P-51 Voodoo Becomes Fastest Piston in the World

Greg:
You say the Merlin is not a Merlin because all the parts are not original.
A Dart or Bill Mitchell Chebby is still called a Chebby.

With today's CNC ability has any considered custom heads or after market rods etc..
I know this stuff is not even remotely related to cheap but the racers are not either.

Hi Bill,

I'm sure you realize it, but none of the props on the fast Mustangs are stock diameter, and could not be flown on a limited category P-51. I can't say for sure whether or not the airfoils on the fast Mustang props are stock or not. I suspect not, but these data points are generally team close-hold information. Maybe I can find out whether the airfoils are stock or not, but I doubt I can find out the airfoil number if not stock, and we really have no reason to know anyway.

Voodoo could easily beat the record set a bit ago, but the main factor is money since the cost for a record attempt is enormous. Basically they succeeded and their engine went south during the last pass, resulting in a 515 mph speed. The rest of the passes were great.


Hi Bobr,

In my post, I said that since it had started with a Merlin, it was probably the right thing to call it, even though technically it had parts from many manufacturers plus some custom-crafted items. The boost system is pure Roll-Royce, anyway.