Osgood
Western Thunderer
And the old pickerupper in me could be tempted by this radical - sorry, radial - pickup
Have you ever wondered...
- Thread starter Heather Kay
- Start date
And the old pickerupper in me could be tempted by this radical - sorry, radial - pickup
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
Didn’t they use radials in the Sherman tank?
Osgood
Western Thunderer
Heather - you may be interested to learn that as a direct result of your OP, the idea of a working model is now being considered for inclusion in an exciting embryonic heritage centre project!
Tony
Jordan
Mid-Western Thunderer
Reminds me of this....It be the where strange things can 'appen to those unwary travelers....like gravy on chips, strangers talking to you and half day closing on a Wednesday.
It gets strangerer the further north you go....so I've been told. Men can toss their caber...IN PUBLIC!, they eat strange foreign food like 'tatties and neeps' and I am feared to mention the way they dress....
You have been warned.
Sorry for being O/T. I was interested in how a radial engine works, honest!!
Many years ago I had a 1:72 Sopwith Camel kit, & the engine went round with the propeller. Is that a Rotary, rather than Radial engine?
mickoo
Western Thunderer
Rotary, rotary engines the cylinders spin and the crank is fixed, radial, the crank spins and the cylinders (laid out in a radial format) are fixed.
The problem with rotaries is their higher torque induced roll and gyroscopic effect in aircraft due to the mass of the cylinders, not helpful in early light aircraft, this is why WWI rotary aircraft always banked one way to escape, they roll faster one way than the other; mind, their adversary also had the same fault/gain so it wan't much of an escape plan.
Cube for cube, radials win hands down in the power to weight race (hp/lb) as they're a much lighter construction and the large frontal area is no indication of sluggishness or slow speed, the Bearcat is up there with some of the fastest piston powered planes going, as is that Bristol thingy used in Korea by the RN.
The problem with rotaries is their higher torque induced roll and gyroscopic effect in aircraft due to the mass of the cylinders, not helpful in early light aircraft, this is why WWI rotary aircraft always banked one way to escape, they roll faster one way than the other; mind, their adversary also had the same fault/gain so it wan't much of an escape plan.
Cube for cube, radials win hands down in the power to weight race (hp/lb) as they're a much lighter construction and the large frontal area is no indication of sluggishness or slow speed, the Bearcat is up there with some of the fastest piston powered planes going, as is that Bristol thingy used in Korea by the RN.
mickoo
Western Thunderer
Well everyday's a school day, I knew Shermans were petrol powered, hence the propensity to blow up when hit, but never figured they'd be radials.
The lightweight to power ratio would make sense. Wasn't the Patton powered by a gas turbine? The Abrams certainly is.
Max M
Western Thunderer
Nah far to big and bulky....what you need is one of these, far better for nipping down the shops on!
Anyone interested in 'Home Builds' should check out some of Allen Millyards other creations.
V12 Kawasaki anyone?
Osgood
Western Thunderer
They also used multibank (5 x 6 cyl Chrysler engines - one lives not far away in Suffolk), and twin GM6046 2 stroke diesel power packs.
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
Well I shall ask... one crankshaft for each block of cylinders maybe... in which case, how is the output shaft driven?
Are those water pump covers visible in your photo? If so, why is the top cover plate different?
Got a PPL for that engine?
Eastsidepilot
Western Thunderer
Steph Dale
Western Thunderer
To be honest, if anything goes twang on a helicopter, whether gas turbine or internal combustion it's messy. Bill Gunston isn't that only pilot who regards their true purpose as being to screw themselves into the ground rather than fly.
Many/ most early helicopters were radial powered, including the Bristol Sycamore I was raving about over the summer. The dear old Wessex had the turbine in the nose, like the radial had been in earlier marks. They too were remarkable for their vibration and the strangely compelling* way they take off...
Steph
Something like 'goodness me, it's actually flying'. My version employed rather more 'load-bearing' vocabulary.
Many/ most early helicopters were radial powered, including the Bristol Sycamore I was raving about over the summer. The dear old Wessex had the turbine in the nose, like the radial had been in earlier marks. They too were remarkable for their vibration and the strangely compelling* way they take off...
Steph
Something like 'goodness me, it's actually flying'. My version employed rather more 'load-bearing' vocabulary.
Osgood
Western Thunderer
But Simon - when you're cruising around in something as cool as that, isn't the aim to be going as slow as possible?
I loved it when the co-pilot had to quickly yank on the yoke to help the pilot steer in between the gate posts
. Some gearing in steering needed?
Osgood
Western Thunderer
I thought I'd posted this last year but can't find the post - testing a model 18 cylinder radial. A rather laissez-faire attitude to testing - I think I would have painted the tips of the prop though.
I agree. There was one point where the engine stand was straining forward alarmingly and I marvelled at how effective the three blobs of blu tack were in retaining the legs onto the rubber floor mat!
I'm sure it was all bolted down securely, but it certainly didn't look so!