Rolls Royce Type R - The Race Winning Engine You've Never Heard Of

We do our best work while in competition. It’s why the space race took us to the moon, and it’s why drivers usually set their fastest laps during races. The fact is, when the spirit of competition pushes us, we demand the absolute most from ourselves. That’s why, in terms of engine development and performance, one competition, named the Schneider Trophy race, resulted in one of the most significant leaps forward in internal combustion engine performance the world had ever seen.
#aviation #history

[@Carstuff111]

Knowing what I do about the physics of engines running, and the dynamics both fluid and vibrational.....the pressures, just....there is a reason when it comes to engine development, the 1920s through 1940s have me in awe what they did without computers, just brute math, mixed with voodoo and art.

[@Surestick88]

The book "The Secret Horsepower Race" by Calum Douglas is worth a read. He's an engineer so the book isn't short on technical details. It covers the development of aircraft piston engines during the second world war. He's got some videos on KZbin too if you want to get an idea of if you think the book might be worth buying or not.

[@nattybumpo7156]

​@@Surestick88 I bought it. At was both expensive and worth it.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

Check out the Rolls Royce Heritage series. The Mustang talks about the people and the engineering. Merlin is more engineering.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

The crank and Conrad problems. The plague is the origin also fit through to the Blurton. It was eventually traced to the Royal not moving in at Royal high with the crankshaft centrifuging oil away from the bearings and good luck. Ewa pick a pump problem solved

[@stephencox4224]

Do you know there has only been one patent granted since the 1930's in Camshaft design and that was to Competition Cams for what basically was a small bump in the opening ramp for the exhaust to start a negative pressure wave timed to arrive at a point when the negative pressure wave was most beneficil to exhaust extraction. Effective removal of burnt exhaust gas allowed better volumetric efficiency as there was less burnt gas residing still in the combustion chamber when the next power stroke began and the other benefit was less power losses with more efficient scavenging and hence better fuel useage and more economy.

[@jamesgovett3225]

I have a book named “I kept no diary” an autobiography of Air Commodore F.R. (Rod Banks) that I bought back in 1983 here in Melbourne Aus. his revised edition which he prepared the special fuels in which the UK won the Schneider Trophy Contests, and when in 1932 and 1934 the Italians made a bid for the world speed record it was to Rod Banks they turned to for help on engine and fuel development. So did Henry Seagrave and John Cobb while engaged in their spectacular land and water speed records. When world war 2 came he joined the RAVR as an officer and sent to the A & AEE at Boscombe Down when he came to the attention of Lord Beaverbrook who gave him powers to act as a trouble shooter. And within a few years he was appointed an Air Commodore and was made Director General of engine production and Director of engine research and engine development. Post war he returned to to his pre war appointment with the Ethyl organisation and followed a number of directorships including Principal Director of engine research and development with the Ministry LC supply, Director of the Bristol Aeroplane company in Britain and Canada also with the joining of Bristol Aero with Armstrong Siddeley, he was an expert especially in fuel technology at the time and the development of the Rolls Royce “R” for Racing as he tells in his book is a fascinating read if anyone can get their hands on a copy

[@darreng745]

Think on one fact, in 1931 the S6 would do 406 mph with the extra drag from the floats, the mark I Spitfire prototype which was more aerodyamically cleaner than the S6 only did 346mph in the May test flights in 1936. That shows you how powerful the R engine was in relation to the early Merlin engine that it could move an aircraft that suffered from the extra drag to a higher speed.

[@posniknelb6114]

Yes, but the R could only deliver that high output for reasonably short period of time. It was literally a racing engine. The merlin needed to be rugged and last way way longer in service.

[@lancepharker]

@@posniknelb6114 It also needed special fuel that could not ne produced on a scale needed to fight a war.

[@who-gives-a-toss_Bear]

11:46 Increased displacement? Rolls-Royce R displacement: 2,239 cu in (36.7 L) built to race. Rolls-Royce Merlin was only 1,649 cu in (27 L) built to last.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

comparing chalk and cheese. The S6 used evapourative cooling and was a sprint engine (short life) whereas the Spit designers reacted to the requirement to use the new Merlin with glycol radiators using a scoop design & placement that was not ineffective. The original Spit Mk.I did 360 mph. The c/s prop then added weight and slowed its max speed but improved climb and manouvering at altitude. Meanwhile the obsolete Hurricane with the same engine/prop wobbled along at 316 mph. It's more appropriate to compare the R to the Griffon Spit XXI at 460 mph.

[@HistoricAeroEngines]

My compliments on an excellent review of a master engine. Its development formed the root of what was to come with the Merlin at a time when world history required a leading fighter engine design.

