2009 05 10 1918 WWI GNOME ROTARY AEROPLANE ENGINE STARTED

[sprintfan1]

What was the shutdown problem? It says above a switch was suspect.. Or was it wired wrong?To kill a magneto fired motor, you ground the magneto out. Easy to have reversed, and also hard on the switch.

[sprintfan1]

They didn't "leak" oil, per se. They utilized a "total loss" oiling system, as did many early engines. And Castor oil was the lubrication of choice in those days for many engines.

[jdos2]

Castor oil is used in engines such as these as doesn't get diluted by the fuel/air mixture- it is able to lubricate as it is injected into the engine. It LEAVES the engine and blows EVERYWHERE, and was a reason for the goggles and long scarves of early aviators (had to wipe the face clean!)

I love when the engine starts here the first time and the fellow loses his hat. These engines were usually full throttle, all the time.

[smilingbeast]

Nice hairdo, dude! ;)

[Billyking1313]

Hi there - what’s the Castor Oil used for! Or have I misunderstood

[rseeton]

@Billyking1313

They used castor oil in these engines instead of other motor oil. I understand pilots would be coated with the stuff after some flights, and it could have some unhappy influence on their bowels if too much made its way into the mouth.

[rseeton]

@Billyking1313

They used castor oil in these engines instead of other motor oil. I understand pilots would be coated with the stuff after some flights, and it could have some unhappy influence on their bowels if too much made its way into the mouth.

[racinglad]

I just can´t get enough of 1:31

[CobraRunescape]

@946HZJ It is called a gnome rotary but i think people are confusing it with a wankle rotary...

[ColonelKlank]

That's Greg Cone!

[moplin1]

LOL at 1:30 it blew that dudes hat off

[moplin1]

lol at 1:30 it blew that dudes hat off XD

[Hawaiifive01]

@946HZJ: Its BOTH a rotary AND a radial

[idlewild]

WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING AT ME?!?

[finkthefrosch06]

too cool!

[eplefox1]

How does the ignition system works? i gues there is no wiers to the cylinders.

[hellraised187]

@eplefox1 I think they have a magneto ignition system which is attached to the crankcase

[dasadler123]

If I'm correct this isn't a replica? She won't run because she is an old old old cranky radial. Once you get her running she will be bulletproof though!!!! =)

[946HZJ]

@dasadler123

its a rotary not a radial

[simusfr]

@946HZJ Well rotary radial

[PeowPeowPeowLasers]

I know its a little larger than the early 50hp version, but just imagine that thing spinning away 6 feet behind your head, as you're 400 feet in the air on a wood frame covered by fabric, held together by piano wire. With no ground communication!

[GRATZIANI2002]

better than gym room!..SPA...nice..keep on trying!..

[edwinhijmans]

It looks like a radial engine, but is different. A rotary engine has the cylinders rotating around the crankshaft, which stands still. The propellor is simply bolted on the engine. A radial engine has fixed cylinders and a rotating crankshaft.

Gnome rotary engines were widely used in World War I on fighter planes, built by Gnome Rhone factory and licencees on both sides of the conflict.

[edwinhijmans]

It looks like a radial engine, but is different. A rotary engine has the cylinders rotating around the crankshaft, which stands still. The propellor is simply bolted on the engine. A radial engine has fixed cylinders and a rotating crankshaft.

Gnome rotary engines were widely used in World War I on fighter planes, built by Gnome Rhone factory and licencees on both sides of the conflict.

[enduserenduser]

In a radial engine the cylinders remain stationary. In a rotary, like this one, the cylinders spin.

[rrrandommman]

is rotary the brand/model name of this engine, because this looks like a radial engine.

[Alisterwolf66]

Nope - rotary is the description, Gnome is the manufacturer. There were several manufacturers of rotary piston engines like this one, to include Le Rhone, Bentley, Gnome, and Clerget. Should be pretty obvious why they're called rotary, huh? :)

The term 'rotary engine' is often confused with the pistonless rotaries such as the Wankel engine (as made famous by NSU, Norton, and Mazda). As a general rule, rotary in aircraft terms means one of these guys!

