Pratt And Whitney R-4360 On Test Stand

[SkyPup]

Pratt & Whitney R-4360-20 first start

Below, you will find a great test stand video of the Pratt & Whitney 4360 Wasp engine introduced in 1944. The engine was a 28-cylinder four-row air cooled radial engine. Each row of pistons was slightly offset from the previous, forming a semi-helical arrangement to facilitate efficient airflow cooling of the successive rows of cylinders, with the spiraled cylinder setup inspiring the engine's "corncob" nickname. A mechanical supercharger geared at 6.374:1 ratio to engine speed provided forced induction, while thepropeller was geared at 0.375:1 so that the tips did not reach inefficient supersonic speeds. Initially, it developed 3,000 horsepower; later models gave 3,500 horsepower.

The 4360 powered the B-50, successor to the B-29 and later the B-36. Although reliable in flight, the Wasp Major was maintenance-intensive. Improper starting technique could foul all 56 spark plugs, which would require hours to clean or replace. As with most piston aircraft engines of the era, the time between overhauls of the Wasp Major was about 600 hours when used in commercial service.

Click here: Pratt & Whitney R-4360-20 first start on Vimeo

[Jabo]

Man, that's a BIG ol' engine. Nice vid Pup.

Jabo

[BadAim]

What a beautiful noise......

[T_O_A_D]

Ether pretty brave or stupid walking around the prop like that.

Pretty cool vid though, one can only dream to work on such a beast.

[B16Enk]

Vimeo support built in!

[Jabo]

Ether pretty brave or stupid walking around the prop like that.

I thought that when the camera started to move - didn't look like there was much clearance.

Jabo

[Sid]

That is one heck of an engine.......fantastic!!!!

[Painless]

~S~

Isn't that the same as the engine we saw at RENO in the "Super Corsair" Skid ?

~S~ P.

[Jabo]

If it was the F2G - then yes it's this engine.