Bolt this on your Taylorcraft

[baldeagle27]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk9Dl6RZxmQ

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[N96337]

Re: Bolt this on your Taylorcraft

Rotary engines are a hoot (ever watch one at night??)...but I was waiting to see one of those guys get whacked by the prop when they were rolling it through....especially when they figured out that the switches weren't working.
John

[baldeagle27]

Re: Bolt this on your Taylorcraft

I'm the guy on the prop, and rotaries won't start without really pulling, so not a problem.




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[N96337]

Re: Bolt this on your Taylorcraft

Famous last words......
I was taught that it's HOT all the time and it's going to start, even if I know it's not. Saved me a minimum of embarrassment a couple times if not injuries. So....did you get the switches figured out finally?
John

[barnstmr]

Re: Bolt this on your Taylorcraft

Andrew...
WOW - when that thing goes, ... IT GOES! Cool video.

Does that engine have a pressurized fuel tank? I worked on a 80 hp Gnome once on a Farman Sport. The owner was not technically inclined but was trying to run the engine on the fuselage with wings removed. He had about 4 guys there to help him try to get the thing running. He was afraid to let us really get into the troubleshooting mode and would not let us disassemble anything for fear that we might do something to disturb the authenticity/originality of the engine. In fact, he had never disassembled the engine. He soaked it for several months in a big vat of castor oil to get it freed up. So we were skeptical about it from the start. We were not getting fire at first so we hooked up a starter-vibrator (from a modern shower of sparks system). This gave us a few sputters but we could never get the thing to run. The fuel system was another mess. It was designed with a rubber bulb that the operator uses to create a slight pressure in the tank (forces fuel through the center of the crankshaft). Our problem was that the whole fuel system leaked like a silve and we became afraid we were going to set the whole airplane on fire (all-wood construction). And since he had it tied down to the shrubbery in front of his house, a fire could have burned his whole place down. Needless to say, we scrubbed the effort. I don't think he has ever tried to run it again.

[baldeagle27]

Re: Bolt this on your Taylorcraft

Famous last words......

Thanks for the expert opinion, I'm new to this.

Terry, this one has a centrifugal fuel pump, so doesn't need the pressurised fuel tank. Most rotaries will run on gravity feed, but the British and Germans tended to use the pressurised tanks, or course a leak or a bullet hole could be a big problem. The French Nieuports and other WW1 rotary types didn't usually use a pressure system, but many of the pre-war French aircraft did, and some of the post war like the Farman Sport. The pressurised tanks also led to a problem with rich cuts, where the engine would quit from being over rich and would take up to a minute to get started again, a problem if you were down low.

Oh, and they will make fire, in a variety of ways....




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[barnstmr]

Re: Bolt this on your Taylorcraft

Andrew...
Thanks for the info... good stuff hopefully not to be soon forgotten as the old-timers bow out. Keep up the good work and share your knowledge with the next generation! Do you know John Barker? Do you have his email or other contact info?

And by the way.... excellent photo of the Autogyro. Best wishes for your trip to OSH.
Regards...