The Pistonator GB

[Weaver]

It seems that one of the standard, possibly clichéd, Whiffer responses to the sight of any piston-engined aircraft is "turboprop it!" Well how about turning that around? Take any turboprop/turbojet/turbofan-powered flying machine and "backdate" it to the heyday of piston engines.

Peregrine-engined Tucano?
Skyvan with the engines (Lynxs?) off an Anson?
C-130 with Pratt & Whitney R-bloodybignumber multi-row radials?
Fokker F-27 with Ju-88-style Jumos?

[JayBee]

Hey Weaver,
the Skyvan was originally piston engined (Lycomings or RR Continentals).

[Weaver]

Hey Weaver,
the Skyvan was originally piston engined (Lycomings or RR Continentals).

Well there you go - a whiff that even a JMN would approve of! I like the idea of something more obviously dated though, like the old radials. Here's another thought: the Miles Aerovan, which, IIRC, lead to the Skyvan, had four small inline engines, possibly Gypsies? Just think how many "precious" Tiger Moths you could butcher to get four (or even six) of those for a retro-Skyvan (turboprop the leftover airframes, of course.... )?

[chrisonord]

Hey Weaver,
the Skyvan was originally piston engined (Lycomings or RR Continentals).

Well there you go - a whiff that even a JMN would approve of! I like the idea of something more obviously dated though, like the old radials. Here's another thought: the Miles Aerovan, which, IIRC, lead to the Skyvan, had four small inline engines, possibly Gypsies? Just think how many "precious" Tiger Moths you could butcher to get four (or even six) of those for a retro-Skyvan (turboprop the leftover airframes, of course.... )?

Or you could send the turbo prop engines to me of course

[Spey_Phantom]

i think we already had such a group build a couple of years back, try searching for the "Piston perfection GB" 
wouls be nice to do it again some day 

[McGreig]

i think we already had such a group build a couple of years back, try searching for the "Piston perfection GB" 

That's what I thought when I saw the title, but this seems substantially different. The Piston Perfection GB was about building the ultimate piston engined aircraft - this seems to be about backdating and anachronism.

And it sounds interesting - I've had an idea for a while of taking an Il-28 and turning it into a late-war "Mitchell-style" bomber or bulding a twin piston-engined Frogfoot. And then there's Cheranovsky's tail-less twin pusher Sea Vixen  - - -

[Weaver]

Took the words right out of my mouth, McGreig: that's exactly what I meant. 

The Piston Perfection GB was early 2008, by the way.

[Taiidantomcat]

I love it, and since i have been a World War II kick lately the timing is perfect. Love the look of Radials too.

[PR19_Kit]

And it sounds interesting - I've had an idea for a while of taking an Il-28 and turning it into a late-war "Mitchell-style" bomber or bulding a twin piston-engined Frogfoot. And then there's Cheranovsky's tail-less twin pusher Sea Vixen  - - -

I like the idea of the piston engined IL-28, but how about taking a leaf out of Tophe's book and put FOUR piston engines on it, a push-me/pull-you pair on each side? 

It'd need a new NATO name of course, with only one syllable. How about 'Bug'?

[jcf]

Well there you go - a whiff that even a JMN would approve of! I like the idea of something more obviously dated though, like the old radials. Here's another thought: the Miles Aerovan, which, IIRC, lead to the Skyvan, had four small inline engines, possibly Gypsies? Just think how many "precious" Tiger Moths you could butcher to get four (or even six) of those for a retro-Skyvan (turboprop the leftover airframes, of course.... )?

Aerovan and related :
Miles M.57 Aerovan, two 150 hp Blackburn Cirrus Major III
Miles M.68 Boxcar (Aerovan with removable freight pod), four 100 hp Blackburn Cirrus Minor II
Miles M.72 Aerovan (four-engined Aerovan), four 100 hp Blackburn Cirrus Minor II

Miles M.62 Freighter (think big Aerovan), two 1,600 hp Wright R-2600

Miles M.57A Aerovan (enlarged Aerovan), two 340 hp A-S Cheetah X
Miles M.71 Merchantman (enlarged all-metal Aerovan with Marathon wing), four 250 hp D-H Gipsy Queen 30

H.D.M 105 (test aircraft, standard Aerovan fuselage with Hurel-Dubois high-aspect ratio wing), two Blackburn Cirrus Major III
H.D.M 106 Caravan (larger all-metal development of 105, project only), two 290 hp Lycoming GO-480 or 340 hp Lycoming GSO-480B
or two 320 hp Turbomeca Astazou. The Caravan design was sold to Shorts and led to the Skyvan.
H.D.M 107 Aerojeep (106 designed to meet requirements for US Army light STOL aircraft, otherwise as 106)

Shorts S.C. 7 Skyvan (P.D.36 developed along basic theme of H.D.M 106 but not from same), two flat-six 390 hp Continental GTS IO-520.

A Skyvan with helmeted cowls ala the A-S Cheetah VI powered Anson I would look quite fetching, although realistically you'd want the
increased power (420 hp) of the Cheetah XV of the later Ansons.

Jon

[chrisonord]

I think I might have a go at this one. I have a dead IL-28 in the bone yard, and some merlin engines donated by Wooksta. I also have some gun turrets from a Shorts Sunderland also so I could put one just behind the cockpit. I think the tail fin can come off and a twin tail put on it, and a hand aimed gun in the nose glazing would look the part.
I am thinking it could be a late war joint British/Soviet  design as a soviet answer to the mosquito or beaufighter.......ish/maybe.
Chris.

[Daryl J.]

Pilatus PC-9 with a straight-8.  Forget CG issues, make the engine look like it was straight out of 1919.

Dash 8/Q-400 with a narrow bore crankcase radial consisting of two rows of 3 cylinders, cloth control surfaces and winglets, etc.

DC-8 with four X-24 piston engines.....the X-24 is essentially four inline 6 cyl. engines fused together and arranged in an X when viewed from the front.  Liquid cooled, NOX injected for takeoff.   



Daryl J.

[deathjester]

A-10 with twin R-R Crecy engines instead of turbofans, driving 5 blade contraprops for that extra bit of 'oomph'!!

[dy031101]

I think I've mentioned it before- I recall seeing a near-perfect RC model of F-16 powered by a propeller engine when I was in elementary school......

A lightened and probably slightly scaled-down F-16 replica for aerobatic or even light attack?

[jcf]

... make the engine look like it was straight out of 1919.

Or a Buick.