Germany did not lose the Battle of Britain

[JtD]

While the fuel - oil mix certainly isn't good for the engine, it probably is still better to use it once every two weeks than having the engine being started up every hour for two weeks straight, only to be used once. Also, fuel is only one thing saved, it also saves a load of man hours, which is just as important.

[Blackdog_kt]

I'm honestly confused about the point being argued

From where i'm standing the whole thing reads like "we don't want to burn fuel warming up every hour, so we just use oil dilution to cut out the warm-up time from a possible scramble sequence".

Compromise or not, it was considered a good enough practice that most if not all USAF warbirds had an oil dilution system as well.

[kimosabi]

Well, my point regarding fuel was that the oil/fuel mixing stuff on the western front started as a fuel saving measure. Which two of you didn't believe until(hopefully) I posted a direct quote, and from there it went the usual forum way. Picking out one liners from my posts to find something else to argue etc. Either way, I'm done with that topic yo. Let's go back to how the LW got butthurt over BoB 'ol chaps!

[Blackdog_kt]

Ah, i see...you were arguing the reason behind it while i read it as "fuel savings is a direct consequence of oil dilution"...in any case it makes sense now, cheers

[Crumpp]

Well, my point regarding fuel was that the oil/fuel mixing stuff on the western front started as a fuel saving measure. Which two of you didn't believe until(hopefully) I posted a direct quote,

I had no contention on the fuel savings. I was pointing out that using a fuel oil mix to start the engine once was an improvement over the reduction in service life from continuous starts and ground runs.

You said it was bad for the engine, I pointed out the system became standard because it is better for the engine than the repeated ground runs.

[kimosabi]

So is this still practiced today? I guess not. How about that. Did you read anything about what I wrote about gasoline and solvent capabilities? How it works with engine oil? Tell you what, put a few drops of oil in your hand, get some on your thumb and index fingers and rub them together, then add a few drops of gasoline on and mix it together with the oil in your hand and repeat. Notice if you have more or less friction in the mixed oil compared to pure oil. That's what your bearings will experience. First few seconds of a cold start is the harshest time of your engine's running life. When it's warm started you still have enough oil in your bearings from the last start, plus the oil is thin enough to transport immediately. Cold oil/drained bearings takes a second or two for oil pressure to build up. You do lower the viscosity but in the same time you sacrifice lube quality. It's more about getting the oil to where you want it, not better lubrication. So yeah, in my world it is a compromise.

Edit* Crap, I was done with this topic yo, see what you didded.

[Crumpp]

So is this still practiced today? I guess not. How about that.

If anyone had the need to keep a piston engine aircraft warmed up at all times to launch an intercept mission without access to prime power....


It certainly would still be in practice!