A Different kind of Aircooled

[chuckput]

Last week, I had the great opportunity to go with my two brothers to the Experimental Aircraft Association's Airventure in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. For those who do not know, this is the world's largest gathering of aircraft enthusiasts and it lasts a week. There were over ten thousand aircraft on hand - restored military and vintage civilian planes, thousands of home built craft, and hundreds of ultralight aircraft. Since the event caters to those home building their planes, there are workshops to help them along the way. It is very difficult to explain and even though I attended I have trouble grasping all that I saw. There are many vendors in attendance peddling their wares like avionics, supplies, kits, etc. Engines of various sizes and configurations were on display to provide builders with powerplant ideas. Aircooled Volkswagen engines have been a popular choice for homebuilt aircraft for decades and still remains popular today.

Radial engines, to me, are pieces of art. This one caught my eye:

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As I walked around the engine admiring its construction, I spied this!

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A good design can work anywhere.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UBAukXPD-0

During WWI and a while afterwards there was the rotary aircraft engine but not like the Mazda Wankel engine. In this one the crankshaft was fixed to the firewall and the cylinders rotated around it. this is a video of one being started.

The one you show not only flew but is/was used on boats. Cool post Chuck.

Lee

[chuckput]

The Wright R-975 "Whirlwind" radial engine was used in many Allied tanks (M18 Hellcat) and armored personnel carriers. At the meet they had a live demonstration of a WWI era rotary engine on a test stand. Very cool indeed.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

The Wright R-975 "Whirlwind" radial engine was used in many Allied tanks (M18 Hellcat) and armored personnel carriers. At the meet they had a live demonstration of a WWI era rotary engine on a test stand. Very cool indeed.

I had forgotten about the "tanks" and "personal carriers" having them. In the 1943 movie "Sahara" with Bogart the M3 "Lee" tank they used I think had an aircraft engine (radial?) although it isn't discussed. Did a search on line and other then "eh' about the engine wasn't really discussed with one codicil made that it may have been an "aircraft engine".

Lee

[bajaherbie]

Here is my radial engine story...

My dad was a Navy Pilot in WWII and learned to fly in a Stearmann biplane which had radial engine.( not sure the make).

Anyway all of them guys in the program had to do a night flight where they took off in the evening and return to Westheimer Field (Norman, Ok) when it was dark.

Two guys jumped out of their planes, were picked up and returned to the training base and were quizzed about their flights. They both said the engine caught on fire! But with the short exhaust pipes showed flames when it got dark enough!

My dad said both of them washed out of the pilot training and were sent elsewhere to serve their country.

My dad went on to fly the PBY Catalinas( boat plane) and finally flew the B-24 Liberator in England.

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[Ol'fogasaurus]

A lot of stories I was told when I first started working as there were a lot of men who flew (besides other services) during the war that were soon to retire.

PBYs, fighters, bombers and so forth. Even a couple of pilots who were in the in the Tuskegee fighter and bomber pilots and crews.

The B-17 bombers did not like to fly in a tight formation with the B-24 mainly because of the "Davis wing" the 24's had. All the planes would raise and fall in the atmosphere but not to the extent the 24s did especially when the were seemingly wing tip to wing tip. I think there is some film/video on this too. The B-24s were a heck of a good airplane and did a great job along with the other lights, mediums and heavies of the US and British designs.

Lee

[jg210302]

Really Cool!!! I am working on a number of experimental pistons, right now some really big bore racing billet parts... 5.250" bore stuff... My parts currently hold three world records for piston driven. I love this stuff and would like to go to Oshkosh someday!

[dustymojave]

My dad had a bunch of friends who were involved in EAA and he was a member for some time. He had worked for quite a while in aerospace. Pieces he had his hands on are still sitting on the surface of the moon. Dad built a VW engine for a flyer who set a record crossing the US in a home-built plane. There are folks here in my neck of the desert who fly around often in home-built planes.

That Bosch fuel pump is not surprising for me to see on a plane engine. In fabricating race cars I used to use a cold saw that pumped coolant liquid onto the material and blade using a very similar Bosch pump.

[Steve Arndt]

My dad had a Italian made cold saw like Dusty mentioned that had the type 1 fuel pump as a coolant pump.

[Leatherneck]

Cool post, thanks guys! The one with the cylinders spinning is crazy.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_engine

An interesting read about the rotary engine when you have time.

As I remember the rotary engine in airplanes cause the airplane to turn very fast in one direction and slower in the other direction. Always been interested in airplanes... until I retired that is 0

Lee

[bajaherbie]

No way would I fly a plane with a vw engine!



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[Ol'fogasaurus]

A lot of home builds and maybe some commercial builds fly with them.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=vw ... &FORM=IGRE

I seem to remember GM Corvair engines were played with. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=vw ... &FORM=IGRE

The same with Wankle engines. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=wa ... 5A99805EE0

One of the engineers I worked under for awhile was building a home built but I don't think I ever heard which engine he was using. Another engineer I worked under was into (Home built ?) gliders

I made a mistake and said ultralight rather then home built. Corrected that.

[Volksmeister]

Wrenching on ACVWs is what got me into being an airplane mechanic! Aircooled all day everyday for me!