This May Be the LARGEST Engine I Have Ever Owned - Russian Aircraft Radial 

Your Neighbors gotta love you; Sunday morning, " hey let's fire up the radial!..." lol You have to round up an old Rolls Merlin off an old reno racer and put it in a truck! lets go!

Your neighbors are going to love having you fire that thing up at 7am. Or any time of day, actually.

Not sure if it would be too big but it sure would be neat if you put it in a truck or something, there was a 39 Plymouth with a radial engine in Hot Rod magazine a few years back that was super cool. The family who owns Colorado Auto & Parts built it.

Merlin you cant fake the genuine person you are. The world needs less fake and more Merlin. Thank you.

Merlin I love the car content but I love the occasional "history channel" episodes. To see a Gen 7 farm still going despite all of the corporate takeovers etc is so great to see. Thanks!!!!

Merlin you are an awesome dude. You can tell because you have awesome friends. You could do a mini series with Steve and Port. Thanks for taking us along

I learned to fly in Yakima, WA in 1970. I was taught by an old guy named Charlie McCallister who was 67 or 68 at the time. Charlie's own pilots license hung on the wall in his office and it was signed by Orville Wright in 1927. Charlie died in 1998 at the ripe old age of 95 years. I love old flying stories Merlin and thanks!

The tools that Merlon gave to Steve were produced under contract to the U. S. government during WW2. I have been fortunate enough to have picked up a few of the 11/32 socket set tools over the years. These tools were cadmium plated due to the shortages of nickel and chromium during the war. I have read that the "WF" embossed on these tools stands for Wright Field, where the Material Division was based, issuing contracts to supply the U.S.A.A.F. during the war effort.

I need to be there when this thing runs

Only real hands on lovers of mechanical stuff would understand why these two guys were so interested in these old rareish hand tools from the 40’s. Merlin is the real deal with motor oil in his veins! I understand his passion & talent for all things mechanical. Thanks man for sharing 😁

The very best part of that video was you and Jimmy enjoying the engine when you got home. I lost a good friend a couple of years back who would have been exactly the same. Good to see us old guys enjoying the mechanical toys. Loved it. Great video of the airplanes and such. Looking forward to seeing her start.

Being a former Pratt & Whitney employee, I have a great interest and appreciation for radial engines. I only worked on commercial jet engine projects, but there was still some work going on for radial engines. There was a team of people building radial engine past to keep the engines supported with spare parts for vintage & historical aircraft. Looking forward to seeing/hearing this engine run!

The fun in this video for me was seeing you having fun. Like a kid in a candy store.

This is what I love about the farm world! In the NYC world a 29 yr old is a baby who can’t wipe their ass and out there a 29yr old is 100yrs old and can rebuild the world!! Amazing gob bless’ ‘em!! ✌💖&💡 🇺🇸🥇

“When ya think you’re the coolest guy in the parking lot, then this guys drives in….” With a freaking 9 cylinder Airplane engine!

I love the diversity of mechanicals you play around with on your channel.

Merlin, this is probably your coolest video yet. I don't fly planes and I loved this video. You are by far the best you tube channel providing the widest variety of content- you should have 5 million subscribers!

Merlin and a good cup of coffee-- Life doesn't get better then this

Can't wait to see you get it all setup and running! I can't wait to see your face and excitement when it fires up! Very nice seeing the farm being so loved by the younger generation and hopefully passing that love for it to his children to keep it going!

You need a club prop… Crazy how parallel lives are… I stopped in Buckeye, Arizona 30 years ago. There was a guy there that was once the commander at Guam, working on a cabin class Waco. I was on my way through in a helicopter. I stayed there all day on the ladder, helping him hang ailerons. Cool stop

I was a Snap-On Dealer in the mid 80s. A customer wanted to exchange a bunch of 5/8” and 7/8” drive tools for 1/2” and 3/4” drive.

That bag of tools was really cool to see!

Two words: air boat. This is my new favorite. Ag Cats, Air Trucks and even a Cleaver-Brooks boiler. Great stuff!

Merlin has to be recognised as a Real Story Teller, honestly every time his puts one up ,and one thinks "cant beat that " he finds something new And he a young fella really,im ten years ahead Merlin and could never muster up the stories,the knowledge and experience that you have . Cheers to Merlin

Your appreciation for history is what makes you so cool.

