Wilhelm_Reinhard

https://www.historynet.com/the-truth-about-rotaries.htm
It's a quick read. What do you think about this article? I think it's funny that a site called "Historynet" doesn't date some (none that I've read) articles.

Some things I learned from the article:
The Gnome 100hp was the only rotary in common usage that didn't have ways to control fuel and air to the engine. I thought most early-war rotaries had this deficiency.
Some people think that the rotaries were 2 cycle not 4 cycle.
I never considered the logistical problem of keeping enough castor oil on hand to feed the rotaries.
There was a geared rotary in which the engine crankshaft rotated in the opposite direction from the prop, the Siemens-Halske Sh.III. I looked it up elsewhere, and in theory, a very promising engine. The counter-rotating crankshaft would slightly balance out some gyro precession; the 2:1 reduction gearing would allow greater prop efficiency; and the IIIa high-compression version (6:1) would give better high altitude performance. The IIIa was rated at 160hp (nominal), very strong for a rotary, and reportedly capable of 240hp max. Here is Mikael Carlson's Pfalz D.VIII with a Siemens-Halske:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J9P1mamdYA
As they prime the cylinders and pull the prop through prior to start, you can clearly see the engine rotating faster than the prop.
As for the discussion of handling problems due to gyro precession, I always suspected it was exaggerated in the story telling, as Vonrd and Ludwig suggest, and due mostly to lack of experience of new pilots. The Dr.1 and Camel were exceptional, especially the Camel. They are both unstable, with the Camel obviously dangerous when you get too close to the low-speed, high AoA edges of the envelope. When you watch Chill31000 videos that show his stick and rudder movements in the Dr.1, you see how busy and extreme the inputs are, but the stall characteristics are relatively benign and recovery is quick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O36WAYZoNUE
My first time on the controls of a sailplane, even though I was pre-advised by the instructor, I was very surprised at the amount of rudder needed to roll in and roll out of even gentle turns.

Radial... yes. Rotary... no.
Wikipedia:
In the years leading up to World War II, as the need for armored vehicles was realized, designers were faced with the problem of how to power the vehicles, and turned to using aircraft engines, among them radial types. The radial aircraft engines provided greater power-to-weight ratios and were more reliable than conventional inline vehicle engines available at the time. This reliance had a downside though: if the engines were mounted vertically, as in the M3 Lee and M4 Sherman, their comparatively large diameter gave the tank a higher silhouette than designs using inline engines.[citation needed]
The Continental R-670, a 7-cylinder radial aero engine which first flew in 1931, became a widely used tank powerplant, being installed in the M1 Combat Car, M2 Light Tank, M3 Stuart, M3 Lee, and LVT-2 Water Buffalo.[citation needed]
The Guiberson T-1020, a 9-cylinder radial diesel aero engine, was used in the M1A1E1, while the Continental R975 saw service in the M4 Sherman, M7 Priest, M18 Hellcat tank destroyer, and the M44 self propelled howitzer.[citation needed]

Rotaries aren't just for planes...
 

Rotaries did not go away. With better metals for cooling, rotaries became radials. It is the exact same mechanical design only the body of the engine is bolted to the plane and the prop is on the crank shaft. Over the years new valve arrangements were developed.

The effects were noticeable but not overwhelming. I remember reading as a kid that pilots could only turn out of the pattern on take-off against the force or THEY WOULD DIE and thinking,,, huh?  How critical it was that they had to respect this powerful force. That overwhelming desire to make things more dramatic than they are seems to be in everything you see or read. Everytime an airplane was involved in a story line of a TV show in the 60s or 70s the guy flying the thing would be "IN TROUBLE" and on short final would be giving the rudder hell back and forth so the audience could conceive how dangerous it was.  If you make a significant power application in a high performance piston you will "torque it around" some and in some cases you can pull the power off rapidly and get the reverse effect ever so slightly. 
Unfortunately the devs use these anomalies to excite their game players and in worse cases "play balance" the game to make it more fair<sic>.  My only experience with rotaries is you better like castor oil because you are going to smell like it for longer than you would think. When you see those crude moving pictures of pilots from that age suiting up before a flight... it's not because of the cold... it's trying to keep clear of the oil. 😎

https://www.historynet.com/the-truth-about-rotaries.htm
It's a quick read. What do you think about this article? I think it's funny that a site called "Historynet" doesn't date some (none that I've read) articles.

From what I know about them (which is just a bit of mechanic research... and who knows if what I read in other areas was true) it seems pretty spot on and plausible. I never really believed the whole schmear about the high degree affects of gyroscopic force. Due to how close the cylinders are to the center of rotation it shouldn't be really that much. Though watching some ground runs on a Camel while blipping the engine did make the whole plane move... but that's sudden acceleration / deceleration. Still, the large 4 blade prop on some SE5s should make probably the same gyro force as the smaller rotaries I would think.
And what about a turbine like a PT6 spinning the same relative mass with just slightly smaller diameter at more than 10,000 rpm. We never feel any gyro force from them. P factor and a bit of torque from the prop... yes, but nothing that I would describe as really noticeable gyroscopic precession.

I've never heard of Historynet, but after googling them, I guess they're owned by the same people who published Armchair General magazine, which I used to see in the pharmacy and convenience stores in my area.
Strange how they don't date anything...
I don't know enough about the history of rotary engines, or how they operate or perform, to say what I think about the article.  But its definitely fun reading.
 

That was a good read

Chill's videos are outstanding.
Like this one - a rotary touch and go:
 

https://www.historynet.com/the-truth-about-rotaries.htm
It's a quick read. What do you think about this article? I think it's funny that a site called "Historynet" doesn't date some (none that I've read) articles.