[@mothmagic1]

More correctly the Griffon was the in service derivative of the R. The Merlin was on 27 litres not 37

[@HistoricAeroEngines]

​@@mothmagic1 As Arthur Rubbra himself said, the Type R "bore no direct relationship to the production Griffons of the 1940s". The experience gained from the R engine was carried forward to Merlin development in 1933 with adoptions including sodium filled valves, high boost spark plugs and rotation direction. The first production Griffons in June 1940 had the same displacement as the Type R, but so did the Buzzard engine. I agree with the findings of this video, and the conclusion expressed from 11:25 onwards. There are several videos of Merlin and Griffon engines (and other aero engines of that era) on the HAE KZbin channel.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

@@HistoricAeroEngines well said! Meanwhile, Allison was in the dark ages.

[@ADRIAAN1007]

Burning 112 gallons of oil per hour, F1 racing teams must be jealous.

[@Slaktrax]

Which lowers the efective octane rating. I wonder if that's a misprint. Quoted froma reliable website: ''Spitfires with the bigger Griffon engine will consume about 40 gal (182 lit), per hour set up for economical cruising at 1,800rpm which, with the higher economical cruising speed of 210mph (337km/h) gives just over 5 miles per gallon. In combat, this number was somewhere around 100 imp gal (454 lit) per hour''. ---------------- I think the author means 15 gallons per hour. From the Aircraft Performance website, Griffons used .0.50 lb/h.p./hr. of fuel and 0.022 lb/h.p./hr. of oil ---------------- Note: The Rolls-Royce Griffon has the same displacement as the Rolls'Royce R racing engine which won the Schneider Trophy outright in 1931. The ''R'' engine was rated at 2,600 h.p./3,000 r.p.m./sea level at 67.0 in. boost with a b.m.e.p. of 310 lb./sq.in.using 92-octane gasoline".

[@bobsakamanos4469]

Well done video. Lot's of lessons learned from the racing R engine put into the Merlin and Griffon. Allison was way behind the eight ball and NAA's Kindelberger knew it so he started pursuing RR engines for his P-51 in March 1941.

[@grantpiper6358]

I think the Merlin was about 27 litres, whereas the 'R' was 37 litres, which was the same as the later Griffon.

[@mothmagic1]

Absolutely correct hence the reason the Packard built Merlins were designated 1650. 1650 cubic inches is 27 litres.

[@ronjon7942]

This was excellent as always, and a great presentation to motivate me to further research. Thank you for your book recommendations. I had no idea you were an Airbus driver! That is great, is this how you and Greg seem to have a good working relationship, or did you cross paths creating your content? I hope you continue with your engine presentations; I’ve been consuming your content since you’ve started (based on a recommendation by Greg, as a matter of fact), and while I think you’ve been great, you’re definitely getting even better with experience. Also, you’ve a great narration voice, very crisp and accurate sounding, and confident.

[@8.2deck]

I hope you keep making videos I can't get enough of them

[@Slaktrax]

A very informative video, thank you. A small error @11:48. The Merlin was 27 litres, so not an ''increased displacement''. The R which was the ''father'' of the RR Griffon shared the same 36.7 litres 🙂

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

The Merlin was 27 litres, a big increase over the long established Kestrel’s 21 litres.

[@allangibson8494]

@@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 The Merlin was substantially smaller than the 36 liter German engines…

[@Slaktrax]

@@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 Yes, it was though the video was referring to the Buzzard or ''R'' engine being 36.7 litres. Listen to the video from 11:35.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

@@Slaktrax Yes he got that wrong, we are spared replay and dissection in our normal speech, so far!

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

@@allangibson8494 The German engines had to be bigger because they needed a lower _mean effective pressure_ as they were more prone to detonation. Even with variable speed supercharging the DB605 peaked at a lower altitude than 60 series Merlins. Their power output was relatively low so they didn’t need to be sturdy for their displacement, they were not especially heavy.

[@aaronsosnoski1017]

I’m always waiting on your uploads man. Great work!

[@jp-um2fr]

Two minor points. It was found that altering the exhaust outlets gave an in crease in speed to the Spitfire due to thrust. Second, the wings were derived from the Schneider, which made the eventual 20 mm cannon difficult to fit due to their being thin. Good video.

[@chrisbarnes2823]

Great video on the R engine. By the way the pronunciation of Derby where the engine was built is Darby. I was born and raised in the shadow of the factory and went to school on Nightingale Road across the road from the factory, many years later I worked there. Sadly the factory is now gone, but the main entrance remains.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

My uncle Dick helped build Merlin’s at Nightingale Road His brother Jack went to Glasgow to work on the new plant up there. RR still has a huge presence in Derby though the old sites are long gone.

