Brand-new Rotary!

[gumbyk]

Demand for WW1 rotary engines - Story - NZ News - 3 News

These guys are based at our local airfield, and have spent years getting this engine built and running. Its good to see it runs perfectly.

http://www.cams.net.nz/

 

[herman1rg]

OOoh yes, I was at Omaka on January 10th this year

 

[T Bolt]

Cool!

 

[vikingBerserker]

That is most excellent!

 

[gumbyk]

OOoh yes, I was at Omaka on January 10th this year

You should've given me a call. I would have given you a guided tour.

This means that now, if you want a WW1 engine, in NZ you have the choice of:
Gnome
Oberursel
RAF 1A (two manufacturers!)
RAF4A
Beardmore
Mercedes

I guess there's no excuse for not using something authentic now!

 

[Torch]

They do some real nice work...

 

[FLYBOYJ]

 

[Wayne Little]

Very Cool!

 

[Lucky13]

 

[Gnomey]

Very cool!

 

[Shinpachi]

Great work!

 

[GrauGeist]

That's good news. I will admit that this day and age sees more attention to detail in vintage aircraft than ever before!

 

[gumbyk]

Here's Tony Wytenburg, the guy who built it, explaining how it all works:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvHrbkYEn0k

 

[gumbyk]

I missed this one, but they started it up at night.
Awesome fireworks!!

 

[tyrodtom]

I notice he said it smelled like the original, so evidently they still use a castor oil lubricant in the gas.

Have they ever put one on a dyno ? Any additional power ?

 

[gumbyk]

Yes, because of the way that they work, you can only use castor oil. Apparently it doesn't mix with the fuel, so stays stuck inside the engine to do its work.

He said its producing 110 hp and 720 lbft of torque @ 1100 RPM. (Not 100% sure of the units for torque, could be Nm, either way, its a ridiculously huge amount)
The frame that it is attached to has a torque sensor attached. Other than that, I don't think there's a dyno that would handle it (especially given that it needs to be hand-swung to start, and for that you need the propeller attached.

 

[gumbyk]

Video of a night run.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DMkrCa88s0

 

[vikingBerserker]

I love that purr!