Scale Aircraft Engines

[lastvautour]

I don't finish the top of the cylinder as this will be hidden by the cowling. And 4 strand telephone cable is only $1.39 CDN at my local hardware store.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Small stubs of toothpicks await the cylinders
Assembly line production of cylinders
The 9 cylinders are attached.
A slight trimming of the cylinder end makes for a snug fit in the cowling. Now all we need is the attachment of rods/sumps and the like to make the engines complete.

Lou

[Oceaneer99]

Lou,

Ingenious how you left the insulation on to made the larger diameter part of the cylinders!

Garet

[lastvautour]

Once every century I come up with a good idea. I guess that is it for the 21th Century.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Push rods have been added and will be trimmed once the glue dries. Addition of a sump and some wirirng will follow. The Bristol Hercules IV engine did not follow most engine designs in that the valves appear to be centrally located on the cylinder head rather than the outer portion of the cylinder heads on. Photos of the engine does not show any wiring in the front, so one must assume it is located behind the cylinders. This was not a great design as heat from the engine would continuously affect the electrical wiring.

More to come.

http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3501

[lastvautour]

The ignition harness is being fashioned from telephone wire.
This project is moving very slooooowwwlllllyyyyyy.

Lou

[lastvautour]

The WACO has been finished for quite a while. I just realized I never posted a photo to this thread to show the completed installation.

Lou

[Balsabasher]

Lou has reminded me to place the tiny Pobjoy Niagara engine here besides the Long Distance cook up page,so here we go,these little engines are models in their own right and great fun to search out suitable things to build them up from,everything on this is scrap,flexible electrical wire and odd bits of tube are ideal to make engines from,for the pushrods I strip the reed from a chinese fan and find that you can get fairly fine material from the reeds,the collector ring outlet pipes could have been fashioned from milliput but on this occasion I used thick solder bent with a pair of round pliers and the edges filed,then gel cyno makes the job easier as it grabs instantly.
Barry.

[cliff strachan]

Very nice engine Barry. And I think you've hit the nail on the head in recognizing the infinite amount of "engineering" or just plain thought that distinguishes this hobby from the commercial counterpart.
Cliff.

[Balsabasher]

Cliff in this age of pre-assembly and high detail products it is really good to know that within this group there are skilled craftsmen who still enjoy the benefits of scratch built items and keep the traditions of solid modelling really alive,we have no restraints on scale or types,the models can be as expensive or as cheap in materials as we so wish,to re-cycle scrap and make it into something beautiful is a real bonus.
The more solids that I build and see here the more I think this verges on an art form that has so many benefits,it rekindles history,it draws on what would otherwise be long lost drawings,its a social statement of times past of how we created these miniatures often under difficult wartime conditions.
Before I found this group I never believed that there were so many people still whittling away making solids ? but there are and it is because of this that my own interest had a real boost,gentlemen your models are such inspiration and a pleasure to see being built in small workshops and sheds,plus kitchen tables across the world.
As long as browsers will be tapping in 'Solid model' into their browsers then they will find us and help spread the ranks amongst us.
Barry.

[lastvautour]

I would be greatly interested in seeing how Kenji makes his radial engines. I have started on what I hope will look somewhat like a P&W R-1340.
The prototype cylinder is shown before winding is added to simulate the cooling fins. The rocker arm covers are round toothpicks and the cylinder are 1/4 and 1/8 inch dowels. Sorry for the picture quality. The black hose is the intake and the white one is the intale. Manifolds will be added later,

Lou

[Greasecup]

If my research is correct the JU-88 actually had inline water cooled engines . What most people think is a radial engine is actually the radiator .
greasecup

[Balsabasher]

These radial engines are models in their own right and demand a certain care and attention during assembly,as Lou has shown it is surprising what can be pressed into service and they can be a real challenge as well.
So before you throw that electrical wire,flexible tubing or old decorative fan away think about what it can be used for ?
For some good ideas on engine building see the 'Aeromodeller' magazine articles and plans in our archives which show the breakdown of common and popular engines at that time.

The Jumo 211 was a 12 cylinder supercharged liquid cooled 60 degress inverted V piston engine,the cooling was effected with an annular radiator system mounted at the front of the engine giving that strange effect when mounted into the circular engine nacelles.

Barry.

[lastvautour]

Progress is being made on the P&W R-1340. All cylinders and a few extras have been constructed and the gearbox and intake manifolds have been mounted. I still need the oil sump, exhaust manifold and cylinder wire wrap to be done.

Lou

[K_mars]

Lou,

Your engine has the reality. I like to make it only from the wood.

kenji.