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Lakester
image:tuskeegee babies on P-51.jpg, alt=photo of a drop tank on a P-51 mustang, An example of a drop tank on a North American P-51 Mustang, P-51, though it is a 75-gallon tank, and mounted on a wing hardpoint. A Lakester is a automobile, car with a streamlined body but with four exposed wheels. It is most often made out of a modified aircraft drop tank. The main attraction is the drop tank's excellent aerodynamics due to it being streamlined for its original use on aircraft. Building lakesters became popular after World War II when surplus drop tanks were available cheaply. History During the late 1940s Bill Burke of the So-Cal Speed Shop built the first "Lakester" from a surplus aircraft drop tank. The idea of using a tank as an aerodynamic car body came to Burke when he saw some drop tanks on a barge being taken ashore at Guadalcanal.Wilkinson, Stephan (2005)''Man and Machine: The Best Of Stephan Wilkinson'' Globe Pequot. p. 97. .Christensen, Mark (2005)''SO-CAL Speed S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drop Tank
In aviation, a drop tank (external tank, wing tank or belly tank) is used to describe auxiliary fuel tanks externally carried by aircraft. A drop tank is expendable and often capable of being jettisoned. External tanks are commonplace on modern military aircraft and occasionally found in civilian ones, although the latter are less likely to be discarded except in an emergency. Overview The primary disadvantage with drop tanks is that they impose a drag penalty on the aircraft. External fuel tanks will also increase the moment of inertia, thereby reducing roll rates for air maneuvers. Some of the drop tank's fuel is used to overcome the added drag and weight of the tank. Drag in this sense varies with the square of the aircraft's speed. The use of drop tanks also reduces the number of external hardpoints available for weapons, reduces the weapon-carrying capacity and increases the aircraft's radar signature. Usually the fuel in the drop tanks is consumed first, and only when a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
