6 ms·

Rotary or radial?

• repiret 4y ago
  Radial.
  • walrus01 4y ago
    My brain was clearly not working right when I wrote that, though the mental image of a Mazda RX-7 engine strapped to the front of a beaver is certainly amusing.
    • dreamcompiler 4y ago
      Wonder if anybody ever tried that. Somebody must have, decided the gallons per hour was ridiculously high, and abandoned the idea.
      • mechanical_bear 4y ago
        In a similar way, there are kit planes which use EJ and EA series Subaru engines. These tend to be a bit more fuel efficient than Mazda rotaries though.
      • buster3000 4y ago
        They're used in drones https://www.aieuk.com/wankel-rotary-uav-engines/ https://www.aieuk.com/wankel-rotary-uav-engines/
      • hindsightbias 4y ago
        There have been many attempts with the 13B. One I saw it all worked, except the exhaust system. Builder went through everything, built 3 or 4 of them. The last was made out of titanium welded by guys who worked for a defense contractor. Failed in flight like the rest of them. He ended up with a lycoming.
    • alricb 4y ago
      In the early days of aviation there were actually rotary engines that were like radials, but where the entire engine rotated: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_engine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_engine