December 21, 2013, 11:00 am
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The Porsche 718 is an open-cockpit racing car built by Porsche between 1957 and 1962.
The 718 was a development of the successful Porsche 550A with improvements being made to the body work and suspension. The new front frame resembled the letter K if viewed from the front and this led to the car being referred to as the RSK. It had a mid-engined layout and used the 142 horsepower (106 kW) 1.5-litre Type 547/3 quad-cam engine introduced in the 550A. The car made its racing debut at the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans driven by Umberto Maglioli and Edgar Barth. The car failed to finish the race due to an accident.
In 1958, the car finished first in class and third overall at Le Mans. Jean Behra also brought one of the cars home second at the Targa Florio. In 1959, the car, driven by Edgar Barth and Wolfgang Seidel, claimed overall victory at the Targa Florio. A 718 also won the European Hill Climb Championship in both 1958 and 1959.
In 1961 Masten Gregory and Bob Holbert piloted a 718/4 RS Spyder to a class win at Le Mans.
For the 1960 season the FIA made changes to the regulation regarding the windscreen and cockpit size. These rules changes together with a larger (1.6 litre) Type 547/3 engine, developing 160 horsepower (120 kW) and a new double wishbone rear suspension brought about the RS 60 model. The RS 60 brought Porsche victory at the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring with a car driven by Hans Herrmann and Olivier Gendebien. 1960 also saw Porsche win the Targa Florio with Hans Herrmann being joined on the winner podium by Jo Bonnier and Graham Hill. The RS 60 also ensured that Porsche successfully defended their European Hill Climb Championship for the third year in a row.
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December 22, 2013, 9:00 am
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December 22, 2013, 11:00 am
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December 23, 2013, 9:00 am
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"In the world of the Italian racing bicycle, Giovanni Pelizzoli is a living legend. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of riding a Conti, Concorde, Ciöcc or a rare Paganini, you’ll attest to the ride quality of his frames. After 45 years, Giovanni now produces frames branded with his own name and Finland’s Jan-Erik Lindroos has given the Pelizzoli Corsa GP a golden touch.
The Corsa GP is Giovanni’s top-shelf road model, a spritely frame constructed from Columbus Spirit tubes. It’s as modern a frame as its carbon fiber stablemate, the Merena, but Jan-Erik’s interpretation evokes an era closer to Pelizzoli’s founding year of 1967. Jan-Erik may be 5 years too early — Pelizzoli World turns 50 in 5 years time and this would make a fine commemorative ‘Oro’ edition.
Each component is considered: wooden Cerchi Ghisallo rims, high-flange Campagnolo Tipo hubs, Record and Chorus derailleurs linked by a gold Regina chain and Soma’s Major Taylor bars. As well as hand-polishing many of the parts, including the hubs, seat post, brake levers and shifters, Jan-Erik also made the leather bar wrap and toe straps by hand.
Jan-Erik has nothing but praise for Giovanni, Alessandro and the team at Pelizzoli World. As is often the case when mix-and-matching group sets and manufacturers, compatibility issues meant the build process didn’t go ‘like in the movies’ but Jan-Erik assures me it has come together well and when he’s out riding his Corsa GP Oro, “all efforts, sweat and tears are faded behind my wide smile on the road”."
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December 23, 2013, 11:00 am
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December 24, 2013, 9:00 am
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was a compact two-seater with leather straps adorning the front hood and a very potent force in the racing scene. It was powered by a lightweight six-cylinder engine bred from the success of its siblings, and fitted to a short-wheelbase chassis, the 328's were very sporty, culminating with a win at the 1940 Mille Miglia.
Racing has always been important; it perfects the breed and promotes the brand. BMW's six-cylinder engine from the 1934 315 became the basis for 328. The 1.5-liter version had modest success in its racing class, but more was required to keep it competitive in the under 2-liter category. A new, larger version of the engine was developed, resulting in an increase in horsepower to 55 bhp. This was an increase by 15hp. The new engine was fitted to a chassis and dubbed the 319. Visually, few aesthetic differences existed between the 315 and the 319. They were nearly identical, except under-hood.
In 1936, the 326 was introduced. It was a larger vehicle to the 315 but had 55 horsepower. The increase in horsepower and size gave it only a slight increase in performance over its 315 sibling. The following year, a two-seater cabriolet![]()
version was introduced, called the 327. This, in similar guise to the 319, was unable to match its performance resulting in slow sales.
BMW responded by improving their engine, creating a new cylinder head, and modifying the valve train. The valve train was very similar to other marque's of the day, such as Riley and Talbot, where a lateral camshaft actuated the inlet and outlet valves with push-rods and rocker arms. Installed opposite to one another, with each on either sides of the engine, resulting in a hemispherical combustion chamber. These modifications gave the engine a significant boost in power, up by 25bhp over its predecessor, to 80bhp.
