On Sep 22, 6:02 pm, "Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" The Sea Hawk at wow way
d0t com wrote:
"Tater" wrote in message

oups.com...

after looking at all the planes in the oshkosh museum, I saw a few
radials where the crank was stationary, and the rest of the engine
moved with the prop.

which brought me to this question. why did they use radials? some of
the first planes used inline engines, nut for some reason radials came
into play.

Good cooling with all the cylinders whirling in the breeze.

BTW: They are called "rotary" engines - "radials" have stationary cylinders
(but are also easier to cool)

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

Radials have a short, stiff crank, which keeps the weight
down. All the cylinders (in a single-row radial) get lots of cooling
air. On old airplanes the whole engine was out in the breeze. No cowl,
no baffles, no nothing. Light and cheap.

Dan