[@scotttait2197]

​@@Dave5843-d9m there where a few RR plants on and around Glasgow obe at Hillington & East Kilbride , not many keft here either

[@johnburns4017]

@@scotttait2197 Merlin shadow factories were made at Manchester, Glasgow and Crewe with Packard in the USA licensed to build the engine.

[@toomanyuserids]

There were very few S engines built, and they got shared out to race boats and then moved from there. Malcolm Campbell got one for his 1935 Bluebird that did 301mph, George Eyston got two for his earth shattering Thunderbolt that did 350.

[@toomanyuserids]

The boat owner was as out and proud lesbian as existed in the day, not that there's anything wrong with that.

[@garneauweld1100]

Digging deep for details. Very well done. Thank you, sir

[@rtqii]

I have seen some seriously beautiful engines on this channel. I never would have known about some of them.

[@ATomRileyA]

Another great video, love these..

[@MisterOcclusion]

I never knew where the buzzard fit into the engine lineup before. Our museum here has a reproduction Ju-52 with a single buzzard in the nose and no other engines. The type was used as a bush plane at the time.

[@allangibson8494]

That’s why the German transports were the Ju52-3M (3 Motors). The earlier ones were the Ju52-1M…

[@paulm749]

8:03 Little known fact: "ludicrous power" was an actual throttle setting on the Type R. 😉

[@jfess1911]

Since they never got to plaid speed, does it count?

[@paulm749]

@@jfess1911 There's more than one school of thought about that - it's a point of near endless controversy!

[@buggerall]

@@jfess1911 But then they would have gotten into the "can't stop, have to slow down first" paradox. They were lucky not to try that one.

[@jfess1911]

@@buggerall Silly me. I hadn't thought about that!

[@pjb5757]

Another great video of another amazing engine, thanks for posting.

[@richardjweeks]

Very nicely narrated video. Thank you

[@vipertwenty249]

What could possibly make you imagine we've never heard of the Rolls Royce R?? I knew about it by the time I was 9 years old back in the late 1960's - well over 60 years ago. You only just learned about it? Coming a bit late aren't you?

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

Oh Rrrr. Arrogant, blinkered, condescending and pretentious in a powerful yet compact form 😎 But _not_ the worst title, a really very good video.

[@ronjon7942]

Relax, it’s just a title.

[@donaldbowen5423]

A High School friend of mine set a land speed piston engine record of 402 miles an hour at Bonneville Flats Utah in August 2002 using 2 Chevrolet V8 engines in a car he built himself. his name was Nolan White, from San Diego Ca. He was killed later that year at 422 in an attempt to break his own record.

[@ianmangham4570]

Stormy Mangham designed motorcycle fairings for high speed runs at the salt flats

[@bobsakamanos4469]

that's not car racing, it's high speed flying at very low level.

[@TheArklyte]

"The most powerful engine you've never heard of" Clerget H16 sitting in the corner with the rest of french and italian aircraft engines: are you sure about that?;)

[@jfess1911]

Never heard of it.😉

[@rotax636nut5]

Excellent video, many thanks

[@gameboy3800]

can you cover the process of the mercedes t80 engine? its power figure quotes can vary wildly depending on who you ask.

[@jbepsilon]

I suspect the articulated conrods were, in retrospect, a mistake. After WWII they were more or less universally abandoned in favor of the simple side-by-side conrod arrangement, including on racing engines like you see in Formula 1. And same can be said for the fork and blade conrods which were also popular in WWII aviation engines. (And as a small nit, it's Harry Ricardo not Henry Ricardo @7:54)

[@Dave5843-d9m]

Harry Ricardo did a huge amount of work on RR engines. His test mules were V twins literally 1/6 of a full sized engine. This actually led to them taking so long fix the rods and crank failures above 3000 rpm. Harry’s V twins had run so fast that pistons literally touched the cylinder head. It turned out the oil pump was more than enough for the V twin but could not keep up with V 12 oil demand. Bigger oil pump and suddenly they had lots more reliable power.

[@toomanyuserids]

He also apparently worked on the ridiculous BRM H-16...

[@robleary3353]

The engine that saved the free world!..

[@johnpowell5433]

Very interesting. At 10:43 you mention George Eyston, WW1 hero and land speed record holder. We British are noted for words that are not pronounced as they are spelt and Eyston is an example. His name is pronounced Eastern, not Eye-stun.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

Always sneaking in "r's" where they don't belong.

[@braincraven]

I never knew that the Schneider Cup was instrumental leading to the Merlin Engine. Thank you for the this bit O' history.