In 1936, the engine made its debut in the 328 at the Eiffel Rennen race. It was piloted by Ernst Henne and easily won the 2-liter class. On its inaugural race, the engine had proven to be reliable and powerful. Privateers took notice, and help make the vehicle both a sales success and a dominate force on the racing circuit.
The 328 was given drum brakes in both front and rear, a rack-and-pinon steering setup, and a tubular steel chassis. The lightweight aluminum body concealed the 2-liter, six-cylinder engine and its available 80 horsepower. The engine had a cast-iron block and aluminum heads with two-valves per cylinder. The front suspension featured swing axles and transverse leaf springs while in the rear there was a live axle and semi-elliptic leaf springs. The engine was mated to a ZF four-speed manual gearbox and sent power to the rear wheels. The standard wheelbase size for the roadsters was 94.5 inches and a length of 153.5 inches. With an overweight of around 1800 lbs, the pre-War BMW 328 was very lightweight, nimble, and fast.
The 328 came in various configurations, such as roadster and cabriolets. Custom coachbuilders such as Wendler and Drauz, and Glaeser created many of the cabriolet versions, noted for their luxurious amenities and elegant style. The Roadster bodies were the standard configuration with most assembled by the factory. Touring was tasked with creating purpose-built versions for the 1939 24 Hours of LeMans. The 'Superlegerra' (Meaning lightweight) construction methods were used coupled with a design meant to minimize drag. The result was astonishing, with a fifth place overall finish and an outright victory in the two-liter class.
For 1940, BMW turned their sights on the grueling Mille Miglia race. Five cars were entered and one emerged in first place. Baron Fritz Huschke von Kanstein drove a special-bodied BMW 328 Coupe to victory. It featured a streamlined body with aluminum and magnesium alloy construction. Overall, the 328's finished in first, third, fifth and sixth at the 1940 Mille Miglia. The 3rd, 5th, and 6th positions were captured by roadster bodied 328s. The final 328 version entered in the race was a limousine-bodied car that was tailored for racing and given aerodynamic features courtesy of Professor Wunibald Kamm. It was driven by Count Lurani but failed to finish the race.
During the production lifespan of the 328, BMW and Frazer Nash both produced 328s. BMW supplied the British-based Frazer Nash Company with rolling chassis. Total production for all 328 models was around 426 with around half still in existence.
The 328 engine would be used in the post-war Era, by BMW, Bristol, and AC in various forms. It would be used to power such cars as Cooper Bristols Formula 2 racers.
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December 24, 2013, 11:00 am
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December 25, 2013, 9:00 am
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"The XP-56 Black Bullet was a unique prototype fighter interceptor built by Northrop. It was one of the most radical of the experimental aircraft built during World War II. Ultimately, it was unsuccessful and did not enter series production.
The initial idea for the XP-56 was quite radical for 1939. It was to have no horizontal tail, only a small vertical tail, used an experimental engine, and be produced using a novel metal. The aircraft was to be a wing with a small central fuselage added to house the engine and pilot. The hope was that this configuration would have less aerodynamic drag than a conventional airplane.
The idea for this single-seat aircraft originated in 1939 as the Northrop N2B model. It was designed around the Pratt & Whitney liquid-cooled X-1800 engine in a pusher configurationdriving contra-rotating propellers. The U.S. Army ordered Northrop to begin design work on 22 June 1940, and after reviewing the design ordered a prototype aircraft on 26 September 1940. Shortly after design work had begun, Pratt & Whitney, however, stopped development of the X-1800. The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine was substituted, although it was considered not entirely suitable. Although the new engine was more powerful (2,000 hp vs 1,800 hp) it had a larger diameter and required a larger fuselage to house it. This change delayed the program by five months. It was expected that the new engine would require a 2,000 lb weight increase and cost 14 mph in top speed.Since this tailless design was novel and considered high risk, it was decided to construct a small, lightweight plane of similar configuration for testing called the Model N-1M. In parallel with the design of the XP-56, successful flight trials of the configuration were conducted utilizing this airframe, confirming the basic layout. Two small Lycoming engines powered this aircraft. These trials confirmed the stability of the radical design and, upon review, the Army decided to construct a second prototype, which was ordered on 13 February 1942.
Northrop constructed the XP-56 using magnesium alloy for the airframe and skin, because aluminium was forecast to be in short supply due to wartime demands. At the time there was little experience with magnesium aircraft construction. Because magnesium cannot be easily welded using conventional techniques, Northrop hired Vladimir Pavlecka to develop the heliarc welding technique for magnesium alloy. (Later it was discovered that in the 1920s General Electric had already developed similar techniques."
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December 30, 2013, 11:08 am
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January 3, 2014, 10:53 am
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January 7, 2014, 11:16 am
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In 1953, North American Aviation began a private study for a carrier-based, long-range, all-weather strike bomber, capable of delivering nuclear weapons at supersonic speeds. This proposal, the NAGPAW (North American General Purpose Attack Weapon) concept, was accepted by the United States Navy, with some revisions, in 1955.A contract was awarded on 29 August 1956. Its first flight occurred two years later on 31 August 1958 in Columbus, Ohio.
