rotary engine -- what's the name ??

Hey Jim,

You are correct. There are still rotary engined aircraft flying today, but few and far between, and none are new. I also do not believe that there are any new rotary engines produced, but there are still many new and varied radial engines in full production today. With the exception of "model engines" of course. The model engineering engines come in two basic flavours...scaled sizes of prototypes, and a large variety of custom designed. There are always a couple of each at NAMES, some even run in the demo area.

The "rotary" engine referred to in other posts are Wankels (mostly RX-7, 13-B's), and to me these are rotory rather rotary.

Rotary engines rotate the cylinders and hold firm the crank, so the cylinders spin.

Rotory engines are those as in Wankel products, where they use a rotor with a shaft for output, rather than conventional pistons and crank.

And then there is the Rotax line of engines, which are much used in Ultra-light aircraft, but are neither rotary or rotory nor radial. Just conventional air cooled recips.

Take care.

Brian Lawson, Bothwell, Ontario.

Wankel engines are used in some pilotless drone aircraft and some people have used them in man-carrying aircraft.

You can use made up words all you want to, but the rest of the world calls the Wankel a "rotary" with an "a", not the "o" that you are trying to sell. Who knows, maybe you'll succeed. I doubt it though--the words sound so much alike that unless you deliberately exaggerate the difference--call it a roTOry engine vs a ROtary engine--nobody is going to notice the difference in conversation.

It's kind of moot to anybody but historians anyway.

There are lots of engines made currently that could qualify as a rotary if the definition is stretched to mean an engine with rotating rather than reciprocating parts. The Wankel-based designs and numerous turbines would qualify under that over-expanded definition.

The more traditional definition of a rotary engine is one that allows the cylinders to rotate as the pistons reciprocate. Using that definition the Wankel Rotary really operates more like an aircraft radial.

I'm not aware of anyone manufacturing a rotary engine in the old sense of the definition. I'm sure there are hobbyists that have crafted one- of scaled models however.

Actually, you can buy new production working 1/4 scale Gnome rotaries for about 4,000 bucks.

Those old airplane engines, the kind that the cylinders spin around and around.When I was a kid and I saw one for the first time in an old movie,,,, I was thinking,,, those engines are going to rip apart and all to pieces. I imagine it helped cool the engine(s) a lot by spinning around like that.A heck of a flywheel effect too. cuhulin

Rotary Engine Theory, I think it is. cuhulin

Interesting website, thanks for providing it. I guess that would make the new Rhone a limited production hobbyist motor. Do you happen to know if that spinning midget is being used to power something?

There was times I had to fly when I was in the Army.Fixed wing Aircraft and Rotary Wing Aircraft.(Helicopters

(1964) I am a ground pounder, I never did let it show that I don't like flying.The first time on a Helicopter at Tan Son Nhut to Can Tho, I was sitting on the floor with a web belt around my waist hooked to a ring in the floor and my feet hanging out the door.My older brother (God rest his soul) and I were in Vietnam at the same time in 1964. cuhulin

"gnome engine replica" brings it up as the first hit.

And yes, it is being used to power among other things a 1/4 scale Eindecker. And it's "limited production" but it's not "one off". The company that makes it picks an engine, makes a hundred of them, sells them, and makes a hundred more of something else. They've done, among others, the OX-5 and the Harley Shovelhead.

I just am not a flyboy. cuhulin ......................................... They fell apart, from vibrations. .........................................

Replica and restored original engines are fascinating. Good to read that the Rhone is actually being used and not just displayed. So when the Eindecker is landed can the engine be switched on and off to cut power as with the original?

At the other end of the technology scale I've seen several replicas and restorations of the Hit and Miss engines used in agriculture and other applications several decades back.

I've flown an ultralight with a Rotax 503

2-stroke and my CTSW has a 912 4-stroke. I don't much care for any 2-stroke, but the 912 is a beautiful and sweet-running little piece of work.

That's a Gnome, not a LeRhone. And apparently the engine is as exact as they can make it, so yes, that's how it would have to work.

It's hard riding in the ones where the propellor is stationary and the fuselage is rotating at 6,000 RPM. I always spill my beer.

Yeah. I remember when they were talking about putting in the expense and effort to get tires to last more than ten thousand miles.

I have seen those hit and miss engines at the state fair before, and on tv and movies.I need to look around and see if somebody has a little one for sale.A real old one. cuhulin

Interesting! How many horses does the Mazda 13-B put out? I like their engineering. (We have had two Ford Festivas for an aggregate of 300K miles with way low maintenance issues)

Brian W