Why do radial engines sound so good?
As the clouds of smoke blow past the cockpit while the excess oil in the cylinders is burnt off, that distinctive radial rumble provides the aural delight which is part of the pleasure of operating a radial engine.
Is radial engine powerful?
The radial aircraft engines provided greater power-to-weight ratios and were more reliable than conventional inline vehicle engines available at the time.
Why do radial engines burn so much oil?
This is especially true of radial engines, which have some cylinders inverted, letting oil pool on the pistons when not running, leaking past and getting into the combustion chambers. That’s why radial engines tend to expel huge clouds of smoke when started, as that oil burns off.
Why do radial engines smoke?
The big clouds of smoke that are coughed out when a big aircraft radial is started result from the fact that such engines have several cylinders that point downward. On shut-down, oil drains from above and, despite each cylinder having an inward-projecting “spigot,” some of this oil goes into the lower cylinders.
What sounds better V8 or V10?
The cylinders in a V8 engine have more diameter individual than in the V10 and V12 engines. It therefore means that more fuel is available for displacement in a V8 engine, giving it a richer and better sound than that of V10 and V12.
What would a six cylinder radial engine sound like at idle?
Such a six cylinder radial would have an interesting sound at idle, no doubt. It would have a boomboom-boomboom-boomboom rumble, similar to but faster than the “burble” of a cross-plane V-8, but there would be no uneven “hiccup” as the gaps between both sequential cylinders and cylinder pairs are evenly spaced although different.
What happens to a radial engine in slow motion?
If you could watch a radial airplane engine in slow motion you would see that when a cylinder is in its compression stroke, the cylinders on either side of it are in their exhaust strokes, and when a cylinder is beginning its power stroke, the cylinders on either side of it are near to beginning their intake strokes.
What is the difference between a single bank and four bank engine?
To keep the design simple and lightweight, a single-bank radial airplane engine has one crank, which means that the pistons must reach the top of their travel in rotation order. But the four-stroke cycle requires that a piston must reach the top of its travel twice for each power stroke.
What is a radial engine?
It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is called a “star engine” in some other languages. The radial configuration was commonly used for aircraft engines before gas turbine engines became predominant.