Is this cool or what? Sopwith Camel rotary content.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j6PnKUEFX8g

the tech stuff was interesting... ignition as throttle, and 12 pints of oil are pushed out of it....

the bit flying along with the Spitfire was pretty cool....

My favorite plane of that period was the Spad VIII

I love the rotary where the entire engine spins with the prop.

Cool to see the torque rock the plane too.

Yes, I'm a Spad fan myself. A Fokker ain't so bad neither!

I've been up to Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome twice now, hoping to see the full show of WWI aircraft. The first time I saw the Spad do a short test hop before thunderstorms closed down the show. The second time one of the Tiger Moths doing the first act had a mechanical and crashed (relatively minor damage, pilot OK after intentionally throwing it into the trees rather than cross a road and potentially have to deal with power lines on the other side), which again shut things down. The DVII was warming up when the crash occurred. They are fascinating aircraft, but temperamental is putting it mildly.

A couple shots from the second visit:

Maybe I'm just an idiot(well there is no doubt much of the time), but I am having a tough time wrapping my head around how you get fuel to the engine if it is spinning around with the prop? Anyone able to explain this to me?

In reply to Mazdax605:

Hollow crankshaft.

Yup, like Kenny said. Check here and you can see the intake tubes from the crankcase going to the heads. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_engine

That video is darn cool. I like the part where the Camel is wide open and the Spitfire is at its stall speed. Pretty darn good pilots to be flying that close.

I looked, but I don't have a photo that shows any detail of the Camel's engine; everything is hidden behind the cowling. Next time I'm up there I'll see if they have one on static display and if so get some detailed photos.

In the meantime, enjoy the three cylinder engine of the 1909 Bleriot XI.

Thanks for sharing, I learned quite a bit about the old planes.

here is the engine

Also.. all that Caster oil tended to do wonderful things to your intestines after a flight

Yes, thank you for sharing that. Facinating stuff!

Is that the motor at Evergreen?

True story: pilots would often crap themselves shortly after flying because of all the spent castor oil ingested during flight.

02Pilot wrote: I looked, but I don't have a photo that shows any detail of the Camel's engine...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosoupape_engine

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

Animation of the Gnome engine here:

http://www.animatedengines.com/gnome.html

it's wild that compared to a modern Radial, the Gnome and Rhones seem overly complicated

That thing sure sounds cool

I spent the better part of a day staring at rotary engines at the Smithsonian. Fascinating. Engines overall were fascinating back then with the technology they had and what they were producing.

What's the benefit of the engine spinning with the prop?

Nevermind:

Three key factors contributed to the rotary engine's success at the time:[2] Smooth running: Rotaries delivered power very smoothly because (relative to the engine mounting point) there are no reciprocating parts, and the relatively large rotating mass of the cylinders acted as a flywheel. Weight advantage: many conventional engines had to have heavy flywheels added to smooth out power impulses and reduce vibration. Rotary engines gained a substantial power-to-weight ratio advantage by having no need for an added flywheel. Improved cooling: when the engine was running the rotating cylinder block created its own fast-moving cooling airflow, even with the aircraft at rest.

In reply to mad_machine:

So does the fuel travel through the hollow crank shaft into the crank case, and then throught the copper colored tubes into the head. Or through the crankcase, and in through a valve in the face of the piston? If the valve is in the piston what makes it open, and close? Man I must be dense as this whole system seems impossible to me. I know it isn't but wow my head hurts from trying to figure this out.

A link to a 1/3 scale Gnome engine that you can watch being run, without the shroud. He doesn't actually start it until 8:31.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6_AchBjjVSM

In reply to Mazdax605:

I believe the the one pictured with the copper tubes is using the crankcase as a wet intake plenum, air, fuel, and oil go in, it get sucked in the cylinders via a normal otto cycle.

The Monosoupape engine with only one push rod per cylinder is running kinda like a cross between a chainsaw and Detroit diesel(on gas).

Thanks, I enjoyed that.