Well, let’s talk about these here radial engines, you know, the kind they used in them old airplanes.
What are radial engines, anyway?
Now, I ain’t no engineer, but I can tell ya, these engines are somethin’ special. They got these cylinders stickin’ out all around, like a star, or maybe like spokes on a wheel. Someone told me they call it “star engine” in some places. That’s a good name, I reckon, cause that’s what they look like, like a big ol’ star. And each one of them cylinders has a piston pumpin’ up and down, just like in a car, but all goin’ round and round a central point. This point they call it the crankshaft. All them pistons, they push and pull on this here crankshaft, makin’ it turn and turn, and that’s what makes the propeller spin.
Superchargers or Internal What?
Now, some of these radial engines, they got somethin’ called a supercharger. Think of it like a big ol’ fan that blows more air into the engine. Why do they need that, you ask? Well, the higher you go, the thinner the air gets, right? And if there ain’t enough air, the engine can’t make enough power. So, this supercharger, it stuffs extra air into the cylinders, so the engine can keep on chuggin’ even way up high in the sky. It’s like givin’ the engine a big ol’ gulp of air when it’s feelin’ winded. It’s kinda like when you are workin’ so hard you breath faster, ya know?
But not all radial engines have superchargers. Some, they just work with the air that’s there. And that’s when the “internal what” comes in. And what is that you say? Well, it’s just the way the engine is built on the inside. It’s the way the pistons go, the way the valves open and shut, how the spark plugs fire up. It’s all these internal workings that make the engine go. So, you got your radial engines, and they either got a supercharger to help ‘em breathe up high, or they just rely on their good ol’ internal design to do the work. That internal something it’s just the normal stuff in all four stroke engines, pistons going up and down, you know.
Different Kinds of Radial Engines
And get this, there ain’t just one kind of radial engine. Some of ’em spin around with the propeller, and some of ’em stay put while the propeller spins. They call the ones that spin “rotary type”. And they call the ones that don’t spin “static type”. It’s like two fellas dancin’, one’s spinnin’ around like a top, and the other’s standin’ still, just tappin’ his feet. But both are still dancin’! Same with these engines, one spins, one don’t, but both of them get you up there in the sky.
How They Work
Now, how do these engines actually work? Well, it’s all about suck, squeeze, bang, and blow. That’s what my grandson told me, anyways. The piston goes down, sucks in air and gas, then it goes up and squeezes it tight. Then, the spark plug fires, bang! The explosion pushes the piston back down, and then it goes back up again and blows out the burnt stuff. And that whole thing happens again and again, in each of them cylinders, makin’ that propeller go round and round. It is kinda like when you light up some of that gas stuff in your stove and it goes boom!
- Suck: Piston goes down, sucks in air and fuel.
- Squeeze: Piston goes up, squeezes the air and fuel.
- Bang: Spark plug fires, explosion pushes piston down.
- Blow: Piston goes up, pushes out the exhaust.
Superchargers and Inline Engines
Now, they also use superchargers on other kinds of engines, not just radials. They got these inline engines, where the cylinders are all in a row, like a bunch of soldiers standin’ at attention. And they started puttin’ superchargers on them inline engines too. But they put superchargers on radial engines earlier I think. My grandson says they had some fancy superchargers on radial engines way back in the 1930s, somethin’ called a two stage thing, I don’t know. It was used in airplanes. They were always tryin’ to make them engines better, you know, more powerful, more reliable.
Why Radial Engines?
So, why did they use radial engines in airplanes so much? Well, for one thing, they’re powerful. And they’re kinda simple, too. Not too many parts to break down, and easy to fix when somethin’ does go wrong. And they’re air-cooled, so you don’t have to worry about radiators and water pumps and all that fuss. Just let the wind blow over them cylinders and keep ’em cool. Kinda like when you sweating when it’s so hot and you just let the wind cool you down.
Numbering the Cylinders
Oh, and one more thing. They number them cylinders on a radial engine, starting from the top and goin’ around clockwise. Just like lookin’ at a clock, only instead of numbers tellin’ time, it’s numbers tellin’ which cylinder is which. So if someones tell you to look at cylinder #1, you know where to look.
In Conclusion
So, there you have it. A little bit about radial engines. They either got a supercharger to help ’em breathe up high, or they just rely on their internal workings. They’re powerful, they’re simple, and they kept them old airplanes flyin’ for a long, long time. And that’s somethin’ to be proud of, I reckon.
