rotary engine

[Be200pilot]

do you know if anybody has made an aircraft with a wankel rotary engine before?

 

[EagleRJ]

I've seen a few homebuilts that have Wankels. There are several people developing the concept.

http://home.earthlink.net/~rotaryeng/ACRE.html

Rotaries have interesting potential as aircraft engines. They are compact and produce a lot of power, and they are much more reliable than reciprocating IC engines. The downside is you need a gear reduction, and they tend to burn a lot of fuel compared to reciprocating engines.

 

[Airpiraterob]

wankel

Its not an airplane built with a wankel its an airplane built using a certin production engine of their choice. Teledyne continental motors started working on the GR18 and GR 36 rotary wankel type engines. Project was cancelled as they couldnt produce the reliability and performance they wanted for the cost involved. The onyl engines liek that youre gonna see US side...are non-certified engines. Experimental homebuilt type powerplants. some people out there make engines for this capacity specifically...notably Adkins rotary engines and a few others. Keep an eye on Wankel GmBh in germany. they invented the thing with NSU.

so to answer you question.....noone has built a production airplane like that yet. Homebuilts abound however. They need reduction drives, and 50% larger radiators than their piston counterparts and not just for water but oil as well. They respond extremely well to turbocharging as they have a very powerful exhaust pulse....its very loud too! just look at the mufflers on the RX-7's.

 

[dav8or]

Several Rv's are flying with rotary engines. The one example I saw did not perform that well and the builder said the cost of engineering the fit negated the savings on the engine cost vs the lycomming. I do remember reading about some body working on a ducted fan solution to take advantage of the higher rpms and delete the need to have a gear box. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[crash-proof]

I know this is probably a long-shot, but the other day at fort lauderdale I saw a grumman yankee land. As soon as it started taxiing I noticed it made a peculiar, high-pitch sound, typical of a hi-rev engine, accompanied of course by the low rev sound of the prop. On it's belly was large protrusion, which I assumed was the radiator. It was painted in 1930's style army colors.

Anyone know bout this bird? Could it have been a rotary?

Odd to see a hi revving motor on a production plane, not a kit.

 

[TurboS7]

I live in Ft. Lauderdale I should go and check it out. By the way when I keep watching your DC-3 engine I keep waiting for it to load up and backfire----why not?????

 

[crash-proof]

coincidence, ft lauderdale. I live 3 blocks away from executive airport, close to oakland. That's where i saw him. He might have been a passerby, never seen him here before. If you find out lemme know...

Went to sun n fun, by the way? I missed out...


ps. i thought you were gonna comment on the backward rotation of the dc-3 prop! I can't fix it cause i lost the original artwork...

 

[ShawnC]

Nah it's not spinning backwards, it's one of those Russian DC-3s.

SnF was pretty good, but it sure emptied out on Sunday.

 

[flywithastick]

I know this is probably a long-shot, but the other day at fort lauderdale I saw a grumman yankee land. As soon as it started taxiing I noticed it made a peculiar, high-pitch sound, typical of a hi-rev engine, accompanied of course by the low rev sound of the prop. On it's belly was large protrusion, which I assumed was the radiator. It was painted in 1930's style army colors.

You sure it wasn't a Mazda/rotary powered RV? they may have a good pwer to weight ratio, but the added complexity of the reduction unit and water cooling sets them well behind the ol' Lycs and TCMs with respect to overall reliability. not only that, they sound like a Rotax. not my cup of tea...

 

[crash-proof]

Actually that would have made more sense, but whereas an RV is nice and slim with long legs, this was a Yankee for sure, kind of chubby with those awkwark-lookin go kart wheels.
Otherwise i'd have to agree they are kinda similar.

RV-6 = Yankee on an aggressive diet

 

[dav8or]

I found the linkhttp://www.bridgingworlds.com/duckt.htm
I think it is still a work in progress

 

[crash-proof]

what's the purpose of a duct-fanned EZ? To make it quiet?


Interesting lookin must say.

 

[flywithastick]

all the ducted fans I've heard are screamers since they turn so many r's.