WW1 Sopwith Camel With Original Rotary Engine

Get four FREE full length documentaries from Historical Machines TV by logging in with your YouTube account using the link below. This Video: The Vintage Aviator's Sopwith F.1 Camel is shown here during a display at the Tauranga City Classics Of The Sky airshow held at Tauranga Airport, New Zealand. Capably flown by Gene De Marco this aircraft features an original 160hp Gnome rotary engine which is almost 100 years old.

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[rollertoaster]

I love the absurdly short take-off. That plane practically taxied straight into the air 😂

[hhoward]

For those that do not know. These were nine cylinder engines, and they controlled the engine speed by a selectable mechanism that gave you the choice of: nine, six, or three cylinder operation. Hence the rough sound when three or six were selected.
It was light and simple, and served the purpose for a while.
Possibly more powerful heavier engines made it "too much of a handful".

[davidviner]

I met Tom Sopwith in 1983, I was 17, he was an incredible man to talk to

[matsfreedom]

I had the pleasure of reading a diary of a WWI pilot by the name of Santa-Maria. He was a young Cuban who wanted to spice up his life, so he joined the RAF where he flew the Sopwith Camel. He called it "a nice bus". Most of his squadron was killed during training and battle. He survived some close calls, and an ear infection got him grounded for the remainder of the war. He said of war, "Next time there is another war to fight, I think I would rather not."

[penguinmaster]

there's something about that sound that's so satisfying

[JulieAV]

Those engines had one speed: On. You slow it down by cutting the ignition. That's why the occasional sputtering.

[jehl]

Keep in mind that these are "rotary" engines, not "radials", even though the cylinders were arrayed in a radial pattern. The difference is that in a rotary the cylinders and crank case are rigidely attached to the prop and go around a fixed crank shaft. Given the mechanical complexities of fine control of spark advance and throttle position and fuel flow in such a situation, it wasn't done. The engines were designed to run flat out, and then the spark would be interrupted to control the power. This is why the engine was off all together on the final approach. It was simple, reliable, and effective.

[notmyname]

Absolutely mesmerised for five minutes. The Camel was my childhood dream and to be able to sit and watch one flying in all its glory with an original engine, over 100 years since it saw action blows my mind.

[grepora]

One of the best fighters of WW1. In the hands of a skilled pilot, it was an amazing enemy killing machine. In the hands of an unskilled pilot, it was an amazing pilot killing machine. The pilot flying this one was highly skilled.

[bytarik]

These old planes with rotary engines have a nostalgic and scary vibe to it, impossible to not love it.

[ChimpFromSpace]

It's actually amazing how quickly aviation advanced in the following two decades. The first prototype spitfire flew in 1936 I believe. That's just a 20 year difference.

[angelreading]

A highly spirited display by probably the most experienced WW1 vintage aircraft aviator in the world, this is the way they flew the Sopwith Camel in combat and actually used the torque of the spinning rotary engine to advantage, get it wrong and you were in real trouble, wood and fabric plus rigging wires made for a very strong lightweight structure that was well engineered for its day, these replicas are built to the original drawings to incredible detail by real craftsmen, long may their skills continue and these works of art be seen in our skies today.

[ziggyshus]

For those not familiar with Gnome rotary engines, the crankshaft is fixed to the airplane and the entire engine and propeller rotate around the crankshaft. The great mass of the rotating engines creates huge gyroscopic forces, as seen when the engine first starts.
These rotary engines had no throttle, so the engine speed could only be controlled by shutting off the engine or reducing the number of cylinders firing. This results in the burp, burp burp sound.
The gyroscopic forces from the rotary engine caused unusual control problems, such as, to make a left turn you put in left rudder, but to make a right turn you also put in left rudder!!!
See YouTube for videos of WW1 rotary engines rotating on stands, really strange.

[peekaboo]

Fabulous. Snoopy was one of the best sopwith pilots to ever fly.

[superbee]

Airborne in four seconds. Now with a stronger head wind I'm certain we could cut that in half. Nice! :)

[tomtaylor]

Watch how the planes rocks back and forth at startup. The physical strain on the pilots was incredible. You see videos of pilots returning from missions completely exhausted. These things were beasts to fly

[kevinbrown-wozq]

I hear Canadian Air Force is ordering 23 of them to replace their aging aircraft.

[JohnBowman-oe]

As far as the rotary engine goes, they're not overhauled. They are simply returned to the factory and once done, sent back to the airframe it came from . I used to fly an AT 301. It was a bear to start, but an incredibly dependable engine. I'm too old to fly anymore but. I still love the old girl

[kevinbrown-wozq]

it runs on Heinz Beans thats why it sounds that way.

[woooster]

The reason for those cool scarves they wore.. apart from keeping the draft out, was to wipe their goggles clean of castor oil and the likes spewed out by the engine.
Marvellous display in a difficult aircraft.