No, not Snoopy's. There is a surviving, flying Sopwith Camel in New Zealand, complete with an original nine cylinder rotary engine. I'm no mechanic or pilot, but just from reading the comments, apparently the sputtering and farting is because the engine power is controlled by shutting down cylinders. So you could run on three, six, or nine cylinders depending on what you were trying to do.
According to the comments, the entire engine is rotating around a central shaft, and the gyroscopic force of the spinning engine literally tosses the plane all over the place. On startup, you can see the plane trying to flip over with the engine. Flying it was supposedly a nightmare. To turn counter to the engine rotation, you apparently had to shut down cylinders.
I think it had what was called a “blip switch” button on the controls. It had no throttle and only ran flat out. So to control power the pilot hit that switch and turned it off. Hit the switch and it goes off, release the switch and it comes back on.
Guys would actually go up and fight in those wood and canvas contraptions, with no parachutes yet.
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
Guys would actually go up and fight in those wood and canvas contraptions, with no parachutes yet.
No doubt. Combine the fact that those engines useful life span was pretty short. The engine was literally trying to shake the plane apart. All while dogfighting, often over enemy territory. This made for a pretty short life expectancy for a WWI pilot.
And before they had mounted machine guns they would shoot at each other with pistols. Early machine guns were not equipped with interupters and pilots could and would shoot off their own props.
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.”
Well, it had to start somewhere and some how. My experience with old tech includes civil war era sniper rifles, and flying a chopper with wooden rotor blades. 😎
I am..........disturbed.
Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn't any. But this wrongs the jackass. -Twain
Strapping on an airplane to go do combat has never been a comfortable experience, whether it was a Sopwith over France, a Jug over Germany, a Sabre over Korea, a Hughes over the A Shau, or a Cessna over Cambodia. Flying combat means there will always be one final takeoff, whether you know it will be - or not.
I am totally surprised any are around and flying. I would have expected any surviving originals were in museums. The guy who owns it must either own a high end machine shop or is good friends with someone who does. I am sure that any engine parts would have to be made.
Might be a replica. Lots of those are about. They really aren’t that hard to make compared to even WW II aircraft. Almost within the realm of a home hobbyist.
Wish I could find a video I saw this past year of a similar smaller engine on an early vehicle. Was amazing to me. I have trouble visualizing rotary or even radial design movements but found this that helps a bit. I still can't work out spark and such ( I guess it works like an old distributor) ??? But cool very very short video of how things are moving inside. Hope some will enjoy this.
When a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition are something to be ashamed of. When a country is ill governed, riches and honors are something to be ashamed of . Confucius
Heard rumors of a Sopwith Moth being discovered in storage several years back somewhere in UK.
Founder Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
No, not Snoopy's. There is a surviving, flying Sopwith Camel in New Zealand, complete with an original nine cylinder rotary engine. I'm no mechanic or pilot, but just from reading the comments, apparently the sputtering and farting is because the engine power is controlled by shutting down cylinders. So you could run on three, six, or nine cylinders depending on what you were trying to do.
According to the comments, the entire engine is rotating around a central shaft, and the gyroscopic force of the spinning engine literally tosses the plane all over the place. On startup, you can see the plane trying to flip over with the engine. Flying it was supposedly a nightmare. To turn counter to the engine rotation, you apparently had to shut down cylinders.
Amazing. Must have been thrilling, but dang, the stones on the guys that went up in those things.
During this period, I wonder how much time the commanders of the air corps spent ensuring diversity amongst their crews. 🤔
No, not Snoopy's. There is a surviving, flying Sopwith Camel in New Zealand, complete with an original nine cylinder rotary engine. I'm no mechanic or pilot, but just from reading the comments, apparently the sputtering and farting is because the engine power is controlled by shutting down cylinders. So you could run on three, six, or nine cylinders depending on what you were trying to do.
According to the comments, the entire engine is rotating around a central shaft, and the gyroscopic force of the spinning engine literally tosses the plane all over the place. On startup, you can see the plane trying to flip over with the engine. Flying it was supposedly a nightmare. To turn counter to the engine rotation, you apparently had to shut down cylinders.
Amazing. Must have been thrilling, but dang, the stones on the guys that went up in those things.
During this period, I wonder how much time the commanders of the air corps spent ensuring diversity amongst their crews. 🤔
Given the choice of flying or trying to live thru gas attacks in muddy trenches for months on end, easy decision.
Osky
A woman's heart is the hardest rock the Almighty has put on this earth and I can find no sign on it.
We have over a century of flying experience, millions of pounds of data have to exist. Many courses of study focused on flying.
Just think how much common knowledge exists, folks like myself who have never been inside an aircraft have(very) basic knowledge.
But 100 years ago, guys built something out of wood and cloth, "That should work!".
They thought it would fly, expected it to. But really didn't know.
And since it was among the first airplanes they had seen, probably the first within 10 feet, they obviously had no idea how to fly the damn thing, beyond what the hand controls did to the actual flight controls.
But they climbed in!
Contrast to today. The extensive requirements for the aircraft. Then the licensing procedure.
Or the modification of a long serving platform (737). Using all kind of modern knowledge and computer simulation, it goes horribly wrong.
Parents who say they have good kids..Usually don't!
Considering that the first winged and motorized flight was about 15 years before the start of WWI, the war birds were quite an improvement for the era. By war's end they had created an operational mono plane. Warsover the years have advanced aviation by leaps and bounds. If my feeble mind is correct, Brown flew a Camel, when he was credited by the RAF with the Baron Richthofen, shoot down.
“To expect defeat is nine-tenths of defeat itself. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is best to plan for all eventualities then believe in success, and only cross the failure bridge if you come to it." Francis Marion - The Swamp Fox
