The Corsair had water injection as a WEP, I forget by what mechanism it worked but it could make that big ol’ Pratt & Whitney eat its own guts for more horsepower.
Thanks, that’s a lot more than my sketchy memory of what my dad told me (WWII pilot). Might not be where “under the wire” came from but it’s fascinating.
You can also increase speed by not using any propellers or moving parts. At supersonic speeds you capture the air, compress it into a chamber than hit it with a spark and blow the fucker up. That’s how a ramjet engine works. China just made one that uses pulse like combustions in a engine that’s only about a foot wide, and maybe 13 feet long. Speeds up to mach 4… or 5000km/h (3100mph) at about 65,000 feet.
WEP, war emergency power. Depends on the aircraft how long you could use it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_emergency_power
The Corsair had water injection as a WEP, I forget by what mechanism it worked but it could make that big ol’ Pratt & Whitney eat its own guts for more horsepower.
Water methanol injection, cools the air charge which makes it denser, more air you can cram in the more fuel you can cram in with it.
https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/the-f4u-1-and-water-injection.40598/?amp=1
Thanks, that’s a lot more than my sketchy memory of what my dad told me (WWII pilot). Might not be where “under the wire” came from but it’s fascinating.
Thanks for the read, that sent me down an interesting rabbit hole
TIL you can increase engine power by mixing water into the fuel.
You can also increase speed by not using any propellers or moving parts. At supersonic speeds you capture the air, compress it into a chamber than hit it with a spark and blow the fucker up. That’s how a ramjet engine works. China just made one that uses pulse like combustions in a engine that’s only about a foot wide, and maybe 13 feet long. Speeds up to mach 4… or 5000km/h (3100mph) at about 65,000 feet.
It needs to be injected into the air charge with the best atomization you can manage for best results.