B-29 Engine startup after dark......
 

B-29 engine night run.wmv - YouTube


3,300 cubic inch aircraft engine, run at night. Skip ahead to 2:24, that's when the action begins.

Someone please educate me on what the blue flames are.
Why are they visible on the front and back of the engine. - couldn't be spark, there'd be no compression?
If exhaust, is this just a bare-bones design with no headers?
Notice at part throttle, right flag is pulling, left is pushing - weird?
thanks
Bill K

that is the exhaust . there are 2 rows of cylinders facing opposite directions so you see exhaust flames coming out both ends of the engine.
Radial engines are awesome

I especially appreciated the camera person's jump when the beast fired up! :D

Thanks for posting.
Best
Les

Normally there would be 2 rows of exhaust stacks on that Pratt & Whitney engine. The BLUE is exhaust fire that would be normally ducted through the exhaust stacks.

Now THAT was seriously cool!!!!

angela

ok, that was cool...

Fantastic - great find.

i almost crapped my pants when it fired up. the old guy behind it did not even flinch.

18 cyclinder engine with 9 firing out the front and 9 firing out the back?

i would love to see it down to the block and pistons. i would also like to see the crank.

pushrod engine? how does the valve train work on one of those? camshaft?

awesome. they are even more awesome to hear fly over. nothing sounds like a radial engine

Nice little gif of how they work...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Radial_engine_timing-small.gif

I have spent many hours watching you tube videos like that one. Great stuff.
Check out this big old bad arse Merlin.
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Wow.
I can't imagine back when, to hear all four going.

Thanks! I loved it. Now that is a motor head's dream.

Assisted in ground crew duties on FIFI when she would come into kalamzoo back in the day. What is awesome is engines with inertia starter, especially bigger radials.

Very cool, thanks for posting.

I saw a similar engine, I dont know planes, at the Owls Head museum in Maine. Loudest thing I've ever heard and to say it leaked oil... the operator's suit was covered. Impressive.

Thanks for the link.

Having heard these in real life (in the B29 FIFI), as impressive as the clip is it cannot convey the incredible sound of power these engines generate. Imagine the most impressive muscle car you ever heard, then imagine that multiplied many times.

The B-29 engine is going into this plane:

Doc's Friends

Pretty darn cool. Won't that be something for this to take flight again?

angela

Used to hear them all the time when I was a little kid.

TWA Lockheed Super Constellations used to land and take off right over our house in Albuquerque... same engines.

But that was nothing... literally.

We also had B-36's doing the same. They had 6 much larger engines in pusher configuration.

Light years louder. Pictures fell off the wall, cabinet doors flew open, dishes broke...

6 much larger engines pushing, AND 4 turbojets!

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