One second in the life of a Reno air racer

[sirstude]

I got the the other day and thought everyone might like it.  I question the ratio of methanol/water to the gas.  It might be that much though.

The Unlimiteds go flashing through the racecourse,
engines howling, air shearing, heat waves streaming.
480mph is 8 miles a minute, and the elite racers take
about 70 seconds to cover the 9.1 mile Reno course.

If you could take a souped P-51 racer flying the
circuit at Reno, slow time down, and examine just one
second, what would you find?

In that one second, the V-12 Rolls-Royce Merlin engine
would have gone through 60 revolutions, with each of
the 48 valves slamming open and closed 30 times.

The twenty four spark plugs have fired 720 times.

Each piston has traveled a total of 60 feet in linear
distance at an average speed of 41mph, with the
direction of movement reversing 180 degrees after
every 6 inches.

360 power pulses have been transmitted to the
crankshaft making 360 sonic booms as the exhaust gas
is expelled from the cylinder with a velocity
exceeding the speed of sound.

The water pump impeller has spun 90 revolutions,
sending 4 gallons of coolant surging through the
engine and radiators.

The oil pumps have forced 47 fluid ounces, roughly
one-third gallon, of oil through the engine, oil
cooler, and oil tank, scavenging heat and lubricating
the flailing machinery.

The supercharger rotor has completed 348 revolutions,
it's rim spinning at Mach 1, forcing 4.2 pounds or 55
ft # of ambient air into the combustion chambers under
3 atmospheres of boost pressure.

Around 9 fluid ounces of high octane aviation fuel,
7843 BTU's worth of energy, has been injected into the
carburetor along with 5.3 fluid ounces of
methanol/water anti-detonant injection fluid.

Perhaps 1/8 fluid ounce of engine oil has been either
combusted or blown overboard via the crankcase
breather tube.

Over 1.65 million foot pounds of work have been done,
the equivalent of lifting a station wagon to the top
of the Statue of Liberty.

In that one second, the hard-running Merlin has turned
the propeller through 25 complete revolutions, with
each of the blade tips having arced through a distance
of 884 feet at a rotational velocity of 0.8 Mach.

15 fluid ounces of spray bar water has been atomized
and spread across the face of the radiator to
accelerate the transfer
of waste heat from the cooling system to the
atmosphere.

In that one second, the aircraft itself has traveled
704 feet, close to 1/8 mile, or roughly 1.5% of a
single lap.

The pilot's heart has taken 1.5 beats, pumping 5.4
fluid ounces of blood through his body at a peak
pressure of 4.7 inches of mercury over ambient
pressure.

Our pilot happened to inspire during our measured
second, inhaling approximately 30 cubic inches (0.5
liter) of oxygen from the on-board system, and 2.4
million (yes, million!) new red blood cells have been
formed in the pilot's bone marrow.

In just one second, an amazing sequence of events have
taken place beneath those polished cowlings and
visored helmets.

It's the world's fastest motor sport.

[bigdude]

And thats how long it would take for me to soil myself!

[Crosley.In.AZ]

And thats how long it would take for me to soil myself!

oh , I bet you would need more time to soil yerself!

[GPster]

That is a very interesting analysis. I always have some interest in airplanes but It has never been in a competition way. One little bit of information that I had picked up over the years on the P-51s is that they were originally fitted with Allison motors but when they got to the European Theater they were switched over to the Rolls Royce motor for power, etc.. I wonder how much slower an Allison powered P-51 would be? I got my information off the Discovery channel but if it's not right say so. GPster

[soldermonkey]

That is very interesting, I saw a similar description of a AA fuel dragster that was also very good.

dave