to original. 232 was an awesome beast in race form.
1:50 that radial sounds so sweet. Thanks for posting this
The original Centaurus with the five-blade prop would sound even better!
Beautiful. Gotta love the Sea Fury - what a beast! Great video.
It slices through the sky!!! What power and grace!!! Majestic!!!!!
Outstanding job on the video. Great camera work, framing, and knowing how to use (and NOT use) the zoom button. Love the sounds. Thanks for not dubbing over with music and crap.
I cannot get over that sound!
PWR2800??? WRIGHT R3350??? or PW R4360 ????
Just want to thank all the people who own these beauties for keeping them in top notch flying condition and not just having them stuck in a museum!
That bird looks terrific in that livery! And as others have said before me: great footage, sound and framing, guys. Keep’em coming!
I love that blue note sound as it rounds the turn and comes towards you.
Fantastic job on every aspect of this video. Special attention to the take off. This guy knows how to take off a tail dragger (rare nowadays). What a beautiful flying bird to see! Congratulations!
What a sound!! I noticed a four blade prop instead of the five bladed prop like the Sea Fury's have with the Bristol Centurus. Sounds like a Wright 3350 spinning really fast.
Perfectly true. It’s a Wright. The clue is the little scoop on top of the engine cowl.
The Centaurus would sound different from this because of its sleeve valve design but also because the five blade prop is quieter. As good as this sounds - and it’s better than any Merlin - the Centaurus sounds better.
Such a shame she's lost her Centaurus motor
That is sad!@@lfcmarkeb7124
@@lfcmarkeb7124 Not really !!! Why he going faster !!!!!
This aircraft ist sooo Hardcore. The sound from Hell.
Wonderfull video and keep up the good work !
Your Da BEST As USUAL..! Thanks Again...
HOW CAN ANYONE NOT LIKE THIS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Probably the best British prop driven aircraft ever.
Hawker made some superb kit.
hello fellow Burgess i wouldas a Brit have to say Supermarine Spitfire though the Seafury is a head turner.
This aircraft might be not british anymore...after all those modifications.... ;)
fredburgessa British prop driven ???? Really??? With an American Radial engine ?????
@@wilburfinnigan2142 yes Wilbur, the Hawker Sea Fury was powered by the Bristol Centaurus 18 cylinder radial engine, delivering some 2480hp 👍
@@fredburgessea4925 This one here had a Wright R3350 engine to go fast and stay together !!!!
Beautiful machine and fantastic noise 👍
Nice sea fury ,love to go to reno airshow oneday ☺
Sea Fury is/was an awesome aircraft. As a Brit I can just about about live with the replacement of the Mighty Bristol Centaurus (love the name) with a presumably mightier Curtis-Wright R3350, Whatever, superb video and no music brilliant, let the plane perform it's own overture.
The R-3350 with traditional valve system probably is better suited for power enhancing modifications. Especially in an environment where virtually nobody has experience with sleeve valves.
@@Itsjustme-JustmeBeautiful plane, sounds great
is that a tiny man or a big massive plane?
I`ve joined the Air Race 2014. This was a great experience. Perfect show, interessing things to see and watching that planes.
Camm was an excellent designer, easily as good as Mitchel. His 1950s Hawker Hunter is still used by the Swiss Air Force.
Hurricane, Typhoon, Tempest, Fury/Sea Fury, Sea Hawk, Harrier & Hunter, an almost endless list of great aircraft...
@@billbonnington7916 But not the Spitfire......
@@Addad66 it's a strange world your head is living in....
@@billbonnington7916 Not really, i'm just saying that although Hawkers did make some fantastic aeroplanes, including the fastest piston engined aircraft in the world, none of them had the aura of the Spitfire. You have to remember the Spitfire went throughout the war into the 1950's with constant improvements..... People also forget that Hawkers used to be Sopwith, also a fantastic aircraft manufacturer.......
