Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick up

[BUD_XXX]

During Race Week, there was a white Ford p/u parked near the tower area, that had a full size engine cutaway display of, an 18 cylinder 2 row radial that was very strange...It looked like it had some sort of moving sleeve valve arrangment.

What the Heck was That Thing????

We went to look at every day and could not find any kind of nameplate or anything recognizable, on it....It was really bizzarre.

[split-s]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

Probably a Bristol Centaurus.

$

[Race5]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

Probably a Bristol Centaurus.

$

That's exactly what it was.

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

Yeppers. The Sea Furies used them, but most if not all Furies seen at Reno have their engines replaced with American radials for less complexity and easier repairs and part finding.

[Ken from PG]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

Wish I had more detail of how the sleeve valves worked. The last picture is a 4360 parked along side the Brit's motor. Are the tubes around the plug wires on the 4360 to pressurize them?

[mayday51]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

Are the tubes around the plug wires on the 4360 to pressurize them?

I believe they are RFI/EMF sheilding.
(drops the interference with radio comm)

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

Wish I had more detail of how the sleeve valves worked.

In essence, the cylinders have a movable sleeve inside that have the intake/exhaust ports cut into the sides and are positioned by a complicated geartrain.

The pistons ride up and down within the sleeve, as the sleeve rotates AND move slightly vertically to expose/cover the ports at the correct times. No spring-using poppet valves needed as conventional car/aircraft engines use, meaning no risk of valve-float.


The following youtube animation shows it quite well. Enjoy:

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

[440_Magnum]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

During Race Week, there was a white Ford p/u parked near the tower area, that had a full size engine cutaway display of, an 18 cylinder 2 row radial that was very strange...It looked like it had some sort of moving sleeve valve arrangment.

What the Heck was That Thing????

We went to look at every day and could not find any kind of nameplate or anything recognizable, on it....It was really bizzarre.

Sounds like a Bristol Centaurus, or maybe a Hercules. The Centaurus was the original engine all the Sea Furys before people started swapping R-3350s in them.

[Frank C.]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

Lloyd Hamilton had a Centaurus Radial in the Sea Fury " Baby Gorilla ". I believe it sported a five-bladed prop. The Hamilton estate sold it to some former RAF pilot, who unfotunately crashed it and he was a fatality.

Frank C.

[Arctic Cat]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

I saw it! It took me a second trip to figure out what it was. I was trying to explain it as a 3350 to my 13 year old and couldn't find the valves or pushrod tubes and had no clue what all those gears were then it hit me what it was. Quite interesting to see up close the workings of it. Not as complicated as I thought they were, just very different than anything I had ever seen.

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

Yeah, you can call it complex. Here's a similar drive on a bristol Hercules:





But you think the radial is complex? Check out the bits and pieces of this minature RR Eagle H-24 engine, also a sleeve valve motor. It really runs too!

Counter-rotating props, twin-crankshafts, dual speed supercharger, fuel injection, all to scale. Says he spent 8000 hours making it!

http://www.enginehistory.org/eagle_22.htm

.

[BUD_XXX]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

Thanks for all the feed back. I knew somebody had the answer.

I've been around all kind of reciprocating engines, but the complexity and number of moving parts on this Centaurus engine seems excessive...to me....

The claim that you get less valve float...at the cost of all this "stuff" whizzing and whiring around.......seems less than desirable.....hence it's demise and lack of current manufacturing....I suppose....

Anyways, good job folks!

[flyride]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

Wish I had more detail of how the sleeve valves worked. The last picture is a 4360 parked along side the Brit's motor. Are the tubes around the plug wires on the 4360 to pressurize them?

Check out the Aerospace Museum in San Diego (the one in Balboa Park). They have a cutaway Centaurus that operates on an electric motor. Really cool, and really weird.

[bruce lockwood]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

Another benefit of the design allowed for a cleaner combustion chamber shape (No Valves, better centralization of spark plugs) thus allowing more boost/HP for any given octane rating. The engine will make more HP on 100/130 than the R3350 will. It also get better fuel efficiency. Bruce

[Ken from PG]

Re: Did anybody check out that "sleeve valve???" engine in the back of the white pick

Check out the Aerospace Museum in San Diego (the one in Balboa Park). They have a cutaway Centaurus that operates on an electric motor. Really cool, and really weird.

Thanks. Noted on the things to do list.