PLANE TALK

(Click to enlarge)

What better backdrop for our rumbling power cruisers than a fleet of World War II combat aircraft now enjoying active retirement at Camarillo Airport in Camarillo, Calif. With guns and armor removed, these former predators are sport aircraft, used in a manner not unlike our test bikes. Their Warbird pilots fly in formation, and alight at some little airport diner before taking off for more of the same. On the way, they engage in a little dog fighting,  some aerobatics and general fun and games. Sound familiar?

The appeal is in the power and the finesse of operating these specialized aircraft and their large, powerful piston engines. Most of these powerplants are in a radial configuration, with cylinders arranged around barrel-shaped crankcases. With seven or nine cylinders arrayed at 40 to 50 degrees, often in rows of two or four, these engines range from about 1,820 cubic inches all the way to the 36-cylinder Pratt and Whitney R-4360 with more than 3,000 hp.

With a cylinder angle not unlike that of our V-twin cruisers, these radial engines have the syncopated beat of a parking lot full of idling S&S-powered Bulldogs. This is a sound and feel that is hard to get enough of. No wonder so many owners of round-engine aircraft also have 45-degree V-twins parked in their hangars.

Our bikes’ photo companions include a finely restored WWII B25 bomber with a pair of 2,600-cubic-inch, 1,700-hp, 14-cylinder CurtissWright Cyclone 2600 radials; and an early ’50s T-28 Navy trainer with a 2-speed, supercharged, 1,425-hp Curtiss-Wright Cyclone R1820 9-cylinder radial engine.

With its unusual design and power unit, the ground-breaking Honda Rune has something in common with the P-38 also pictured here. Conceived in 1938, the P-38 was the first twin-engine fighter; the first to utilize turbocharged, water-cooled, 1,710-cubic-inch Allison V-12 engines; the first to set down on tricycle landing gear; and the only fighter used in all theaters of  WWII. Its look was revolutionary back then, and it is perhaps the most beautiful aircraft ever built.

Lockheed P-38 Lightning courtesy of Commemorative Air Force, Southern California Wing,  www.orgsites.com/ca/caf-socal

North American B-25 Mitchell courtesy of the American Aeronautical Foundation (AAF Museum) at Camarillo

North American T-28 Trojan courtesy of C&J Sales, www.t28sales.com,  800.828.3597