[@jfess1911]

Once you know to look for it, the aircraft in WWII tend to look more like Schneider Cup aircraft than the military aircraft of their era.

[@TheEulerID]

It wasn't particularly. The Merlin is more based on the Kestrel than the type R, although there will have been many lessons learned. However, what the Schneider trophy planes were closer to was the design of the Supermarine Spitfire. The 1931 Supermarine S.6B was designed by R.J. Mitchell, who of course, was the designer of the Spitfire. The British government was to issue requirements for a new fighter aircraft just 18 days after the winning of the Schneider trophy, and this spurred development of both plane and engine (although R.J. Mitchell's first attempt, the Type 224 failed to meet expectations). If it was the father of anything, then it would be the RR Griffon in that they were both about 36 litres and rotated in the opposite direction to the Merlin.

[@piersdowell832]

Thanks for the video, I'm trying to work out how many R types are left. The only one I have seen for real is at Hendon Air Museum and I can't recall if RR have one at the new Derby works. I Read most of the comments, I can't believe some one would get his arse in his hand over the title, I have heard of the R type and wasn't offended at all. Keep up the good work.

[@ronjon7942]

Funny, I’m (slowly) doing the same with the Centaurus.

[@piersdowell832]

@@ronjon7942 I can help you there Ron, I have a Centaurus 175 from the Hendon Beverley.The other 3 are owned by a farmer in Norfolk . There is also a similar Mk at the Newark air museum from an Airspeed Ambassador and Brian Peaden owns one in Reno although he has sectioned his.

[@steveshoemaker6347]

Excellent video of an excellent Engine....Thanks so much....... Shoe🇺🇸

[@jasonstinson1767]

What do you think about a video on the Ford GAA? I know it's not a aircraft engine but your documentaries on this era/type engines are awesome as well as some of your most viewed , plus if a good performer, it would open doors to new lines of content. Great work no matter what as always.

[@mrspandel5737]

Wasn't the GAA developed from an Aircraft engine which never entered full production?

[@jasonstinson1767]

@Mr Spandel I believe they were trying for a aircraft engine contract and applied that knowledge to the GAA development.

[@wilburfinnigan2142]

@@mrspandel5737 YES it was Henry Ford answer to the Merlin. he wanted to build his own engine rather than the merlin but nobody was interested. later it was cut to a V8 and used for tank engines at 1100 cu in !!!

[@toomanyuserids]

Ford has built two 60 degree DOHC V8s can you identify the other? Hint: fifty years apart

[@richardvernon317]

First Record claimed by the R Type Engine was the Water Speed Record in 1930 when two of them were used to power Miss England II to a speed of 98MPH on Lake Windermere. The Boat crashed on its next run killing Henry Seagrave and one of his two mechanics .The Boat was savaged and went on to break the record in 1931 driven by Kay Donn and it was followed by Miss England III which driven by Donn also broke the record using the R Type Engine.

[@Mark_317]

A shop teacher in secondary school had an s13 with an sr20 that had more than 3 bar of boost. He used to say you don't need 8 cylinders when 4 can move the same ammount of air and fuel.

[@wingmanjim6]

A bit simplistic, though. In large engines, the much larger bore of a 4 cylinder runs into problems in getting the flame front to successfully burn the entire charge during what is essentially the same time frame, i.e., time during which both intake and exhaust valves are closed. This is actually one reason why aircraft engines have two spark oplugs, to generate a larger flame front ( in addition to safety considerations ).

[@wingmanjim6]

Excellent presentation, especially considering time constraints in video presentations. I note a lot of folks in the comment section who apparently have no sense of humor or are apparently trying to nitpick in order to inflate their egos. Certainly legit constructive criticism is a good thing, but I sometimes sense more ego inflation. Anyway, thanks for the very nice presentation.

[@mrrolandlawrence]

interesting video as always. ive seen it written that the griffon was the spritual successor to the R, but seems the merlin was also.

[@stephengleeson1263]

I read this too 😊

[@martinwarne7183]

Merlin 27 liters Griffon 37 liters

[@xvdd1]

The Grffon did have 6.0 inch bores and 6.6-inch stroke giving a 2,239 cubic inch displacement, the same parameters as the "R".

[@PNH750]

@@xvdd1 This video contains a few inaccuracies. The lineage goes Buzzard, then R and finally Griffin. For the Merlin the Kestrel appears to be the starting point with the Peregrine briefly slotting into that line-up along with the 4 cylinder bank Vulture.

[@andrewtadd4373]

There are photos in a local history book East and West Wittering of pylons marking the course of the race rather than bouys. Henry Royce lived in West Wittering at the time.