@@Addad66 My bad! Tommy Sopwith lived to be 101 years old, another useless piece of trivia that sits between my ears...
Sublime Sound !!!
Robert "Hoot" Gibson ripping off a blistering 479mph qual speed in the Hawker Sea Fury, September Fury (Fastest qual speed for a Sea Fury ever) during the 2013 National Championship Air Races held in Reno NV.
BUT....It is still not as fast as the Packard Merlin Mustangs.......
Wilbur Finnigan The only original production model mustang with a V1650 that was faster was the P51-F at 491 Mph. But that was at a specific altitude in level flight. It was also an experimental model that only a handful were made which probably never saw service.
GGigabitem the comment I made that it, the Sea Fury, was not as fast as the Merlin Mustangs was at RENO AIR Races......Merlin Mustangs are still the fastest, even faster than the Precious Metal Griffon contra rotating prop model and the Big engined Bear cats. the F model Mustang was an expermental and never saw service the H model Mustang was available at the end of the war and on the way to Japan when the war ended 555 were delivered, the H did fly occupational missions over Japan...
Beautiful!
Is this the same one that crash landed in 2012??
Oh NO!!!!😳
Simply said, AWESOME!!!
2:31 ❤❤❤
Awesome sound.
Beautiful.
A Sea Monster :-)
Wonder what Sir Sidney Camm would make of that. Absolutely great🇬🇧
Why do they use lot's of Hawker Sea Furys for Reno Air Races?
That's a damn good question! I can't for the life of me see why either. They're just too fast. 🤠❤️
What is the tube on the port wingtip. Is this for ground referencing? Great video
Paul Nurse That is the pitot tube which is what the plane uses to calculate it’s speed.
i believe the exhaust produces thrust giving another 10 mph
Amazing, thank you.
Wonder what sort of power they are getting out of that thing . I would love to know. The plane descends from the tempest which was giving well over 2000hp.
When the plane was owned and raced by Mike Brown, it had a R-3350-93W which was the later variant that was fuel injected and at race power it was producing over 4,000HP.
Beautiful aircraft. There are quite a few of these still around which is unfortunately not the case with her siblings, the typhoon and tempest so watching one of these is about as close as you can get to seeing a typhoon fly (for now)
Can anyone tell me exactly how the engines on the Reno Racers have been modified compared to the original WW2 engines? I know that they've put special fuel in them and they suspend the normal operating limitations - but what other modifications have they made, exactly? Many thanks.
Bore, stroke, superchargers, valves, pistons, cams, some run a form of ECU, some run loghtweight rods / crank, bearings. Anything and everything
Thx@@TurboJenkins
Thats ALL top secret !!!! SSSShhhhhhhh !!!!!
wow what a beauty..love the sound
Do you know if that's the sleeve valve Centaurus or a Wright or Wasp in that animal? Sounds like they're tipping some Nitro Methane to it whatever it is.
Jim Mac This is a R-3350, they use 160 octane VP racing fuel while at the races.
Thank you. Sea Fury and a (corrected) Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major wins unlimited gold this year. Awesome beautiful machines all. They growl. My bulldog growls back.
AWSOME !
American engineering just made out with a Hawker Sea Fury and I'm liking their offspring.
Imagine what these guys would do to a BAC Lightning??!!!
JUST LOVE THIS PLANE!!!!!!!!
Lovely sound !
Has anyone ever tried a late mark griffon engined Spitfire at Reno? Given that those late type spits had the mustang beat on level flight acceleration, turning and top speed (though only slightly) a well tuned model aught to be competetive in pylon racing.
+Maltsters Arms I don't think so, BUT there's a P-51D series with a griffon engine and contra rotating props similar to the Seafire Mk.47 and some Spiteful models.
I think that one's called Precious Metal. The one I find interesting, is the P&W 4360 engine Sea Fury, Furais. They had a mishap a couple of years ago, and I don't know if they've been back, but that's a nice aeroplane.