[Trailltrader]

What is the time between overhauls on these engines? I was told that they had to be overhauled every 15 hours or so- is this right?

[Trailltrader]

What is the time between overhauls on these engines? I was told that they had to be overhauled every 15 hours or so- is this right?

[Trailltrader]

What is the time between overhauls on these engines? I was told that they had to be overhauled every 15 hours or so- is this right?

[Trailltrader]

What is the time between overhauls on these engines? I was told that they had to be overhauled every 15 hours or so- is this right?

[Trailltrader]

What is the time between overhauls on these engines? I was told that they had to be overhauled every 15 hours or so- is this right?

[Trailltrader]

What is the time between overhauls on these engines? I was told that they had to be overhauled every 15 hours or so- is this right?

[silfossy]

that guy needs a shingle nail for his hat

[carwashvnvmc]

Thank You, I would watch this engine and you guys running it a hundred times and still could enjoy more. It reminds me of my friend Ted (rest his soul) and I in better days. Thankx again, Markus Carwash Perry

[fdesmet2nerds]

EPA. LOL!

[fannybaba]

it blew the old mans helmet off.

[bldeagle]

Got it running correctly, see "1918 Gnome rotary engine running"

[neomuttley]

Music to my ears :-). We've a wonderful living museum by me in NY (@Rhinebeck). They stopped running rotaries a few years back, much to my lament. I hope they correct that soon. They fly many planes there.

[biglift1]

@neomuttley

i am sooooo jealous that you life so close up there.

i had the Privilege to talk to Cole Palen on the phone early 90.

as i was doing research for a 1/3 scale Fokker DVIII

Avery nice extraordinary man :)

[rocketman468]

y do the whole engine spin whit the propeller why not just the crank spin the prop? dos'nt that thing work like a big gyroscope tilting the front down?

[dnebdal]

It has a few benefits.

The engine gets very good cooling even when standing still on the ground, and they run quite smooth since the entire engine works as a flywheel. Some comparable non-rotaries added flywheels, but that's a lot of extra weight.

It has definite drawbacks, ofc. It's hard to scale them much further, and they were indeed quite gyroscopic. The Sopwith Camel was notoriously hard to fly for that reason. :)

[Tholomaios]

1st: It was advantageous for cooling when the cylinders spinned around, since air-plane engines in World War I were air-cooled.

2nd: Radial engines in general, including the rotary ones, were significantly superior to the usual V-motors, which is why constructors were willing to use them despite their detriments.

3rd: Yes, rotary motors had the problem of being large and having a gyroscopic effect. This is why they were abandoned soon after the V-motors catched up with their performance.

[OOZ662]

All radial engines are known to leak oil like sieves.

[TheLaurencekid]

ahhahahaha 1:33 XD

[simonspiers]

LOL lost your hat mate!

[kozaero]

Andrew,

Glad to see your progress. My Omega is up and runnung as you have seen. I hope to get into the 160 soon. Let me know if you need anything.

T.K.

[samipso]

They made a new stronger engine every couple months during world war 1 when planes were introduced. That's gotta be the reason it's still in working order.

[Treize69]

The 9n Gnome Monosopape was pretty much the limit of Rotary engine development, you needed exponentially bigger engines to get small increases in power beyond that. They went more with Radial and Inlines after WWI.

The engine was in a surviving original N.28 as far as I know, and the plane hadn't been flown since the '20s. Was basically like finding a classic car in a barn- everything was intact and in working order, just needed TLC and knowhow to bring it back to life.

[GGigabiteM]

The Siemens Halske SH.III and the Bentley BR2 were the height of rotary engines. The Halske had a real throttle and the BR2 was 250+ HP, which the monsoupape couldn't hold a candle to.

If someone attempted to make a rotary today, it would probably be lighter and produce far more horsepower than they did 90 years ago. I remember seeing somewhere that someone was making a new Bentley BR2.

[watchdog3]

Hey guy's this was realy great , I think your grounding system was posibly reversed on the switches . Try switching the positive and grounding wires thats on the switches.

Other than that , It was wounderful.

[Fait2]

It looks like you needed one of those safety straps attached to Greg, so he wouldn't blow across the field. LOL Still, after 80 years, it looked and sounded great!