[@ScottyPilot]

The Merlin was NOT a development of the R type, it was a stand alone design and had a completely different firing order and was much smaller. The Griffin however, WAS based on the R type but the Griffin rotates Anti-Clockwise whereas the Merlin and R type rotate Clockwise (viewed from the rear).

[@robertnicholson7733]

Sorry but this is wrong, the firing order of R-R V12s was the same for all engines that rotated in the same direction (some engine types were handed in which case, the opposite rotation was the reverse firing orde) from the first Eagle up to the Merlin, The 1939 Griffon had three different firing orders, two for the Mark 1s and the final firing order for all later marks. The original design for the Merlin was a new design using an integrated upper crankcase and cylinder blocks, with removal heads. This type of construction was required for the ramp head design proposed for the Merlin. The ramp head was a failure and the one piece upper crankcase and block suffered from cracking of the castings. This design was abandoned and the early Merlin could be reasonably described as an enlarged Kestrel, so not a new design at all. There were some improvements incorporated in the Merlin that were derived from the R. The Merin remained an enlarged Kestrel until the removable head design was put into production but even then it was very much Kestrel at the core. There were two V12 Griffon engines, the 1933 (also sometimes called the 1931) Griffon which was a detuned "production centric" version of the R, the engineer responsible for this was Stewart Tresilian who was part of the R team. this engine was not put into production. The Production Griffon, aka 1939 Griffon was a clean sheet design. The only thing that carried over from the R was the bore and stroke and thus capacity, and of course the 60-degree V12 configuration. The engine was very different and was designed to be as close as possible to the length of the Merlin. For example, the engine had the camshafts and magnetos driven from the propeller reduction gear housing at the front of the engine as opposed to the R, Merlin, etc, which had the camshaft drives and magnetos driven from a gear drive housing at the rear of the engine. Thus, the 1939 Griffon had a parallel camshaft drive as against the R's serial drive camshaft. there were many, many, other changes. This is a small excerpt from one of my lists of basic engine characteristics, in this case firing orders for R-R V12s, please notice that the R-R Phantom III V12 car engine had the same firing order as the Merlin, Kestrel, etc. Also, this list is partial as the more complete lists would be difficult to follow and would require far too much editing for my lazy ... Engine = Rolls-Royce Falcon Series I~III, RH Rotation Data Plate Firing Order = 1A-2B-5A-4B-3A-1B-6A-5B-2A-3B-4A-6B Normalized Firing Order = 1-8-5-10-3-7-6-11-2-9-4-12 Crankshaft Rotation (as viewed from anti-propeller end) = CW Engine = Rolls-Royce Falcon Series I~III, LH Rotation Data Plate Firing Order = 1A-6B-4A-3B-2A-5B-6A-1B-3A-4B-5A-2B Normalized Firing Order = 1-12-4-9-2-11-6-7-3-10-5-8 Crankshaft Rotation (as viewed from anti-propeller end) = CCW Engine = Rolls-Royce Kestrel Data Plate Firing Order = 1A-6B-4A-3B-2A-5B-6A-1B-3A-4B-5A-2B Normalized Firing Order = 1-12-4-9-2-11-6-7-3-10-5-8 Crankshaft Rotation (as viewed from anti-propeller end) = CCW Engine = Rolls-Royce Buzzard Data Plate Firing Order = 1A-6B-4A-3B-2A-5B-6A-1B-3A-4B-5A-2B Normalized Firing Order = 1-12-4-9-2-11-6-7-3-10-5-8 Crankshaft Rotation (as viewed from anti-propeller end) = CCW Engine = Rolls-Royce R Data Plate Firing Order = 1A-6B-4A-3B-2A-5B-6A-1B-3A-4B-5A-2B Normalized Firing Order = 1-12-4-9-2-11-6-7-3-10-5-8 Crankshaft Rotation (as viewed from anti-propeller end) = CCW Engine = Rolls-Royce Griffon (1933) Data Plate Firing Order = 1A-6B-4A-3B-2A-5B-6A-1B-3A-4B-5A-2B Normalized Firing Order = 1-12-4-9-2-11-6-7-3-10-5-8 Crankshaft Rotation (as viewed from anti-propeller end) = CCW Engine = Rolls-Royce Merlin, V-1650 Data Plate Firing Order = 1A-6B-4A-3B-2A-5B-6A-1B-3A-4B-5A-2B Normalized Firing Order = 1-12-4-9-2-11-6-7-3-10-5-8 Crankshaft Rotation (as viewed from anti-propeller end) = CCW Engine = Rolls-Royce Griffon I (1939) Data Plate Firing Order = 1A-2B-5A-4B-3A-1B-6A-5B-2A-3B-4A-6B Normalized Firing Order = 1-8-5-10-3-7-6-11-2-9-4-12 Crankshaft Rotation (as viewed from anti-propeller end) = CW Merlin Crankshaft, Rotation Reversed Engine = Rolls-Royce Griffon I, Firing Order Change #1 Data Plate Firing Order = 1A-5B-2A-3B-4A-1B-6A-2B-5A-4B-3A-6B Normalized Firing Order = 1-11-2-9-4-7-6-8-5-10-3-12 Crankshaft Rotation (as viewed from anti-propeller end) = CW Merlin Crankshaft, Rotation Reversed Engine = Rolls-Royce Griffon II,III,IV,-65 Data Plate Firing Order = 1A-4B-3A-2B-5A-1B-6A-3B-4A-5B-2A-6B Normalized Firing Order = 1-10-3-8-5-7-6-9-4-11-2-12 Crankshaft Rotation (as viewed from anti-propeller end) = CW Final Firing Order Engine = Rolls-Royce Phantom III Car V12 Data Plate Firing Order = 1A-6B-4A-3B-2A-5B-6A-1B-3A-4B-5A-2B Normalized Firing Order = 1-12-4-9-2-11-6-7-3-10-5-8 Engine = Jaguar V-12 Data Plate Firing Order = 1A-6B-5A-2B-3A-4B-6A-1B-2A-5B-4A-3B Normalized Firing Order = 1-12-5-8-3-10-6-7-2-11-4-9 Crankshaft Rotation (as viewed from anti-propeller end) = CCW

