Ricky wrote:
A question for the physics-minded among us, or for anyone who just has
the answer.

I have heard the Airacobra was underpowered and that got me to
thinking;
Does having an engine at the middle of the fuselage (in any plane for
that matter, like the XP-58) and connected by a long shaft contribute
to a loss of power delivered to the propeller? In other words; would
there be more power delivered the closer the engine is to the prop?
Does the shaft "eat up" power in any way? I am a mechanic and pilot
and fairly knowlegable about a/c physics & aerodynamics but this has
me stumped.

Thanks in advance for your ponderings and/or solution!

Ricky

It's a question often asked in connection with long shafts.
The elastic angular compliance can be a positive help with vibrations,
which are absorbed by a quill shaft. But a shaft drive train that's
curved takes pillow blocks to support the curve, and these bearings take
some (small) power on their own account. Otherwise, air drag, and
bearing drag apart, there's no loss in a long quill shaft.

Brian W