Simply hilarious!
I love it!

yeaup thats some engine

extra points for not using an 'under the hood' reference

<snicker> That's Ilsa Klensch, isn't it? The not-really-a-German-spy-honest test pilot? I've thought of a fun scene or two between her and my Spontoon characters... ;)

I only see a pair of V12's based on the exhaust ports. Are you hiding cylinders on us, fox?

Good eyes there flinters. Look at the front engine and between the first and fourth exhaust stacks there's a couple open ports where the nozzles had to be taken off in order to get into and under the engine.

That is an obscenely big engine.

Sometimes it just amazes me how they got those aircraft with huge engines to fly. The Pratt & Whitney R-9000 had four banks of nine radial cylinders, each with four valves and two spark plugs. I guess they were trying to get "Turbofan" performance out of reciprocating piston engines.

But 24 pistons is way too much and would also make the craft too heavy to fly. Even with the extra power, the frame would also need to be able to handle the weight and G-forces. Not to mention the fuel needed for it.

The big problem was tork both for the pilot and for the enginears.

The radial engines were air cooled if a cilender was damaged the rest of the engine would still run. In a hostile envernment [war] That could save your life and the air craft. It also alowed multaple engine sizes with standard parts. For instance the B-17 and thr DC-4 DC-5 DC-6 puse the p-47 sky rader all used the same pistons and cilenders. A fact air tanker companies take or tookadvantage of in keeping their Dc's flying.

You might want to check out the Macchi-Castoldi MC-74. It not only flew just fine with a V-24 engine. but set a speed record for prop driven seaplanes in 1934 that still stands to this day.

One way to solve the weight distribution problem is to put an engine and propeller on both ends of the aircraft (the Germans did this during WW2 with the Dornier Do 335 prototype fighter) ;)

Cesna also did it in the 1960's but it was not well accepted. I forget the modle number. Pilot frends tell me thet engines in the wings are more stable when every thing is working.

Nice details and joke, what's the bird, though?

I can't ident by engines...sob.

Didn't RR make a V16? I think the alison's were mostly V12's

The aircraft is a ficticious, totally imaginary floatplane built exclusively for racing by a German company. On Spontoon Island they used to hold competition for the fastest aircraft on a fixed course. Kind of like the Thompson Trophy races in the 1930's.

Ah, thanks.

I just like everything in this one. At least no one snickered and asked her if she needed help mounting it. > : )