Flying a radial engine-Video

If you want a good actual example of how to fly and work these spinning WW1 radial engines, as a pilot,- just look at this Camel video.

It is being strategically blipped like crazy for takeoff, landing and approach and you can see how hard the pilot has to work at it (almost a full time job...forget flying the airplane!)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6PnKUEFX8g

And below is ROF's Camel version...look similar to the above video?!!!

http://wwiaircombat.com/articles/rise-of-flight-promo-movie-4-sopwith-camel-physics-demo

Yes, known Jean DeMarco for along time. Lucky guy to fly all these planes.

I'm madly in love.

No one could have predicted that

Ming

I find all the throttle blipping in that well known Wanaka camel vid a bit odd. Is the pilot putting on a show for the crowd? blipping with the throttle wide open? Why does he need to blip when he's in formation with the Spit? surely just full throttle would be what's needed.

From what I've read at the Aerodrome and other sites the camel had a variable ignition selector like the NP28 we have in game. In tandem with that the mixture could be adjusted to get a degree of fine control at each of the pre set ignition stops.

In the Wanaka vid the whole thing looks very aggressive, I can't find another vid with a rotary aircraft being flown quite that way. Anyone really know about this, like most I'm just an armchair observer

Nice video that you dug up, Richard!

Jean DeMarco and the Rhinebeck Camel are featured in a Canadian documentary about the ace Billy Barker, which I happily recorded for my collection.

As well as many flying shots of DeMarco/Camel, it features some interviews with DeMarco which I found extemely interesting since the Camel is my favourite. Some of his comments included the facts that the Camel would not fly hands off at all, that the pilot had to always be controlling and correcting the aircraft in flight , and that the pilot had a full time job in constantly adjusting the engine. He also talks about the two mags and the fact that the pilot IS the carburetor for the engine, having to control and adjust the fuel/air mixture at all times.

Apparently, a Camel pilot is a very busy pilot!

Just a minor technicality - I think you mean rotary engine. In a rotary the entire engine revolves. In a radial, the engine block stays still.

Here's an awesome animation of a rotary in action: http://www.animatedengines.com/gnome.shtml

And a radial for comparison: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Radial_engine.gif http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Radial_engine.gif

Fascinating stuff