gkainz
Final Approach
"One Second in the Life of a Racer" by Tom Fey
The Unlimiteds go flashing through the racecourse, engines howling, air
shearing, heat waves streaming. Four hundred eighty miles an hour is 8 miles
a minute, and the elite racers take about 70 seconds to cover the 9.1 mile
Reno course.
If you could take a souped P-51 racer flying the circuit at Reno, slow time
down, and examine just one second, what would you find? In that one second,
the V-12 Rolls-Royce Merlin engine would have gone through 60 revolutions,
with each of the 48 valves slamming open and closed 30 times. The twenty
four spark plugs have fired 720 times. Each piston has traveled a total of
60 feet in linear distance at an average speed of 41 miles per hour, with
the direction of movement reversing 180 degrees after every 6 inches. Three
hundred and sixty power pulses have been transmitted to the crankshaft
making 360 sonic booms as the exhaust gas is expelled from the cylinder with
a velocity exceeding the speed of sound. The water pump impeller has spun 90
revolutions, sending 4 gallons of coolant surging through the engine and
radiators. The oil pumps have forced 47 fluid ounces, roughly one-third
gallon, of oil through the engine, oil cooler, and oil tank, scavenging heat
and lubricating the flailing machinery. The supercharger rotor has completed
348 revolutions, it's rim spinning at Mach 1, forcing 4.2 pounds or 55 ft #
of ambient air into the combustion chambers under 3 atmospheres of boost
pressure. Around 9 fluid ounces of high octane aviation fuel, 7843 BTU's
worth of energy, has been injected into the carburetor along with 5.3 fluid
ounces of methanol/water anti-detonant injection fluid. Perhaps 1/8 fluid
ounce of engine oil has been either combusted or blown overboard via the
crankcase breather tube. Over 1.65 million foot pounds of work have been
done, the equivalent of lifting a station wagon to the top of the Statue of
Liberty.
In that one second, the hard-running Merlin has turned the propeller through
25 complete revolutions, with each of the blade tips having arced through a
distance of 884 feet at a rotational velocity of 0.8 Mach. Fifteen fluid
ounces of spray bar water has been atomized and spread across the face of
the radiator to accelerate the transfer of waste heat from the cooling
system to the atmosphere. In that one second, the aircraft itself has
traveled 704 feet, close to 1/8 mile, or roughly 1.5% of a single lap. The
pilot's heart has taken 1.5 beats, pumping 5.4 fluid ounces of blood through
his body at a peak pressure of 4.7 inches of mercury over ambient pressure.
Our pilot happened to inspire during our measured second, inhaling
approximately 30 cubic inches (0.5 liter) of oxygen from the on-board
system, and 2.4 million, yes million, new red blood cells have been formed
in the pilot's bone marrow.
In just one second, an amazing sequence of events have taken place beneath
those polished cowlings and visored helmets. It's the world's fastest
motorsport.
Don't blink!
The Unlimiteds go flashing through the racecourse, engines howling, air
shearing, heat waves streaming. Four hundred eighty miles an hour is 8 miles
a minute, and the elite racers take about 70 seconds to cover the 9.1 mile
Reno course.
If you could take a souped P-51 racer flying the circuit at Reno, slow time
down, and examine just one second, what would you find? In that one second,
the V-12 Rolls-Royce Merlin engine would have gone through 60 revolutions,
with each of the 48 valves slamming open and closed 30 times. The twenty
four spark plugs have fired 720 times. Each piston has traveled a total of
60 feet in linear distance at an average speed of 41 miles per hour, with
the direction of movement reversing 180 degrees after every 6 inches. Three
hundred and sixty power pulses have been transmitted to the crankshaft
making 360 sonic booms as the exhaust gas is expelled from the cylinder with
a velocity exceeding the speed of sound. The water pump impeller has spun 90
revolutions, sending 4 gallons of coolant surging through the engine and
radiators. The oil pumps have forced 47 fluid ounces, roughly one-third
gallon, of oil through the engine, oil cooler, and oil tank, scavenging heat
and lubricating the flailing machinery. The supercharger rotor has completed
348 revolutions, it's rim spinning at Mach 1, forcing 4.2 pounds or 55 ft #
of ambient air into the combustion chambers under 3 atmospheres of boost
pressure. Around 9 fluid ounces of high octane aviation fuel, 7843 BTU's
worth of energy, has been injected into the carburetor along with 5.3 fluid
ounces of methanol/water anti-detonant injection fluid. Perhaps 1/8 fluid
ounce of engine oil has been either combusted or blown overboard via the
crankcase breather tube. Over 1.65 million foot pounds of work have been
done, the equivalent of lifting a station wagon to the top of the Statue of
Liberty.
In that one second, the hard-running Merlin has turned the propeller through
25 complete revolutions, with each of the blade tips having arced through a
distance of 884 feet at a rotational velocity of 0.8 Mach. Fifteen fluid
ounces of spray bar water has been atomized and spread across the face of
the radiator to accelerate the transfer of waste heat from the cooling
system to the atmosphere. In that one second, the aircraft itself has
traveled 704 feet, close to 1/8 mile, or roughly 1.5% of a single lap. The
pilot's heart has taken 1.5 beats, pumping 5.4 fluid ounces of blood through
his body at a peak pressure of 4.7 inches of mercury over ambient pressure.
Our pilot happened to inspire during our measured second, inhaling
approximately 30 cubic inches (0.5 liter) of oxygen from the on-board
system, and 2.4 million, yes million, new red blood cells have been formed
in the pilot's bone marrow.
In just one second, an amazing sequence of events have taken place beneath
those polished cowlings and visored helmets. It's the world's fastest
motorsport.
Don't blink!
