Yeah Jack, that could be a very neat engine. A company like Suzuki, though, would have to see a market for teh product before jumping on board. A private development, ob the other hand. might be able to do it with the right backing. But youa re left with the nagging question, "What is the market so the development effort can pay for itself?"
Reno is sort of winding down and the really fast guys are retiring and their planes aren't being passed along to people whostill want to race just yet. Strega and Voodoo are the two fastest and neither one will be at Reno this year. Maybe if such an engine were developed, there would be some younger guns out there who want to race and have the money to do it.
That would be the gamble in development of such an engine. They'd need a dedicated prop for htht power since the existing props taht can absorb such power are few and far between ... and likely already on an airplane somewhere.
Good luck! I'll watch for it.
Hi Nuuumannn, kitplane makers are always using the highest numbers they can get away with. It's nothing new. All race cars are faster in the story than on the track, too. I have no doubt at all teh Thunder Mustang will out-climb a real one ... it wasn't built for military use and the airframe is tailored for lightness and strength. It's a neat aircraft, but it isn't a warbird ... just looks like one. If you have some there going faster than the real ones, maybe your guys aren't pushing the real P-51's since engines are WAY expensive and propellers are almost non-existing these days. A quality overhaul on a Merlin will purchase a substantial portion of a completed Thunder Mustang.
Here in the USA, we have a 250 knot speed limit at 10,000 feet and below, and most warbirds here, regardlass of capability, usually cruise at 235 knots or below because the owners aren't interested in racing or IFR most of the time. They only fly them for fun on days of severe clear weather. Now, Rod Lewis is different. His airplanes are IFR capable and if he wants to use a warbird to go to a business meeting, he does.
So it is quite likely that a stock P-51D is about 370 mph at sea level on a Merlin if it has stock equipment only. If it has been "cleaned up" a bit, it is probably 385 - 390 mph at sea level. The Reno Thunder Mustang named "Blue Thunder" finished second in Sport Gold in 2012 at 377 mph. The winning Glassair III finished at 393 mph.
These are Reno racers and are not representative of tyeh usual kit Thunder Mustang. They have the money to run the high HP engines. Most Thunder Mustangs aren't running 1,200+ HP, but are pushing the 640 HP Falconer or possibly up to 800 HP. They won't beat a real P-51 and mostly aren't trying to do so. What they do is give the owner the joy of a Mustang at one-tenth the price of a real North American unit.
The Bronze Unlimited winner was Dan Vance in "Lady Jo" (the team owner is a good friend of the museum). He went 330 mph and wasn't pushing it. He bumped to Silver and only went 304 mph in the race becasue he was lapped by Steadfast going 394 mph. Why push your engine when the front runner is 100 mph faster? Steven Hinton qualified at 493 mph in the P-51D Strega and did a 512 mph lap. He won Gold at 477 mph and was pulling power off every 1 or two laps. The big secret to Reno success is to win as slowly as possible and save the engine. If you jump out to a big lead you back off 20 inches for a lap or two and then another 20 inches for another lap or two and make the guys behind you catch up. Hopefully they heat-soak their engines and have to back off. If they can't catch you, keep backing off and win as slowly as possible ... and maybe you can run the same engine NEXT year, too, without too much work on it.
Lady Jo is a two seater with a two seater canopy and only races for fun ... they try not to break anything, but they have a good time at Reno every year.