Sure I'd take a PW over a Wright any day, but to Wright's credit they do hold the record for world's fastest piston driven aircraft (Rare Bear F8F, 528 mph, Wright R-3350 w/4000 hp.). And a set of four 2200 hp R-3350s did deliver the most important package of WW2 on the Enola Gay B-29. I've since sold them all, but I used to collect warbird radials. I had a few Wright R-3350s inculing a turbo compound, a Pratt R-2800 from a P-47D, and a Pratt R-4360. The 4360 is just nuts- 28 cylinders, 56 spark pliugs, and 4360 cubic inches. It was a cool collection but was just a little nuts in terms of the space they took up.
I have heard that the R-3350s had overheating problems through out their life. And it was a bit rushed into production for the B-29. Yes, No?
The 4360 sounds like a flying tugboat engine! Did you ever fire up part of your collection?
How are the cylinders parallel in a radial, yet still connected to the crankshaft in such a "shallow" package? Offset rods?
Cylinders are what I would call staggered and nested. Bet the rear ones got rather toasty.
The R4360 was sorta like two 3350's stacked together:
Sucker was HUGE.
B18 in Mini
I work with this guy's son-in-law. Really cool.
In true grassroots style.
http://www.spainvia.com/Merlincar.htm
I read a road test a while back, and as you can imagine, you wouldn't ever want to turn a corner.
