I did remember reading about the B29/50 (I can never tell the
 difference) I think it is the B50 that earned the nick name from crew
 members "Boeing Tri Motor" It was not a compliment, had to do with
 frequent engine failures.

 Tony Lam

 The B50 had the R4360 corn cob engine.

 Paul Lamar


Dear Tony:



My dad said, at Eastern Airlines, they had constant problems with
the R4360 engines.  They tried everything.  No matter what they
did, they could never get enough cooling air back to the third
and fourth rows of pistons.  Add that atop all the other reasons
why radial piston engines fail, and you have one unreliable engine.

Ah, but, just imagine: a turbocompounded, multi-rotor, 4360-cubic-inch
Wankel rotary engine . . .  OoooOOOOooo! :-)



Les Nordman