[@bobsakamanos4469]

@@robertnicholson7733 well done.

[@robertnicholson7733]

@@bobsakamanos4469 Thanks.

[@mrb.5610]

Credit where credit's due, I read that the sodium cooled valves was actually an American inovation - I'll try and dig out the reference.

[@James-nl6fu]

The Roll's Royce R was developed later into monster Gryphon engine.😎

[@heikos4264]

Please put a MAYBE in such video titles. I heard of it and plenty of others know it, too... Besides that little minus, good work 👍👍👍

[@donbrashsux]

Flight Dojo is just brilliant

[@flyovercounty1427]

Thanks

[@tonym480]

Both Supermarine S6B's still survive. One is in the Science Museum in London and the other in the Solent Sky Museum, Southampton, close to the site of the factory where it was built and the race for which it was created took place. Having visited the Solent Sky Museum, I was struck by how tiny it is, and the complete lack of forward vision for the pilot.

[@jimburig7064]

Since this is a low altitude aircraft there is no need for additional boosting.

[@leso204]

why do you refer campbell as cable more than once ??

[@gregshamieh6339]

As someone who has been to the RR works, its location is pronounced 'Darby', not 'Derby'.

[@alan-sk7ky]

Erm, the RR Kestrel was the engineering starting point for Merlin, Merlin is in many ways an enlarged Kestrel - at first any way before the developments twisted it's tail ;-)

[@aarondavies8486]

Never watched scarf and goggles channel then he talks about land speed record using this engine

[@yakacm]

I used to have an early 90's VW Polo G40, which was factory super charged, VW chose to fit sodium filled valve stems to the engine.

[@toomanyuserids]

Sodium filled valves have been common in many auto applications since the 60s. Alfa racers had individual cooling jackets and coolant plumbing around every exhaust valve guide.

[@stringpicker5468]

I think this makes too much of the R as a Merlin ancestor. It was not. What it did was let RR understand many of the technologies that made the Merlin and the later Griffon work properly though the Merlin had many early troubles. In your own videos though, you note that sleeve valve engines gave more power to weight and hp/cubic inch, notably the Sabre and the Centaurus. But the skill of UK supercharging was the most awesome thing perhaps.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

It’s a shame there is so little information about the Crecy engine. 27 litre sleeve valve two stroke. It was incredibly noisy and was estimated to have given 40% of its thrust from exhaust alone. It suffered with crank bearing failures, never had the necessary funding and got canned when turbo jets came along.

[@ronjon7942]

Check his channel, he has a report on the Crecy - quite good, as usual.

[@paoloviti6156]

Very interesting this video although I know more or less the story of this marvellous engine that was derived from by creating the very famous Merlin that later saved UK! It is good to emphasise that the Italians did solved many issues with the monstrous Fiat AS 6 thanks to a British that managed to solve the issues by mixing exotic fuels pushing the engine over 3.100 hp and apparently cold go even faster but was not possible because of the weather...

