88 inches of a 3 blade prop would be nice in a fast plane, but besides diameter, i'm looking at weight and a 985 weighs in quite a bit heavier than a 760. Over twice as much I believe ( just woke up and going from memory and very fuzzy thought processes at the moment ). It would so totally throw off the balance of the plane that the wings would most likely have to be moved to the front cowling as well, in a similar manner that curtiss designed the jeep..
pure fantasy is a nice thing, but unless Bill says different, i'd like to keep this in the realm of the backyard mechanic, working with the same limitations and challenges that a real owner of this type plane would have faced were he ( or she ) doing the exact same thing in preparation for entry into the Nationals..
On that 3 blade prop alone, its not just the prop he would have to make. Thats a constant speed prop and he would have to model and program the prop pitch controls for the cabin as well. That's a lot of work for a fantasy ( unless of course SOH wouldnt mind sponsoring an old fashioned air race in the spirit of the pre-war nationals ).
This plane would fall into the same class as the Lockheed Vega or the Beech Staggerwing. Sorry P-36 owners, your in a seperate class going up against the Bee Gee's, jug's and bears.
who knows, it might be fun

and being able to display something like the Bendix award on your desktop still isnt too awful bad ... With entry fees going towards supporting SOH it would be a win win situation all around.. Winners walk away with a trophy ( albeit virtual ) and bragging rights, and SOH gets some of the monetary support it so desperately needs to stay in business for the next year..

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yeahhh.. I think an old fashioned air race would be just the ticket for some summer fun.. and it would give all the backyard mechanics and flight modelers to show off their stuff..
Pam