Short Preview of Tomorrow's Video.

I know this is completely off-topic, but this is the easiest way I know to get ahold of Greg. This is about the upright V-12 versus inverted V-12 issue that Greg addressed in a video quite a while ago. I'm currently reading "Spitfire The History" by Morgan and Shacklady. On page 17, when talking bout the Merlin, they show a wooden mock-up of an inverted V-12 engine. The caption says that "...aircraft designers opted for an upright installation." Also, the first paragraph of the "GENESIS OF THE MERLIN" section says that Rolls-Royce originally proposed an inverted V-12, but that "...airframe manufacturers of the time were, in general, totally opposed to the idea..." so the engine "was ... revised for upright installation." This doesn't say anything about how invested RR were in the idea, nor how hard they pushed, but it does seem to say that it was the people building the planes that the engines would go in that resisted the idea of the inverted engine. Another data point for you.

If McGuire had played it safe, he might or might not have become the Ace of Aces. If not, with Bongs death, he would have been the highest living Ace. Many of us know David McCampball, the USN top ace, and highest scoring surviving Ace, a spot Mcguire could have held.