[@basiltaylor8910]

Its simple Einstein , in the late 1920,s early 30 our eccentric little island was locked in an ariel drag race, like the Red Bull,s ariel drag races on crac cocaine or monkey dust. By the early ,30,s That drag race cats&kittens the Schneider Trophy became a two pony race between the UK and Italy. Imagine Richard Rawlings Gas Monkey Garage crossed with Street Outlaws and you have Roller,s (Rolls-Royce) Special Engine Shop. Roller,s got the plumb job of designing building and testing a potential drag race engine, the ' R' series a bruiser V-12 with a blower the size of a washing machine.

[@gregculverwell]

Not Henry Ricardo, Harry Ricardo 😂

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

Look up naming conventions.

[@Elios0000]

i know of the Schneider Cup but then im flying boat nerd....

[@burntsider8457]

What's an "injin?"

[@psiklops71]

I got a Griffon came out of Hydroplane

[@blxtothis]

Just a small point, Derby is pronounced “DARBY”.

[@mikehipperson]

As you know the Yanks always mangle the English language. Try getting one to say 'Worcestershire' properly or even a simple town name like 'Warwick'!

[@johnjephcote7636]

Yes we have head of it. Do not demean your audience.

[@wingmanjim6]

I think it's just a figure of speech, not to mention that a LOT of folks have, in fact, not heard of it.Relax and enjoy :)

[@brinx8634]

👍👍👍!

[@scotttait2197]

1:17 you say England.... when in the previous paragraph you said great Britain... its the UNITED KINGDOM there are 3 countries and and annexe of 6 counties in Ireland, they are not interchangeable

[@johnburns4017]

No annex. On the front of your passport it tells you the country. _The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland._

[@alexwood5425]

What 's a booee?

[@drzoidbergmd3200]

Flt Lt. George Stainforth - VTEC Yo!

[@jc-d6179]

And it is "Darby", not "Duerby"

[@ap6878]

A puré master piece

[@patrickporter6536]

Yes I have 😂

[@nicolek4076]

Not "Derby" but "Darby". It may be spelled that way, but please pronounce it correctly. You can always check this on one of the many websites available to help you not look so silly. The RAF pilot would be a flight "leftenant", not "lootenant".

[@ronjon7942]

The quandaries of American English vs Imperial. If this is all it takes for you to judge someone as silly, I’m glad I don’t know you.

[@nicolek4076]

@@ronjon7942 I think peoples' names and place names should be pronounced correctly - I see it as courteous. Such things are a shibboleth, even for locals. There is lots of help on the Internet, so such mistakes betray a lack of rigour, in my view.

[@glocke380]

The script for this vid is a cut and paste from the wiki.

[@flightdojo]

That is incorrect. Most of the information for this video was sourced from Allied Aircraft Piston Engines of World War II by Graham White.

[@wingmanjim6]

@@flightdojo And an excellent reference that is ! For the real hard core engine nerds, an even better one is "The Secret Horsepower Race" by Calum E. Douglas. Very esoteric and technical but a real eye opener. It only covers engines used on the Western Front during WW2, however.

[@womble321]

But I have 😂

[@davidmg1925]

Correct = international incorrect = innernational

[@jc-d6179]

Buoys is pronounced "boys". I cannot even work out the spelling for your pronunciation.

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Look up Napier Deltec engine

[@Hopeless_and_Forlorn]

Fine railroad engine, not exactly suitable for speed off the tracks.

[@johnburns4017]

@@Hopeless_and_Forlorn It was also in high military speed boats.

[@artysanmobile]

Ram air power is virtually free.

[@animalian01]

Except I have heard of it 😂😂

[@woopimagpie]

"Drivers set their fastest lap times during races"...... ah, no, they don't. That almost always happens during practice and/or qualifying.

[@flightdojo]

Formula 1 is not a good comparison and does not represent the majority of Motorsport, because they have power unit modes/setups for qualifying and practice. All things being equal, like in a fixed setup series, the fastest laps are usually during the race itself.

[@mwhite112393]

Love the name, just sayin.

[@woopimagpie]

@@flightdojo "All things being equal, like in a fixed setup series, the fastest laps are usually during the race itself." Sorry, going to have to disagree with you there. Again. Nascar - fastest laps are almost always during qualifying. Supercars - fastest laps are ALWAYS during practice and qualifying GT3 - Fastest laps are ALWAYS during practice and qualifying Formula Ford - same Porsche Carrera Cup - same Toyota 86s - same TCR - same I could go on. Funnily enough, conversely to what you're saying, F1 is probably the only category where it can and does happen, but even then it's often still only the fastest lap IN THE RACE, not across the whole weekend of competition. And it only happens because the category has a points incentive to set the fastest lap IN THE RACE, which hardly any other categories do, so there is zero incentive for the drivers to take a mad risk like that. The only exceptions are when practice and quali are conducted in the wet and it dries out for the actual race. If conditions are similar, it almost never happens. Stick to aeroplanes mate, you're wildly off the mark with motorsport assumptions.

