Re: [gentoo-user] [Way OT] Tally ho!

[Alan McKinnon]

On 29/06/2014 18:38, Dale wrote:
> Peter Humphrey wrote:
>> Of course! I missed the Spitfire, so I don't know how high it flew, but the
>> Hurricane sound from no more than a couple of hundred feet or so was among the
>> two or three most impressive of my life. Both planes have V12 Rolls-Royce
>> Merlin engines (I think). As each cylinder fired, the sound pressure went up
>> extremely fast at the start of the exhaust beat, suggesting huge exhaust
>> valves, and the deep-throated roar was ... just ... beyond description.
>>
>> The only engine to come close was an extraordinary 1/3 scale model of a nine-
>> cylinder radial aero-engine I saw years ago at a national model engineering
>> exhibition. The crankshaft was anchored to the frame, and the entire engine
>> and prop rotated around it. That's what you call air-cooling! Absolutely
>> fantastic when he fired it up once an hour or so!
>
> Yep.  Some of those prop engines are very powerful, maybe not so
> efficient tho.  Anyway, they sure do make some noise even if the engine
> is small.  I don't think they have mufflers or if they do, it isn't much
> of one.  I also think they burn methanol or something too.  I'm not sure
> and it may even vary from one engine to another.  I don't think they
> burn plain old gas like cars.


The Harvard trainers we were using when I was in the military all used
140-odd octane gasoline, I beleive that's normal for aircraft piston
engines. It's still gas, but not what you put in the car. You should see
what that stuff does for a little old 1600 Mazda - goes like the
clappers but the motor doesn't last very long :-)

Those Harvards[1] are famous around here, anyone in the SAAF until 15
years ago knows the sound well, it's very distinctive. Nowhere near as
loud as the V12 Merlin



[1]
http://www.saairforce.co.za/the-airforce/aircraft/38/harvard-1-iia-iii-na-88





>
>
>>> I live about 4 or 5 miles from a air force base here.  We have mostly
>>> training type planes that fly over us but on occasion, we have something
>>> really big here.  We have even had the space shuttle land there a few times.
>>> The B2 bombers have been there as well.
>> Sounds like a good place to live! That's not Edwards, is it? I drove up to the
>> gates once to see what they'd say. They were actually quite polite.
>
> I'm close to Columbus Air Force base in Mississippi.  It has a huge
> runway.  It is one reason the space shuttle lands here.  It takes a long
> runway to land and take off when carrying that thing.  I say space
> shuttle, it's mounted on the back of a 747 I think.  What's more neat
> tho is the big bombers.  My Dad several decades ago was doing a contract
> job at the base.  For some reason they had the really big bombers out
> there with armed military guards everywhere.   They wouldn't let anyone
> even near those things. He could see them real good tho.  He said "it
> looked like death, just plain death".  Later on my Dad found out it was
> loaded up with bombs that they were moving somewhere else.   Death was
> more accurate than he thought.

I also spent time at Hoedspruit, and every time the Shuttle was coming
home the base would be on standby alert. there's two runways in the
southern hemisphere that could land a shuttle - Hoedspruit (7 miles) and
one in Australia somewhere. It was never needed so we never did get to
see a Shuttle live. Pity, but maybe it's for the best, I don't recall
ever seeing a 70 ton mobile crane hanging around to get it up onto a 747
for the flight home :-)



We *do* get to see the USAF's enormous transport planes every two when
the SAAF puts on it's bi-annual air-show. USAF is kind enough to always
bring their big 'uns. But never the good stuff, so we don't get to see
the B2  :-(







-- 
Alan McKinnon
alan.mckinnon@×××××.com