RACING ENGINES

Hawera Star, Volume LI, 21 May 1932, Page 12

RACING ENGINES

SCHNEIDER TROPHY TYPE. A BRITISH ACHIEVEMENT. Sir Malcolm Campbell’s marvellous runs over the speed course oil Daytona Beach, in which he raised all oi the chief world’s land speed records to the astounding figure of four miles a minute or more, add another supreme achievement to the record of British aeronautical engineering. The 140 U h.p. motor of his Blue Bird car as an aero engine, developed for use in Schneider Trophy racing planes. Without the work dine by British aero engineers, speeds of the order registered by Campbell and the late Sir Henry Segrave on the land, and by Segrave and Kaye Don on the water, would have remained quite out of reach.

To-day British racing craft, each driven by the giant power of an aero engine, hold all the world’s chief speed records in the air, and on land and water. Campbell’s latest feat improved oil his own record, made a year ago at Daytona, and never challenged till he himself took out the Blue Bird for another run. There is little clianee that any foreign driver will succeed in an attack on the present figures, as engines of the kind necessary are not budt outside Great Britain. The new records cover all distances from one kilometre up to ten, the “master” figure representing the new world’s land record, being that recorded over the measured mile, 253.97 m.p.h., or eight miles an hour better than his own earlier record. The achievement is all the more meritorious when the heavy cross wind, up to 40 miles an hour, and the bad condition of the beach are taken into account. Actually, on one run the engine of Blue Bird accelerated up to 4000 revolutions a minute, 400 more than the maximum normal engine speed, and only wheel spin caused by the roughness of the surface prevented Campbell from setting the new record nearer the 265 m.p.h. that he expected. He had a terrific struggle with the wind, inevitably losing speed in liis endeavours to keep the car straight against the oblique gusts that hampered him in one directon and did not help him in the other. Nevertheless, Campbell attained at one point a velocity of no less than 270 m.p.h., evidence of the car’s ability to set up even higher figures in more favourable conditions.

POWER DEVELOPMENT Blue Bird is not only the most famous speed ear in the world, but it is also one of the oldest of these ‘'still going strong.” To-day, in main details of chassis frame, it is essentially the same as when it first emerged from the factory in 1924. Campbell has made record after record in it, the chief change resulting in improved performance year after year being the in stallation of a more powerful type o. Napier aero engine. Beginning with the 450 h.p. standard engine. Blue Bird has been fitted successively with motors developing 600, 700, 95a, an, 1400 li.p., the advance in power providing striking proof of the research and inventive genius that has persuaded an engine to produce more that three times its original power in a very few years without increasing the capacity of the cylinders. The 1400 h.p. engine in Blue Bird follows standard Napier practice in cylinder arrangement and main components. It has twelve cylinders, arranged like a broad arrow in three banks of four, is cooled by water, and its capacity is 24 litres. From this comparatively small volume, only three times as great as in the engine of many touring cars, the Napier engineers have contrived by supercharging and other means to develop the present terrific horse-power. Without water the engine weighs only 14001 b, every horsepower therefore being produced by little more than three-quarters of a pound of metal. In a cablegram received by the Napier works from Sir Malcolm he stated that when he went! o t the second time to try and improve! his 253 m.p.h. the beach was m an awful condition and he had the engine running at 4000 r.p.m., 400 more than when lie created his new record, but owing to wheel-spin he could not improve upon his previous figures. The company is naturally proud to think that once again Sir Malcolm chose a Y-voier engine for his car. This engine de elops 1320 h.p. at 3600 r.p.m., with a weight per horse-power of 0.8861 b. vet its over-all dimensions are only 04 13-16 in. long, 37gin. wide and 34-Jin. high.