Stuart Engine

[cantankrs]

No foul Lynn.

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

Are these guys tied up with Peter Jackson by any chance? Would you fill in the gaps,for me please?

Gene DeMarco seems to have formed The Vintage Aviator Limited (TVAL) and it is I think (not having been there) not far from the Movie Director, Peter Jackson's, aviation museum. I think Gene used to fly some of Cole Palen's WW1 airplane collection at 'Old Rhinebeck' in New York state. See http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/ or Google it. Cole's life story is entertaining, just as he was.
TVAL seem to be at the pinnacle of quality and authenticity in WW1 aircraft restoration and reproduction.

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

Having thought about the firing order, they still fire in a circular fashion, just that its on every 2nd cylinder, as the one between the bangs is coming to the top of the exhaust/start of induction. (assuming the cylinders are numbered in a circular fashion, and there is only one bigend journal, shared by the seven conrods)

No1 cylinder, top one, has the Master Rod. The remaining cylinders have knuckle rods on pivot or wrist pins arranged around the remaining web of the Master rod big end, adjacent to the crank journal. So there's a bit of oscillation in the paths of the knuckle rods as the crank rotates. I think the Curtiss Conquerer V12 had a Master Rod for each cylinder down one bank, and a knuckle rod for each cylinder down the other bank, on each crank journal. Most V motors use either two, half and half, or in some designs tongue and fork, combining of conrod bigends on the same crank journal.

The original Rotary engine had the crankcase and pots rotating about a fixed crankshaft. So the crank was bolted to the (wooden!?) firewall or longerons, and the rear crankshaft was hollow and was the induction path for the fuel and air. No sump or dry sump meant no traditional oil capacity for lubrication so castor oil was mixed with the fuel and was a total loss lubrication system. The scarfs some of the brave dashing young men wore were said to be for wiping the oil off their goggles as well as allowing them to turn their necks in their uniform collars. Not sure which - heavy drinking (understandable) or castor oil ingestion or air sickness resulted in the most stomach contents emptied over friend and foe and maybe cows alike.

I'll try and post a pic of a master rod.

Regards

Alex

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hi Tim - check your PMs.

Bob