The Home Machinist!

Hello everyone. I am brand new, with little machining experience, and no typical machining tools.

I would say that my only experience was using the metal lathe in shop class in high school, and making a C-clamp using ony simple hand tools in my standard practices lab here at SAIT. This was a requirement for all Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Technology students, and my first time trying to meet very precise tolerances. It was an excellent learning experience.

Anywho, due to the development of diesels for small planes, and also loving the power in my 97 powerstroke, I wondered if anyone has ever tinkered with the idea of a radial diesel engine.

If so, please drop me a line.

Rustytools

On what you definition of 'small airplane' and 'diesel' include...

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Shop/ByCate ... SAIE325R5D

this is for a small airplane...and, believe it or not, it is a diesel...more commonly called a glow engine, but still a diesel....

Bill, a Diesels and a Glow engine are very much different animals...

A Diesel ignites the charge from compression heat alone, whereas a Glow engine has a wire coil that continues to "glow" from the heat of the previous cycle, and ignites the consecutive charge...

Glow engines generally use methanol as fuel, where a Diesel will use either...

SATO's are glow engines, and I don't think they have any diesels in their product line.

_________________
Bryan
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

ronm,

I would hate to have to "prop start" that engine on a cold winter morning.

That picture should be hanging a wall. Some of the old production engines really were works of art...

Man, talk about a blast from the past...I had forgotten even posting that. I have always been intrigued by the Packard Diesel. Notice it has only one valve per cylinder? That D-shaped tube takes air in the front on the intake stroke, & blows exhaust out the back on exhaust stroke...neat, huh?

Absolutely. There was one pre-war. I'd have to look up the name, but it was IIRC a 5 cyl diesel and definitely radial. Guiberson, Gunderson, some name like that I think.

Like this, maybe?
http://www.oldengine.org/members/diesel ... berson.htm

Yep, I have the book that first picture is out of...... same pic.

In 2005 there was a Packard radial diesel on display in the Warp
museum at Minden NB. There were many other old and unusual aircraft
engines. Just off interstate 80, Plan for a 6 to 8 hour stop. Hope its still
open. LynMn

Not being picky but thats Minden Nebraska. Just for clarification, NB is the abbreviation for New Brunswick

caterpillar developed a radial diesel model RD-1820 for the M4A6 sherman tanks of ww2. Only one unit was out fitted with them as diesel was not in wide use/supply except in the south pacific and the chrysler cross 5x6 and ford GAA V8 were cheaper to build.