Thank you for taking us along with you on this trip it was so awesome 👍 .

Your tour guide is impressive. He had answers for everything. Now you need to build an air boat big enough for that engine.

❤🎉 Thanks for filming 📽️......... JJ...😊

Merlin, your channel is awesome. You are a man of many talents and interests and have a wide range of friends to draw knowledge from. Thanks to cousin Paul for getting you interested in making your own videos.

I was raised on a Farm and still have 10 fingers and toes. Hobby pilot just for the veiw. Thanks, This was special. Could almost taste that corn.

I had the chance to work a little on a 9 cyl Gnome engine restoration when I was in college. The crank bolted to the airframe and the cylinders to the prop. Hit and miss ignition. I was invited back when it was done to watch them start it. AWESOME experience. Looking forward to you learning to read Polish and Russian. Best of luck - looking forward to following along.

You guys never stop amazing us. Good job, keep up the great work!

I worked for Peirce Aviation back in the day (80's) and spent many a day in that old hangar. They had the Thrush crop dusters there and the Ag Cats were down in Roll. They did keep one Ag Cat in Buckeye if I remember right. I believe the pilots name was Fred and he was a really good pilot. I remember flagging for him when they were spraying L10 acid on the picked cotton fields that had a lot of bolls that hadn't popped. You didn't want to get that stuff on you. They had another pilot, Gil who liked to play poker which was a popular past time when we were waiting to go out. I ran mix trucks, water truck, flagged and ran flaggers a few times. I guess I was privileged once and drove Boyd around for a day. Lots of memories and good times from then. Steve looks familiar to me for some reason, just can't place it. When you get to my age some memories come easy and others you have to work at lol. Those pipes you were looking at actually were used when irrigating but they aren't siphon pipes. Instead of a row coming all the way up to a ditch the farmer would make like a small "lake" at the ditch and those pipes were placed at the back of the lake and would feed the rows. The pipes were placed about 6" up off of the ground on a dirt mound so the lake would form and the rows were fed evenly. Kinda hard to explain it right, easier to draw a picture of how it was done. I've lived in the Buckeye valley all my life, grew up in Palo Verde so I spent a lot of my younger years around farms. I know where that honey hole is lol...

the starters on these ASh-62 they are all electric inertia starters which can be either wound up electrically or by a detachable crank handle to wind up the starter to spin the flywheel in the starter and the clutch in the starter is engaged to turn the engine over. there is videos of these engines running either the R-1820 and the ASh-62.

The sound of a rotary engine running can't be matched. I worked for Arnold Kolb at Black Hills Aviation where he had restored two B17 to use a slurry bombers. He would fire those engines up in the hanger before he installed them on the planes and the sound and the feel as it fibrated deep in your chest was awesome.

❤🎉gotta see that running in person... awesome 👍😎......JJ...😊

Farming families are amazing examples of Ingenuity and gumption ! thanks Merlin for this super informative (historically valid) video !

That's WAY WAY WAY COOL & Can't Wait To See It Running 😜👍👍👍

That asbestos pipe is called transite. I've been a ditch digger for 29 years and have never dug up a bad piece. Stuff will last forever. Really enjoy your videos. Keep up the awesome work

One of the things I love about Merlin an jet ski jimmy is they have so much knowledge in so many different fields it is awesome to hear them talk about history of different things they are passionate for what there into

In 1969, I was 22 years old and stationed in Tripoli. Libya, with the U.S. Air Force. Love this channel.

Hey Merlin, Really cool adventure video. You were breaking my heart with all those PLUMB tools, as that is my last name. I do have some of the pieces you gave Steve and I actually use them. I have a top box on a roll-a-way that holds nothing but PLUMB tools. I am the 75 year old end of a family line. I have no children to carry this branch of the Plumb tree forward, thus I know not what will happen to my collection when I am gone. Oh Well, All good things must come to an end ! Enjoy that wonderful old engine.

Great Content 💯👍 Really Appreciate all of Young Farmers that have been keeping up tradition Thanx for sharing your experience with us Have a Great Day 👍

This project should keep you busy for awhile . Have fun Merlin !

