OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

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Pogo
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OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

Post by Pogo »

I just got through making a set of three wooden aircraft engine toys for the vintage aircraft museums I'm a member of, and volunteer time to: The Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston; the Old Kingsbury Aerodrome near Seguin; and the CAF at San Marcos. Thought you might get a kick out of seeing it.

If you hold 'er and turn the large shaft (broom handle) sticking out the back, it illustrates how the innards of a radial engine work; pistons, crankshaft, master and connecting rods, all that stuff. If you hold the shaft stationary and turn the cylinders, then you see how a rotary works. Rotaries are forerunners of radials, and this simple toy goes a long way in helping understand how they work.

Image

The inspiration came from one very much like what you see here, that was in the office at the Lone Star Flight Museum in G'ston ..... up until Hurricane Ike came along. It was so great to have around, everybody played with it, big time fighter pilots and bratty little kids alike. I wanted to make one for myself, and after it was lost with so much other stuff, well, it was one thing I could replace ... so I did (or will early next week -- sssh, it's a surprise for the shop crew). The biggest challenge was engineering the dang thing so that it all turns freely with no binding. Making them -- four in all, actually, since I still wanted one for myself too -- was the most fun I've had in the shop since I can remember! Wish I knew how to make and post a quick video of it, you really gotta see it in action to appreciate it.

Oh, and all are made of 90% scrap rescued from the trash can. Really! 8)
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Re: OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

Post by gerald »

Very nice! I think that is really neat.
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larry long shadows
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Re: OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

Post by larry long shadows »

Your a crafty old fart Pogo that is kool.. Your right about one thing when i use to made custom furniture a short lived adventure. I found out you might as well make 10 as to make one once you set every thing up...
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Re: OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

Post by Light Keeper's Kid »

8)
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Re: OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

Post by G_Ride »

That's so cool, Pogo. BTW, how is Kingsbury doing? I've been there a couple of times for fly ins with my dad. I wonder what's still there and what's going on.
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Re: OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

Post by chrsryse »

Nice... Four more cylinders and it would resemble the one in Rick Sharpe's Staggerwing
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Re: OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

Post by TDD »

very kool .. 8) :clap:
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Re: OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

Post by Pogo »

Hot dang, I was a little doubtful as to whether anyone would find this interesting or not, thanks for all the comments! The other big relief was actually being able to pull it off in the first place; I really wasn't sure how in the world to figure out the workings. It really has been a FUN project. :D

chrsryse, you can bet it occurred to me to one-up the lost original and go for a 7- or 9-cylinder beastie. But I'm here to tell you the shop personnel has his hands full with 5, thankyouverymuch. :lol:

G_Ride, Kingsbury has never been better ..... or I should say guess it hasn't, I was only introduced to it about a year ago (I still can't figure out how I'd never heard of it years ago!). Anyway, I've been around the vintage aviation scene since the 70's, and know a healthy or languishing museum when I see one, and this one looks rosy-cheeked and hale! It also sports as fine a personality as I've ever seen, with great emphasis placed on FUN, whereas most tend to be rather stodgy, stern-faced affairs. For instance, check out the photo below. That's a replica Fokker Dr.1 triplane (with actual rotary engine; a Le Rhone in this case). When it was originally being trimmed for flight the crew achieved final lateral balance by tie-wrapping wrenches to the wing tip skids. One prop nut wrench on the right wing did the trick, and was simply left in place because it works, and so many people were getting a chuckle out of it in the meantime. It's the blue item hanging below the low wing tip.

Image

This is the rotary engine, by the way. With radial engines, the crankcase is bolted to the firewall, the crank rotates inside, and all you see spinning is the prop. But in a rotary, the crankshaft is bolted to the firewall, the prop is bolted to the crankcase, and when you fire it up the prop, cylinders and crankcase all turn as a single unit. In other words, the whole engine spins and becomes a circular blur. It's exceedingly cool to see and hear one of these rarities in action....

Image

Bet the pilot notices the torque of all that spinning mass too, whaddya think?
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Re: OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

Post by Dogpaddlin »

very cool, you never know what you are going to see here!
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Re: OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

Post by 4x4kayak2112 »

pretty sweet!!!!! :mrgreen:
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Re: OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

Post by G_Ride »

I had a chance to see the Dr1 in skeleton form (no covering yet). It was really cool, but it would be better to see someone fly the beast. I've only seen one other fly at Cole Palin's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. Watching the engine spin under the cowling was amazing. BTW, there was no throttle either.
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Re: OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

Post by Paddletrucker »

Oh, man!!! An airplane post and I missed it. I'd love to fly behind one of those "reliable" :lol: engines. I've got a buddy building a WWI bi-plane and is using plans from Airdrome Aeroplanes. It's one of the Nieuports, but I don't remember if it's a 17 or a 23. I can't wait for hime to bring it to the house for pictures!!!

THey say those rotary engines spit caster oil all over you the whole time they were in the air. It's amazing to me that almost all of the WWI airplanes that flew (and fought) then would today classify as ultralights or in the Light Sport category.
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Re: OT: How 'Bout a Wooden Aircraft Engine?

Post by Pogo »

Ha ha, yep -- stand close to that Dr.1, and castor oil is what you smell. Instantly reminds of you of the glow engines on your childhood model airplanes. :D
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