As you mentioned in the beginning of your video, there are plenty computer generated 3D radial engine animations available on the internet, but they don't quite go into depth like you have with this project. I am amazed at your craftsmanship. I believe I speak for the majority of RU-vidrs who have watched this video when I say that all of your hard work, time, and energy is greatly appreciated
Mike Majoris Easy to to see how out of the 915 comments to date... How your'es has maintained the Top one. During the AutoCad courses from Versions 10-14 i'd taken back in the 90's... One statement rings true in Ian Jimmerson working model... ''If a picture is worth a thousand words; What then, is the worth of a solid working model? -1719
Don't get why there would be 4 dislikes or even one, watched this a couple of times. Awesome model and well made. Your explanation and prompts to follow the combustion and exhaust cycles are great. Thank you for an excellent video.
I graduated from college (40 years ago) with an aviation degree and went on to become an accomplished aviator. This is by far the best video I’ve seen on radial engines.
Excellent. After 35 years in aviation, I have finally understood how a radial engine works. I must mention that I have never worked on a radial engine. Thanks !
True brilliance. If you're not in front of a classroom of youngsters, inspiring them with your passion and total clarity then there is no sense in this world. Thank you.
Wow! That's a thing of beauty: firstly in the engineering of how each component works with and on the others, secondly, it's such a beautiful, well made model. It's a wonderful teaching aid: thank you so much for making and sharing it and for your very clear, step by step explanation. I love it!
It gives you a small idea how our grandparents were brilliant in a time when CAD systems did not exist. All manual calculations and manually created drawings.
I worked on those radial engines as a student at Aviation High School in NYC. I remember being awed by the size of the pistons and dwarfed by the dimensions of the powerful engines as a 14-15 year old. Thank you for explaining the workings of this workhorse of WWII.
Absolutely the finest and most easily followed instructive video of a radial engine, or any engine for that matter, that I have ever seen. Fantastic work on the model and equally so on the explanation of its internal workings!!!
I worked on radial engines in the A.F. way back when and know their operation, and have seen cut outs in museums and on film, but this is the most incredible thing so far.. You are to be acknowledged as a true artist and one heck of an engineer for doing such a feat.. Congrats to you..
I read the recent article in Air & Space magazine of how the Pratt & Whitney R1340 Wasp engine received recognition as a Historic Engineering Landmark and immediately went looking for an animation online to explain the engine's operation. Your model exceeded my expectations. Thank you so much for taking the time to make the model and the videos. You rock!
Wow!!! I've always 'known' about radial engines (not really on radial engines, but I do know how I.C.E.s work, so I've always been a bit confused on how radials work)...this video and how the knowledge was transfered was AMAZING!!! I can now confidently explain this to a lay-person! Thank you Ian!!!
Ian, this is THE most thorough explanation of the radial engine that I've ever seen. Now I'm totally understand the inner workings of the cam gear ring. It must have given you immense satisfaction in this labor of love project. Keep up the good work my fellow human and God bless you.
Can I just say this is a brilliant explanation. I have aimlessly watched engine videos but never truly understood what goes into the design of these things. I just accepted they worked ( mostly!) and enjoyed the noise. Thank you very much.
Wow! This is just an awesome demonstration of how a radial engine works! Your level of detail and craftsmanship are to be highly commended! Thank you for taking the time to do this for us gearhead's that love engines, all engines!
I'm currently doing research for a SolidWorks project proposal on a F4U-1 Corsair for one of my classes. It is a little more simplified, but it is something I am passionate about building and creating part by part, and I've been doing a deep dive into how radial engines work (the R-2800 Double Wasp is amazing) and how I can implement that into my model with little understanding, and your videos have made it so much more easier for me to comprehend! Thank you!!!
Ian - Absolutely fantastic job on the construction & presentation of the radial engine. My father was an USAF radial engine mechanic (R-3350), instructor & training equipment specialist for the AF. I can only imagine how much he would have appreciated this video!
What a beautiful thing to watch... kinda mesmorizing to me. Your model was SO well done, and your explanation SO straight forward and clear. Thanks for a great job. No wonder these engines had such a power to weight ratio. I'll be looking into who did the original design work which was genius relative to the crankshaft design and camshaft layering. Truly a thing of beauty. Well done!!
I've struggled for years to understand and visualise how a radial engine works - this is the best thing I've ever seen on the subject and the way you dismantle the engine and explain it all is just amazing. Thanks for an awesome video.
i hold an A&P license. (post radial engine era) I didn’t really know how these engines worked until i watched this video. I have since become a machinist and welder and am super appreciative of the manufacture of these engines pre-cnc as well as the high level of skill you’ve showcased at making your model. kudos ian!
I have recently gotten into scale WWII warbirds and have always wondered how a radial works. Very informative and the way you show how it works explains everything I needed and wanted to know. Great Video!!!
Hi Ian, Excellent job of explaining this engine. Years ago my father and I would always stop by at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton. This is where i saw my first cut away view of a real radial engine on display. I remember distinctly as the light bulb went off in my head about the single giant conrod and all the others that attached to it via a wrist pin. I never had time to figure out the valve cam timing but you have done an excellent job of showing that concept. My background is retired tooling and die engineering. I have a great spacial orientation thing for design and this is one video that has burned into my brain. Great Great job! If you ever get to WPAFB the cutaway engine is still on display!
wow what a great model! ...and an equally great way to explain how a "complicated looking" engine works. It also makes you appreciate the many great minds and years of experience that combined to develop this engine.
Wow! Thank you for taking the time to create and also explain the workings of an engine type my father flew behind for over 40,000 hours! I'd never fully understood radials until watching and truly enjoying this video. Thank you!
