Questions tagged [supercharger]

Any device that allows a piston engine to pump more air into itself for improved high-altitude performance; usually refers to a mechanical supercharger, where power is taken from the engine's driveshaft to do the pumping.

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Can an airplane propeller become supersonic?

Is it possible for an aircraft propeller to become supersonic? I am not referring as for the aircraft, only the rotating blade. I know it is extremely unlikely for a propeller plane to go supersonic, ...
Dody Him's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
183 views

How much horsepower is required to run the supercharger in an R-2800 engine?

How much horsepower was required to run the supercharger impeller in the R-2800 engine at cruise conditions, as used in the DC-6?
niels nielsen's user avatar
6 votes
4 answers
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Is the DC-6 Supercharged? And what is a Turbosupercharger?

What it says on the tin. Is the DC-6 supercharged? I thought all planes that fly above around 10,000-15,000 feet need forced induction, but wikipedia doesn't list the DC-6s engines as supercharged or ...
Corpsimmons's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
87 views

Is there a simple formula for estimating supercharger throttling losses?

I’ve noticed that in both Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators, and most old WWII engine power charts, power vs altitude seems to be composed almost entirely of linear relationships: at a given ...
Riley Rosell's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
321 views

BHP increases with Altitude

Searching on internet, I found some performance charts of the Merlin Engine BHP output: As you can see there is an increase in BHP,(mainting a constant Boost Setting), until reaching the critical ...
Spitfire01's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
150 views

P-51 Supercharger Loops

A WWII pilot once told me that, for fun, they would sometimes take their P-51s up and perform what he called "supercharger loops". They would climb to an altitude below where the ...
Phil Crowther's user avatar
52 votes
3 answers
6k views

What is a "runaway supercharger"?

During World War 2, my uncle was a navigator for a B-17G bomber based in the UK. On return from a bombing run over Frankfurt, the crew was forced to bail out over Belgium at 3000 feet altitude. My ...
Steve Kaz's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
395 views

How do you know if an aircraft engine has a supercharger?

The engine I'm specifically thinking of is for the C-130J Hercules, it's the AE-2100 D3.
Bill Shao's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
2k views

What is the difference between Full Throttle Height and Critical Altitude?

My understanding is that "critical altitude" is the density altitude at which the wastegate on a turbocharged engine is fully closed, so any climb will result in a decrease in manifold ...
Ben's user avatar
  • 14k
4 votes
2 answers
336 views

How common are gear-driven or belt-driven superchargers in modern aircraft?

How common are gear-driven superchargers in modern piston-engine aircraft, either alone or in combination with exhaust-driven turbochargers? What are some examples of modern aircraft that use them? Is ...
quiet flyer's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
316 views

In the modern aviation context, is the word "supercharger" generally assumed to mean a gear-driven system rather than an exhaust-driven system?

In the modern aviation context, is the word "supercharger" generally assumed to mean a gear-driven system rather than an exhaust-driven system? At one time the word "supercharger" often was used to ...
quiet flyer's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Did any WWII aircraft only use a turbocharger but not a supercharger?

In doing some basic research, I have concluded that all WW II aircraft equipped with turbochargers also used mechanical driven centrifugal superchargers. These include the P-38, P-47, B-17, B-24, B-...
Mike Sowsun's user avatar
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