Always thanks on history lessons and thanks for those pilot friends of yours

The best engineers always happen to have practical experience before starting to learn theory at universities and farmer kids make the best engineers.

Can’t wait to see this one rumble

That is awsome! Overall one of the best videos for me. I grew up in farm country just like Ports place. Setting siphon tubes and feeding cattle. Also when you pulled that 3/8 Plumb breaker bar out I got nostalgic. I won a lot of tools at the Friday night auction as a teengager that had one in it. I loved that it had the 3/8” square hole in the end of the handle so I could also use it as an extension.

Merlin that was awesome! I can't wait to see it set up an running!!! Thank you so much for sharing!

I’ll have to go through my dads old tools. He had a number of big tools from his days as a tank mechanic during the Korean conflict days. The ratchets look like the ones you showed.

I love that flatbed . You and your cousin Paul have inspired me I’ll have me one ! And I want to build it ! Just really think it’s unique and cool as hell! Love your content!!

My grandfather left me tools when he past, in those tools was a 3/8" to 11/32" adapter, I never knew what it was for, and did not know about the WW2 tool sizing, but he was a machinist and that would have been the time he was working in. Thanks for the video, it was great to watch.

Merlin you have the absolute coolest friends by far! I was bit by the flying bug back in the 50s but couldn’t afford to keep going. I worked at an airport for lesson hours.

I really hope to see more adventures on how this project progresses.

Merlin's level of cool is becoming the benchmark for everybody else's cool! I don't have a round engine anymore but I do have a straight Ranger that is destined to have 4 wheels.

Merlin I’m anxious to see that radial engine being mounted up and running.Knowing you it would look just like it came from the factory!!!🏭

the mind races just thinking of what Merlins plans are for this engine, one thing we do know, its going to be spectacular, thanks for sharing

This is gonna be cool! I can see this on an 18' tandem axle, with twin 50 gal gas tanks, 1 30 gal oil tank, every single flipping fin clean and all the tin straight and polished.... the ol' girl will be pretty impressive.

That'd make one helluva exhaust fan for a shop!

My dad had some Wright Field tools from his days in the Air Force in the early 50's. Another special size is 9/32 inch drive. I have them and use them regularly - they are timeless.

Merlin i knew I liked you for a reason! Im a retired commercial freight pilot. Your right, you never quit flying lol. Amazing old engines. Have fun getting her goin. Thanks for a great video 📹!. Hope to get to see some content on it. Can't wait.

Thats a project I really like! Comming from old eastern germany a saw that AN-2 flying around quite often and really like that sound. Cant wait to hear that again here:)

Man what a great history lesson about Buckeye. I'm from Ohio, the buckeye state. Really looking forward to seeing this thing run.

Can wait for this project to get started, something different but exciting. Thank you for the entertainment

Can’t wait to see it running ,great meeting your buddy too Mackay

I love how casual Merlin is about all his mad skills. Very humble cat with an awesome personality. I bet Havasu real-estate is spiking with all his fans moving there

My dream that will never happen BUT it did for you so I get to live it through your channel. Thank you, Merlin. big fan of the channel.

Being a nearly 40 years of aircraft engine mechanic. Radial engines are just so beautiful works of mechanical art.. Russians seem to have copied some u.s. made engines

Awesome to see the walkway overhead made from PSP( Perforated Steel Plate), the old taxiways for 41SQDN and 205Sqdn at the old Changi Airport in Singapore were still there made from it when I was stationed there in 1969. All gone now of course but great to see a reminder of it😀

Jimmy seems really excited about this project!

Thanks for that it was great to watching,what you guys have too pass your day ❤👍🇦🇺😎

My uncle was at a auction and bought a trailer load of that runway mat we put on a flatbed and trailer for flooring and great video keep up the good work God bless from GA and stay safe

Yes, a 23E50 hub (DC-3) will fit this spline . I had the STC for my M-18 with this engine. Find a prop shop that overhauls big propellers and most likely they’ll have an unserviceable hub and probably some blades for cheap ,you can cut down for clearance .

love the video Merlon! everything was so cool. Loved the tour Port gave. 7th gen and the interest has commitment he is is awesome. Jimmys excitement at the end almost matching yours was the best.

