Le Rhone Rotary Engine Startup on 1917 Thomas-Morse Scout

[stupidgrandfather]

I had the very good fortune of operating the blip switch while a dear friend of mine, Paul Kotze, ran up his Tommy on Long Island, NY back in the sixties. He passed away in the 90's. I believe his Thomas Morse Scout SC4 is still on display at the Cradle of Aviation at the old Mitchell Field. I can still recall the smell of burning castor oil.

I just saw a Le Rhone on display at the Aerospace Museum in Sacramento, CA.

[44492611]

Did they remove the cowling?

[MrCayoCoco]

Excelent video lads,love it !! I actualy work on these engines,it's just that are in 1/72 scale. (note:very few moving parts)

[mrfarmerjimbob]

No,no,no----it's a ROTARY engine--The crankshaft is bolted to the engine mounts and the Prop is bolted to the engine crankcase. The ENGINE rotates around the STATIONARY CRANKSHAFT taking the prop along with it. This engine pre-dated the RADIAL although the principle & firing order are similar.

[kdlarson50]

My dad was a motor mechanic at Carlstrom Field in Florida in the First World War. I have some photos of him running tests on le Rhones. The building in the background of the photo is covered in castor oil as were the mechanics! Really geat to see one running.

[McLarenMercedes]

@FuLLeFFekT1

The cylinders rotate (as in move) in the rotary engine. Very clear for anybody to see.

In a radial the cylinders don't rotate (or move in any direction).

You know what Bertrand Russell once said:"Whoever proclaims another one a complete idiot often makes an idiot of himself."

And aside from that you're flagged too.

[FuLLeFFekT1]

@McLarenMercedes Wankel rotary engines DON'T have reciprocating pistons and they DON'T have cylinders.

[n0exit]

@FuLLeFFekT1 You're thinking Wankle. Wankle engines have rotors, and rotary engine has pistons. The engine in this video was called a rotary engine long before peole started calling the Wankle a rotary.

[McLarenMercedes]

@FuLLeFFekT1

Sorry, but like somebody said here. These engines were called rotary long BEFORE Wankel invented his "rotary engine", which actually more often were refered to as WANKEL in their infancy. Sadly in the mouths of people (the same kind that called DVD-R discs "dvd minus", despite the line being a dash and NOT a minus)

And I do get how the Wankel works you two bit clown.

And once again nobody ever called a rotary engine "revolving radial" ONCE in history,

[whar29]

Nice rotary, in a rotary the cylinders rotate around a fixed crankshaft. Lubricated through the total loss process, roughly 12 pints of castor oil ejected over the airframe and pilot per flying hour. The radial is different in that the crankshaft rotates within fixed cylinders. It can plainly be seen here that this is a rotary not a radial.

[FuLLeFFekT1]

@spawnof200, yes...a Wankel Rotary made popular by Mazda!! Love 'em!!

[FuLLeFFekT1]

@fangornf, a Wankel rotary does NOT have reciprocating pistons. This engine does. It's a revolving radial engine.

[FuLLeFFekT1]

That is NOT a rotary engine. It's a RADIAL engine, very big difference!!

[fangornf]

@FuLLeFFekT1 Are the cylinders moving? If so, it IS a rotary engine.

Radial engines just look the same, but with a stationary cylinder block and rotating crankshaft.

Too many people know about the Mazda "rotary" engines and somehow think they know about early 20th century aircraft engines.

[McLarenMercedes]

@fangornf

German NSU used Wankel engines in their cars long before Mazda.

[spawnof200]

@FuLLeFFekT1 your thinking of a pistonless rotary engine

[McLarenMercedes]

@FuLLeFFekT1

Actually it IS rotary. In an radial engine the cylinders don't move and the crankshaft rotates. However back in WWI airplane engines still had cooling problems so somebody solved that by having the crankshafted fixed in one position and have the cylinders themselves rotate. The propeller rotated as fast as the cylinders around the fixed crank.

The Wankel engine used in some cars is popularily referenced as a "Rotary" by people in general.

Anyway, this is not a radial engine.

[AlexDeLarge90]

@FuLLeFFekT1

No, it's not a radial. It's a rotary.

Rather than accepting the fact that you were wrong and couldn't tell the difference between a radial and rotary, you acted really butthurt and came up with alternate explanations as to why this is not in fact a rotary, but some strange radial.

The fact is these engines were always refered to as rotary, Wankels were only refered to as rotary by the ignorant masses.

You were wrong. Take it like a man, instead of dodging it.

[tiredlight]

I totally fall in love with this plane and engine :-)

Thanks for uploading and thanks for _NOT_ dub it with music!

[riflelord2]

they should make repilca engines so otheres can make some replica planes

[GGigabiteM]

Hopefully he didn't fly it like that, without the engine cowling it would be like trying to fly the broad side of a barn around in the sky. Not to mention the nasty caster oil and unburnt fuel flinging everywhere for a potential fire hazard,

[CheerGurlie2013]

amazing. i just saw the tommy moris scout the other day at skeeter's. But it didnt run. one HECK of a plane!

[homebuiltindoorplane]

hell yeah!!! YAHOOO!!!! fantastic, really gets the blood pumping!

[Petersworld518]

Ha ha you can even hear him hitting the blipper switch.

[strikeronetuber]

Thank you for this awesome video, mate ;)