@@_YellovvJacket_Not any more !!! They had a MAJOR engine fire and ruined the front half of the plane,still no word on rebuild !!!
What a stunner .
How many inches is that prop wide???
helthuismartin They are using a Skyraider propeller that is 13 feet 6 inches in diameter.
@@Voodoo1650 WOW..Thats big..
@@Voodoo1650 Same length as a Triumph TR6
Bristol Centaurus or other engine fitted?
This engine was the R-3350, you can always tell when a Sea Fury is powered by an American engine as they turn the opposite direction and spin the 4 blade propeller.
@@Voodoo1650 .👍😀
If you Love a SEA FURY then as a racer this was and is the DADDY
That is one hell of a nice aeroplane.
I’m American, so perhaps it is unpatriotic of me, but the Sea Fury is my favorite WWII (ish) super prop.
I believe that the P-51s are current ascendant in Unlimited…guess someone figured out how to get the Merlin to hold together long enough at extremely high boost. But, I loved Reno during the hegemony of the big radials. Rare Bear and September Fury.
The sound of it is beast
She's beautiful but the p51 still has my ❤️
A powerful wind mill! ;-)))
Orvill and Wilbur couldn’t even imagine this
What engine is used?
It's powered by the Wright R-3350, this one also has the rare slow nose case as well which helps slow the prop speed down for better efficiency.
Voodoo1650 thought it was the Bristol Centaurus engine
The Centaurus was the original engine, but since they're getting rare most of the Sea Fury's state side have been converted to the more plentiful american engines.
soaringtractor You do realize that this one blew the non-British engine to smithereens, and has been sitting for sale in Reno since then. This is your chance to buy one and rescue it, since no one seems to want it.
@@88SC I don't want it either and when you push these engines waaaay beyond their designed operating range they will blow up !!! BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!
Nice to sea,such a beautiful plane in flight.Well,done to all concerned.
Jeeze. A cracker-box Wright engine stuffed into a Frankenstein airframe that USED to be a Sea Fury.
cnnw yep and all to gooooo FAAAAAST !!!!!!
Love the prop!
Thanks for no music.
Flying is fun 😂😅😊
Now imagine that with guns !!!!
MAN! That goes like it's being chased by the Devil! SICK Paintjob!
I think it just may be the devil himself! 🤠
She's beautiful.
So you converted that British engine to run in the "American" direction? Amazing
No British engine here, it's all American!! The Bristol Centaurus is a beautiful engine, but the parts are rare and very expensive (if you can find them). The Wright 3350 which this plane has been tweaked to about 4000+ horsepower.
Voodoo1650 LOL Yes I know, just trying to be funny. I don't have the money to fill this thing up with oil and fuel for a weekend.
18tangles Yup ! ! ! It's running and in the airplane...not sitting in a junk pile somewhere.... USA Strong ! ! !
***** Likewise, the sleeve-valved Centaurus makes a very different sound. The Wright engines were gawd-awful fire-starters when they were first used in B-29s, but became ultra-reliable beasts by the time we had them in our A-1 SPADs in Vietnam. See my other comment above.
around 5 yes
I'll take the P51 Mustang Voodoo thank you, for speed.
Jeeze: you're hard to please!!! 🤠
Wonderful plane ..something between La 5 / 7 / 9 and Fw.190D
Just a lot larger.
Michael Hux Almost identical to И - 185 (М-82) , but you're right a lot bigger.
Do what, you're joking matey
that plane makes the people look like minifigures
What a beast!
Hammer Sound!
シーフューリーベースはクリティカルマスが好き❤😊
An air frame and radial engine design that is now more than 75 years old, residing in a heavily modified 75 year old airplane, is still among the the fastest propeller driven planes of all time. All of the planes racing now are ex-fighter planes, built by governments who absorbed the huge cost of design, development and production in order to prosecute the war in Europe in 1945.
