|
|
Author
|
Topic: An Engine Museum That Should Not Be Missed!
|
|
Paul G. Thompson
The Weenie Man
![](http://www.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/paulpics.cgi)
Posts: 4718
From: Mount Vernon WA USA
Registered: Nov 2000
|
posted 05-23-2004 09:44 PM
Something noteworthy...The early productions of the Curtis-Wright R3350 engine must have been one of the worst. It has been said we lost more B-29 aircraft in WWII due to engine failures than those that were shot down.
Anyhoo, here is an interesting engine:
![-](http://www.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/showpic.cgi?dir=uploads0503&file=XR-7755_1.jpg)
This 36 cylinder engine was destined to be the largest reciprocating engine ever built. The displacement was 7,755 cubic inches. When compared to Lycoming's largest production engine in production today which displaces 720 cubic inches, it was more than 10 times larger!
This huge engine was 10 feet long, 5 feet in diameter and weighed 6,050 pounds. It produced 5,000 HP at 2,600 RPM, and the target was 7,000. It used 580 GPH of av gas at the 5,000 HP rating.
There were nine overhead camshafts which could be shifted axially for METO power in one position and cruise at the other. Two great shafts emerged for coaxial propellers, and there was a two speed gear-change box between the crankshaft and the propeller shafts.
Development of the XR-7755 began at Lycoming in Williamsport in the summer of 1943. With the end of World War II in 1945, the military no longer had a need for an engine of this size, and development of the XR-7755 stopped at the prototype stage.
During those years, Lycoming put together a team, under the leadership of VP Engineering Clarence Wiegman, to develop this super-size engine.
Here is another picture:
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|