At the time of its introduction, the Vigilante was one of the largest and by far the most complex aircraft to operate from a United States Navy aircraft carrier. It had a high-mounted swept wing with a boundary-layer control system (blown flaps) to improve low-speed lift.There were no ailerons. Roll control was provided by spoilers in conjunction with differential deflection of the all-moving tail surfaces. Use of aluminum-lithium alloy for wing skins and titanium for critical structures were also unusual. The A-5 had two widely spaced General Electric J79 turbojet engines (the same as used on the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter), and a single large all-moving vertical stabilizer.Preliminary design studies had employed twin vertical fin/rudders.The wings, vertical stabilizer and the nose radome folded for carrier stowage. The Vigilante had a crew of two seated in tandem, a pilot and a bombardier-navigator (BN)—reconnaissance/attack navigator (RAN) on later recon versions— in individual ejection seats.
Despite being designated by the US Navy as a "heavy", the A-5 was surprisingly agile for such a large aircraft. Without the drag of bombs or missiles, even escorting fighters found that the clean airframe and powerful engines made the Vigilante very fast at high and low altitudes. However, its high approach speed and high angle of attack in the landing configuration made returning to the aircraft carrier a challenge for inexperienced or unwary pilots.
The Vigilante had advanced and complex electronics when it first entered service. It had one of the first fly-by-wire systems of an operational aircraft (with mechanical/hydraulic backup) and a computerized AN/ASB-12 nav/attack system incorporating a head-up display (Pilot's Projected Display Indicator (PPDI), one of the first), multi-mode radar, Radar-Equipped Inertial Navigation System (REINS, based on technologies developed for the Navaho missile), closed-circuit television camera under the nose, and an early digital computerknown as VERDAN (Versatile Digital Analyzer) to run it all.
Given its original design as a carrier-based, supersonic, nuclear heavy attack aircraft, the Vigilante's main armament was carried in a novel "linear bomb bay" between the engines in the rear fuselage, which provided for positive separation of the bomb from the aircraft at supersonic speeds. The single nuclear weapon, commonly the Mk 28 bomb, was attached to two disposable fuel tanks in the cylindrical bay in an assembly known as the "stores train". A set of extendable fins was attached to the aft end of the most rearward fuel tank. These fuel tanks were to be emptied during flight to the target and then jettisoned with the bomb by an explosive drogue gun. The stores train was propelled rearward at about 50 feet per second (30 knots) relative to the aircraft, not at the aircraft's forward speed as stated in some references. It therefore followed a typical ballistic arc rather than "falling straight down.
The reconnaissance version of the Vigilante, the RA-5C, had slightly greater wing area and added a long canoe-shaped fairing under the fuselage for a multi-sensor reconnaissance pack. This added an APD-7 side-looking airborne radar (SLAR), AAS-21 infrared linescanner, and camera packs, as well as improved ECM. An AN/ALQ-61 electronic intelligence system could also be carried. The RA-5C retained the AN/ASB-12 bombing system, and could, in theory, carry weapons, although it never did in service. Later-build RA-5Cs had more powerful J79-10 engines with afterburning thrust of 17,900 lbf (80 kN). The reconnaissance Vigilante weighed almost five tons more than the strike version with almost the same thrust and an only modestly enlarged wing. These changes cost it acceleration and climb rate, though it remained fast in level flight.
The Royal Australian Air Force also considered the RA-5C Vigilante as a replacement for the Canberras. The F4C and RF4C, Mirage IVA, and the similar TSR2 was also considered. However the TFX (F-111 Aardvark) was accepted
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January 8, 2014, 11:00 am
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January 9, 2014, 10:22 am
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January 9, 2014, 12:00 pm
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January 10, 2014, 9:00 am
"The phrase "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" defines how difficult it can be to design to someone else's vision. We all see the world slightly different and our personalities lead us to pick up on different aspects along the way. That's why when someone tells you to build a motorcycle based on a wood burning stove it's important to understand what the hell they see in that as a source of inspiration. In the design field you learn to get really good at extracting exactly what someone means when they throw out the phrase, "Make it look more like ____." That skill is what prevents you from presenting a cone at the next meeting when the client meant a pyramid. When the guys at Thrive MC heard the words "Yamaha XS650" and "wood burning stove" they set to work plotting out the elements that would bring these two very different machines into one harmonious artifact."
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January 10, 2014, 11:00 am
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was a compact two-seater with leather straps adorning the front hood and a very potent force in the racing scene. It was powered by a lightweight six-cylinder engine bred from the success of its siblings, and fitted to a short-wheelbase chassis, the 328's were very sporty, culminating with a win at the 1940 Mille Miglia. 
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