It has remained that way. Only governments and companies having access to government cash can afford to design and build aircraft now.
My late cousins plane gave a valiant effort but was third in a race with one winner.. Bob would be indifferent as usual...
special appearance for "Come and Take it Flag
mighty in war mighty in peace
Dig that lumpy idle , Mr Hawker would have a conniption if he heard how hot that idle was, then the approach sound - breathtaking. This would terrorise any Nth Koreans out of their pants - a truly outstanding effort in restoration/ development! - LUV IT
MR Hawker would load his pants IF he knew it had an AMERICAN radial in it !!!! DUUUUHHH!!!!!!!!!
Wonder what Sidney Camm would say about that🇬🇧
I like September fury its when my birthday is on
It’s up for sale right now. www.platinumfightersales.com
Awesome!
Sounds like a AA Blown Fuel Lakester at El Mirage !!!!
British Hawker Sea Fury
シーフューリー、フロッグの７２分の１作りました。
Fark🤯
This has to be the ULTIMATE piston engine aircraft.Big plane(Heavy) round the small tight circuit does let the 'littlons' have the edge but in a straight line 'Breath my fumes' I am bias but I know it is true. This SEA FURY is sex with wings attached! Sorry to be common.
Oh look!! 👀 There's a pair of wings and a man strapped to an engine 😂
The most glorious sound I have ever heard. If you have not already, please consider allowing War Thunder’s game developers to use it as a basis for their in-game sounds.
Nice plane
😮スピナーでかい。
@@寺田弘司-b5w Yes it is!!
Like a sowing machine...
Prop is spinning the wrong direction, and it's not five blades...
Best of British Design! - Gorgeous!
- They should put a 5 blade prop back on, just to look extra-badass, like the original combat machine had! :-D
Can't the British engine turns the opposite way od the American engine,,, the prop pitch is backwards....
Wilbur Finnigan Do you know the first US cars were RHD.
Why so anti English?
No matter WHICH way they turn,....the Sea Furies didn't even hit the radar until AFTER the Bristol-Centaurus trash was replaced by 2800's, 3350's or 4360's. And THAT's all I have tuh say bout that. ;-)
Japan, India ,Australia etc. all drive on left. It derives from Roman cart tracks, it leaves the right hand free to use a weapon
It ain’t no Merlin sound.
Beautiful Machine! But honestly, it sounds like a Dragster at iddle! Bristol Centaurus sounds better! But I get the point, this engine is better as a tuned engine! ;-)
sleeve valves!
that is no stock radial!
NOPE ! ! ! A hopped up AMERICAN RADIAL Wright R3350
kevin brooks While you can't hop up any air-cooled radial the way you can a water-cooled inline, the Wright 3350 is already twice the displacement of a Merlin 1650. The "duplex" Cyclone was capable of 3500 horsepower by the mid-1950s and could run reliably for 10 hours or more knocking out 2500 or so in the late 1960s. I was told by one of Rare Bear's mechanics at Reno in '96 that under the best circumstances, the engine could make over 4000 shp for the duration of a race. The Bear's 3350 was driving a =very= broad-bladed prop off a '60 vintage Lockheed Elektra airliner / Navy patrol bomber in those days. More on how they get so much power out of these ancient engines at machinedesign.com/recreation/unlimited-air-racers-ultimate-hot-rods.
naughtmoses you can still do port work on the heads and change timing.
kevin brooks Well, yes, of course. I think the later (post-war) cylinder heads on the 3350s would support that without getting too hot. But milling them down or stroking, etc., is usually risky with any air-cooled engine, and the 3350 was pretty intolerant at its outset.
The biggest problem with the R3350 on the early B29's was the tight engine cowling...not allowing enough airflow to cool...plus they were running them at max power to get the loaded plane off the ground. Later commercial versions were very reliable and a good engine...they were rushed to production for the war effort in the B29 without having sufficient time to work the bugs out...
This plane can destroy any bf 109