Fokker Dr.1 Replica (Sands design) with Le Rhone 9J: Chill31000 on YouTube
Highly skilled pilot, wonderful videos. In his demonstration of max performance level turns, you can catch glimpses of his control inputs. Videos of run-up of the 9j without the cowl (such a simple-looking engine), barrel rolls, loops, Cuban 8s, etc.

Hotlead - I feel like we became friends even though our acquaintance has been brief and interaction limited, so I am truly sorry to see you go. Thanks again for the refuge of your RoF streams; I'll miss those, too, since it appears that's as close as I'll get to flying with JG1 for some time yet.
 
Wishing you tailwinds in every direction you go - except when landing, of course.
 
Best Regards,
 
Wilhelm

Couldn't resist...

Ohh good old Youtube
 

Salute all!
 
There's no easy way to go about this, really. I have been involved in Rise of Flight since 2012 and loved every minute of it. But there comes a time when all good things must come to an end. As of today, I am leaving Jagdgeschwader 1 and combat flight sims. 
 
I am not bitter or angry. I am not disillusioned. Please understand that no one drove me away. This is merely me entering a new stage in my life; a stage where I need to focus on other things. Although it is one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, it is the right one for where I'm at. 
 
For three years, I have been a part of this amazing organization. It has been my privilege and pleasure. I was part of the Rise of Flight community as development shifted away from Rise of Flight, and now, as I leave, the future is brighter than ever for WW1 flight sims. Keep the dream alive, gents. 
 
The one thing I'll regret most about leaving is missing the friendships I've formed - too many to count. It has been an absolute honor to know you all. Thank-you for the camaraderie, training, sparring, and flying. I will deeply, deeply miss it. 
 
This squad has been simply the best, the most amazing group of people I could have ever imagined being a part of. I am so grateful for all the time everyone has invested in me. 
I will never say never, but at this time in my life, this is goodbye. I will be putting my flight sim gear up for sale later this week. 
 
Salute and blue skies to you all!
 
- JG1_Hotlead
 

In addition to the book by Marc Wortman, there is a 2014 documentary by the same name, now available on Amazon (free for Prime members). It's about the First Yale Unit: volunteers from Yale University who were among the first American pilots to fight in WWI, and who were instrumental in the formation and development of U.S Naval Aviation from then through the next 50 years. The previous sentence is totally inadequate, considering their character, achievements, and influence. We all know of the Lafayette Escadrille, but the First Yale Unit was, historically, of greater importance. If you forgive the odd, often hammy narration of weird old Bruce Dern*, you will enjoy this documentary.
 
* I was so curious about how Dern got the privilege of narrating, I searched for a connection, assuming he was just a WWI aviation buff. Wikipedia made it easy: his name is given as "Bruce MacLeish Dern." Kenneth MacLeish was an important founding member of the unit.
 
S!
 
Wilhelm

https://www.duffelblog.com/2015/08/f-35-loses-dogfight-to-red-baron/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=DuffelBlog&utm_content=Lockheed UpbeatDespiteF-35LosingDogfightToRedBaron

The Captain says...

Words fail me...  

First off, photobucket is garbage. But that’s not what I’m posting about.
 
I’ve taken a break from flight simming to pursue a personal goal of mine and that is coming along. I was hoping to get away from simming altogether but having a new wheel set up, a gaming rig, and some excess lumber I put some elbow grease into a dedicated racing rig. With a $40 Racing seat I pulled from a Toyota Celica at a local U-Pick it worked damn well. I had made some errors that I needed to correct to make it really work right but I never really got around to it until now.
 
However, when I decided to modify the setup I decided that racing sims weren’t as exciting as other things (and iRacing is a money pit) so when I pulled screws, recut some of the components, added new components, and did a little bit of redesign....well....this happened:
 

 

Here's an odd tribute:
 
Gunny's endorsement (a 15-second ad on his show) introduced me to Tru-Spec clothing. I wear their 24-7 Classic pants every day for every occasion (have them tailored with a no-seam leg hem, iron a crease in them, and they can almost pass for dress pants, as long as no one notices the side-seam zippers and that they're rip-stop poly-cotton  ). They have ten pockets (!), although I only use eight of them (the upper side-seam zippered pockets are silly/useless). I love 'em, especially the knife pockets on both sides. I always have a knife in one and a small flashlight in the other, and I use both almost every day. Old guys use knives and flashlights a lot, since our fingernails and eyes tend to be a bit feeble  . I used to live in blue jeans but haven't put a pair on in ten years because of R. Lee.
 
So, I think of Gunny Ermy some mornings when I'm pulling on my pants, and have done for years.
 
Warned you it was an odd tribute  .
 
So long, Devil Dog!

Here's an odd tribute:
 
Gunny's endorsement (a 15-second ad on his show) introduced me to Tru-Spec clothing. I wear their 24-7 Classic pants every day for every occasion (have them tailored with a no-seam leg hem, iron a crease in them, and they can almost pass for dress pants, as long as no one notices the side-seam zippers and that they're rip-stop poly-cotton  ). They have ten pockets (!), although I only use eight of them (the upper side-seam zippered pockets are silly/useless). I love 'em, especially the knife pockets on both sides. I always have a knife in one and a small flashlight in the other, and I use both almost every day. Old guys use knives and flashlights a lot, since our fingernails and eyes tend to be a bit feeble  . I used to live in blue jeans but haven't put a pair on in ten years because of R. Lee.
 
So, I think of Gunny Ermy some mornings when I'm pulling on my pants, and have done for years.
 
Warned you it was an odd tribute  .
 
So long, Devil Dog!

I'll have to pour him one when I get home tomorrow. Man was a childhood hero of mine.