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The Curtiss Wright R-2800-34 Double Wasp's 18 cylinders are highly stressed. They live in an environment, where their outside basks in air at -40C, and inside they handle hot and flaming gases. Cylinder heads respond by cracking. Other parts break off, like exhaust valves within a cylinder which are squeezed between the piston and the head. Changing a broken cylinder head above your head are tedious affairs involving stripping off the air baffles, ignition components, fuel injection lines, exhaust stacks and manifold intake pipes.

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