[EIDEL]

Bats and birds dont ice up in flight . I wonder why
Hey maybe its just because their flying surfaces are covered with micro fibres that repel water.and also decrease drag
Now I have heard of guys waxing their planes ,so how about teflon coating the inside of the air intake manifold and venturi

[Nanolight]

Yeah, but how would you get the teflon to stick to it?

[EIDEL]

exactly the same way it is applied to nonstick pots and pans
what gets me is how to cover the flying surfaces with microfibres
you have to get the lotus leaf effect

[EIDEL]

what's the heads up on using castor oil as an engine lubricant. I believe it was all the rage with the early biplanes 1920/1940's. Guess the fumes were effective in more ways than is polite to mention

[buggyB]

what's the heads up on using castor oil as an engine lubricant. I believe it was all the rage with the early biplanes 1920/1940's. Guess the fumes were effective in more ways than is polite to mention

I believe it was used mainly in rotary engines of WWI era, as it was one of the few oils that was available and that wouldn't catch fire as easily as some others when it seeped from every joint in the engine. Apparently those rotary engines used to throw out a lot of oil. It doesn't help that the pilot sits just downstream of the engine and that Castor oil in a large enough dose is a laxitive. That's why biggles always had his flying goggles, cap and silk scarf on, even with a windscreen, and why he drank so much alcohol - supposedly it counteracts the effects.

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_oil

"Castor oil maintains its fluidity at both extremely high and low temperatures...... In internal combustion engines, castor oil is renowned for its ability to lubricate under extreme conditions and temperatures, such as in air-cooled engines. The lubricants company Castrol takes its name from castor oil. However, castor oil tends to form gums in a short time, and its use is therefore restricted to engines that are regularly rebuilt, such as motorcycle race engines......

....Castor oil's high lubricity (reduces friction) is superior to petroleum-based lubricants; for instance, it really clings to metal, especially hot metal, and is used in racing and jet (turbine) engines. In addition, Castor oil is non-toxic and quickly biodegrades; whereas, petroleum-based oils are potential health hazards, and take a very long time to biodegrade, thus can damage the environment when concentrated."

[900EX]

"Now I have heard of guys waxing their planes ,so how about teflon coating the inside of the air intake manifold and venturi"

In reality a certain amount of 'turbulence' is required within the intake manifold and venturi in order to keep the air/fuel mixture in suspension.

This turbulence is created by the non-perfect surfaces lining said manifolds and venturis.