RE: Pratt & Whitney 1/5 scale radial engine for warbirds
I'm always excited to see new innovations and products in this great hobby of ours and I am a dedicated warbird guy for 40 years! That said, the marketing challenges will likely be substantial. The potential market is pretty small due exclusively to the price point of this motor. Every one of us would love to put one of these in our warbirds but when it comes to whipping out the credit card, most of us ask ourselves a series of fundamental questions; 1) can I explain a $5000 engine to "la Petrona"? The only way It works for me is if there is a matching $5000 purchase for her so the price of the engine has just doubled. 2) for roughly 1/5th the cost, I can get an outstanding motor with plenty of power and super easy to start and run...it's called a DA....the drawback is the sound which leads me to the third question 3) can I justify spending all this money for sound and looks?
Undoubtably, the are some that can and will buy this beauty but, unfortunately, I won't be one of them.....does the business model work selling a few dozen rather than a few hundred? I hope someone thought that through...best of luck to all involved..it is a beauty!