[@jfess1911]

@@woopimagpie Although admittedly, the cars used during qualifying are not the same as during the race. They only need to last a few laps. Are there any series in which the car used in qualifying must remain untouched (even the tires) and raced "as is"?

[@bradyelich2745]

@@jfess1911 NASCAR Infinity start on the tires qualified on and have limited replacements.

[@matismf]

They never tried nitromethane?

[@buggerall]

Good video but bad title. I know there is this thing going on with bad titles getting lots of clicks but it is in my opinion reaching a point where I'm pretty sure I miss out on some great video's just because of the weird title. The R is what got the whole Merlin thing going. Those interested in the Merlin would have probably started at the Wikipedia page which mentions the R explicitly. You don't need this. Your video's speak for themselves.

[@ronjon7942]

I’m thinking it was just a title and he meant no disrespect. However, I agree completely with your last sentence.

[@geoffreypiltz271]

Darby not D-er-by.

[@curtiscriscoe367]

Imagine taking the fastest car you ever heard of, cart style cars, fastest street cars, anything you choose. Then let that car start a race by crossing the starting line at top speed, while the other car can't go untill you cross the start line. Yet that car instantly passes you and finishes the qtr mile at 400 mph. Yep that happens. Long live the American V8

[@hamentaschen]

I thinking que tu no have este madre.

[@tedsmith6137]

Why do people insist on telling me what I do or do not know? You really insult people who DO know about the Type R.

[@johnburns4017]

Elaborate.

[@johnstirling6597]

1

[@tasmanianbadger]

Your assertion about ‘competition’ is actually… well, wrong. It’s a narrative designed to glorify conflict over cooperation. Motivation comes in many flavours. ‘Competition’ is just one of many.

[@wingmanjim6]

If Dojo tried to cover every nuance of speech such as this, we'd have to sit through 4 hours of video and there would still be nitpickers to find fault.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

‘That you’ve never heard of’ is a teeny-weeny bit worse than the utterly uninteresting and unashamed ‘I never knew about that’. Don’t boast about your ignorance or cognition starvation, no one cares.

[@Demun1649]

A bit arrogant of you to decide what I do and do not know, isn't it. Don't presume to know the education that other people have had. Channel BLOCKED.

[@ronjon7942]

Seek help. Bye.

[@Demun1649]

@@ronjon7942 Scaredy Cat.

[@seavixen125]

Jesus it's just a title, get over yourself

[@randallprestidge]

Shows the Merlin was a dead-end and the Buzzard/R-type could have done the job better throughout Ww2

[@johnburns4017]

The R never had the endurance.

[@TheEulerID]

It shows no such thing. There is a lot more to producing a military engine that is durable, reliable, can be easily maintained and manufactured in volume than engines designed for very short races. Merlin engines have been tuned to produce well over 3,000 hp for aero and hydroplane racing. However, they are relatively short endurance; not what you want in a military engine. When the Air Ministry issued specification F10/35 in 1935, which lead to the development of the Spitfire and Hurricane, both were built around what was then called the PV/12 (for private venture 12), which had already flown in prototype form by 1935. The Type R could never have been turned into a production engine in time for WW II when that Air Ministry requirement was issued. A de-rated version was run and tested, but never became a production engine. The RR Griffon, which shared the capacity and direction of rotation of the type R, but is basically a new design made it into production in the 1940s, but for obvious reasons both development and production in the late 1930s and early 1940s concentrated on the Merlin which went on to develop over 1,700 hp in later versions.

[@victorboucher675]

Mitch's seaplane trophy engine, so if correct, I/we have heard of it. I really hate click bait titles - and I am not going to watch this vid.

[@JohnyG29]

Well that's a rather silly attitude.

[@Hopeless_and_Forlorn]

You really missed some great information. Your loss.

[@ronjon7942]

Concur w Johnny and Hopeless. But thanks for making your point to yourself.

[@richardwindsor60]

Just a nitpick. I don't believe Ricardo was ever Henry, he was Harry Ralph Ricardo, later knighted and known as Sir Harry. I have his biography on my coffee table waiting to be read :-) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Ricardo

[@gavinboot4810]

Pointless images right from the beginning to fill out a non story,,

[@CathodeRayNipplez]

What is todays equivalent of this?