I'm a fan of vintage WWII fighters like P47 and P51. I've always wondered how their engines fired and how the rods were fixed to the crank. This is a great video!
The best radial engine explanation video. I’m apprentice AME and having difficulty to understand basic system. Your 10 minutes video much worth than 2 months of BCIT AME course I took. Thank you so much for your effort and if it’s possible, please keep making great videos.
Absolutely amazing! Thank you for the fantastic explanation of how those engines operate. I have always wondered how they operate and what the inner workings look like.
That is an amazing model!! I always wondered how a radial engine worked. Thank you for the excellent step by step explanation and demonstration of your beautiful masterpiece!!!
I just now stumbled upon this and what a treat! This model takes the mystery out of some workings of this type of engine. You are not only a fine craftsman but also a wonderful teacher. Can’t imagine the hours spent constructing this. Just don’t fire it up!
Thank you so much for explaining cam rings. I have decades of experience as an automobile mechanic and I knew an automobile style camshaft would not easily fit in a radial engine. I am amazed at how elegant the the cam ring system and lifters are.
An absolutely brilliant video, one the best I've seen. Extremely well explained without talking down to your watchers. Also good steady photography, not shaky hand phone stuff. The craftsmanship of the mock up puts many others too shame. A really great piece of work in all directions. All you tube videos should be like this
5.5 years later found this and still deserves credit for your ability to not only build a functioning model but the explanation of it principles. Question is in that time have you finished the rest of the aircraft, guess I'll just have watch the rest of your channel's content. Bravo sir.👏👏👏
Hello Ian, You rig is a masterpiece. :) The radial engine is pure mechanical engineering genius. I have some physical intuition also called mechanical aptitude but I have have nothing like the intelligence needed to design the radial engine. All the best, Peter Nolan.(Ph.D., experimental physics). Dublin. Ireland.
You are an outstanding teacher. You should be getting really, really, really paid for your skill. Plenty of people have the knowledge, but very few have the talent to convey their teachings. I have very little prior knowledge of engines, like just enough know that camshafts, intake and outlet valves, and pistons are engine parts, but not how they all function together. I was the guy who'd up until a few months ago would curse the "dumb motor makers" for not making the firing order in my truck 12345678. I've learned more from you in 9 minutes than I have in the 20+ years of tinkering with my own cars. I'm definitely subscribing after just seeing just this one video. Thanks. I know you put a lot of hours into this.
Very much appreciated from a retired toolmaker Down Under in Australia . Great instructions and details loved the wooden model excellent work from a real craft man
This was incredible. It turns so smoothly for being made of wood. Thanks for teaching us how it all works. The part about the cam ring was the most interesting. It's the part 3d models don't show well.
Thank you. I've never been able to wrap my head around how the radial design worked. For aircraft, it had to be simple, and this is as simple as it gets. I am amazed! Pretty awesome woodworking, by the way!!
I just want to say that you are inspirational, I’ve never seen so much passion for something. your built was flawless and it was made easy to understand. Well done. I have to say, If you ever had any doubts on your abilities, don’t! go for it! you know you will succeed, believe it, it will happen!
I hope you're a teacher because you sure have the heart of one and the patience to describe what was a revolutionary engineering feat in history. Your craftsmanship and grasp of subject is exemplary! I hope to see more examples of your work in the future . I'm subscribing. Your content has value for curious minds. Thank you!
Thank you for the time you spent working on this engine model and video.You have done an excellent job with the explanations and demonstrations. I too find the old radial engines absolutely amazing. Did you utilize a CNC router for cutting your cam ring and gears? Do you offer a set of plans for your engine model?
You are one Heck of an "instructor" on this, as well as a craftsman. I fly RC airplanes, and one has a radial Saito on a Boeing PT-17 Super Stearman. I've always loved the radials my dad flew back in WWII.
Amazing! In the late 60s I worked for 4 years on civil C47s but always on airframe. The bid radial engines (Pratt & Whitney R1830 - 90Ds) were always a closed book to me since I seldom went into the engine shop, so I thank you for the insight.
Very nicely done and really informative. Although I had an airline mechanic for many years this tutorial had me understanding this beautiful engine through answers to questions i never thought to ask! Thank you and very well done!
I was "into it" and understanding for the first time how this engine design works, on the edge of my seat. ... and then it was over. Good job. I cant remember being that engrossed in a video. Thanks!
That is one heck of a model with an excellent explanation of how the real thing works. Well done. I used to work on engines like this, the Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior, back in my army days.
Great job Ian. Amazing skill & dedication in building the model and a very good explanation. Helped me appreciate the skill of those who developed the radial engine. Hope you do more of these.
Great Job, Sir. 3800+ likes and 24 dislikes (24 haters) just goes to show that there will always be haters! As for why they took the time to actually dislike this video is beyond me. Probably just mad cause they couldn't do it or still didn't understand a radial after watching...therefore they will never understand. Good job, Ian J!
Beautifully demonstrated and explained, thank you so much for your time, your teaching and building skills and the thought you put into this presentation. If only all video's were as good as this one.
Just discovered this. Hats off to you, what a wonderful project, both in conception and execution, such great woodworking. A ideal combination of dudage and nerdage all in one model!
I agree with John McDonald, it has ALWAYS puzzled me how the radial worked. I could never visualise the operation. This explanation has taken all the mystery out of it.
Beautiful craftsmanship, sir! Thank you for a concise, direct explanation of the mechanical function. Your video, design, and efficient method of instruction really brought into detail how the radial engine works.