Great job with the re-use of the runway matting for the upstairs floor

Merlin you always come through. Good video my old friend.

Merlin my favorit Matts offrod freind!!! Please make a car out of the rotor engine!!!! You have the brain and skills to do something crazy and Great!!!!

Man that is cool i always loved the old radial engines I know a guy who has on and he brings it to shows and fires it up he has it mounted to a trailer and it is so cool the sound that thing makes it always gives me goose bumps when he fire it up

Can't wait to see it running great content 👍🇬🇧

You know, a 1000 hp air boat would be pretty cool! 😅 P.S. My dad was a B29 pilot in WWII (and KB29, KB50 pilot in the years that followed). The B29 had four 18 cylinder duplex (double row) turbosupercharged radial engines, each rated around 2200 hp and fitted with a 4-blade prop over 16 feet in diameter. Basically, the B29's Wright engines were the "big brother" to what you've brought home! B29s had a lot of issues with overheating and engine fires. Couldn't spend too much time idling on the ground... had to get moving and flying quickly to keep the air-cooled engines happy. There was a flight engineer seated right behind the cockpit constantly monitoring and tweaking the engines. You probably already know, it's essential to rotate those radial engines a few times before starting them. The lower cylinders tend to fill with oil or fuel while sitting... if not turned over to clear those cylinders, they can hydrolock and destroy the engine! Hey, I don't knock the Russian rebuild! They've done some great work over the years. NASA spent millions to design a pen that would function properly in zero gravity... the Russian cosmonauts simply used pencils!

love to see the old tail dragger still being used

Love seeing old friends taking care of each other with things they love

The true excitement and joy both you and Jimmy displayed made this special project/adventure one to not miss! It's great to have life long friends. Can not Waite to see this engine mounted and running.

I'm a retired USFA aircraft mechanic. I joined in 1961 working on C-124s that had 4 - 28 cylinder R-4360 cu.in. engines. In my first 9 years I never touched a jet engine: C-123s had R-2800 cu.in. engines, C-119s had R-3350 cu.in. engines and the O-2s had IO-360 ci.in. engines.

You know some very cool characters. and looking forwad to you mucking about with that radial

Wow what a great adventure. You never cease to amaze, Thank you very much for taking us along. I always learned something from you, Today it was on overload of cool things.

41:00 I love what you towed it with, LOL

G-day and thanks for the tour Merlin I enjoyed that kinda remines of my child hood so thanks again Guys .

Merlin, wow what an engine. Build a frame, attach the engine on one of those boats for boating in the swamps. Now that would be a project.

What's up Merlin. Great to meet you in Buckeye at the airport. When I'm up your way will stop in. Wrench on.

Merlin put that bad boy on your house AC unit REAL COOL IN SUMMER LOL😂 What a score .

I started flying at 12 in Alaska, learned from some of the best bush pilots in Alaska. Got my A&P and worked for a major airline after the army. This is the coolest thing you have done, though I do want to see the six wheel drive finished as I want to do one also. I think you're the best RU-vid channel. Thanks for sharing

your content keeps getting better and better, thank you for all the hard work!

Farmers are the most hospital people you'll ever meet 😃

VERY COOL THERE IS TWO COUNT THEM TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY Nice to see the america beef farm! Good looking out Merlin! That motor is the key to many seeing the other side of the story on beef farming!

The interesting part about that landing Matt is the fact that it was mainly used in the Pacific theater and was picked up and most of it was dumped at Sea after the war. My grandfather who was a Seabee and had installed these Matt's used to talk about having a dedicated working party to throw those off of ships on the way home from the Pacific theater. I'm looking forward to seeing you get this amazing piece of History fired up again. Great video and I will be great fun watching you bring it back around.

Dad was an Engineman/Small Engine mechanic in the US Navy. He used to talk about making his own custom tools for jobs. Grab the right size wrench and a blow torch and " Fold, spindle, mutilate and weld" to get in/under something.

When I was 18, I worked at an airport in Bennington, VT, Business Air had 5 @ DC -3s, Wicked cool, we did aviation transport bulk hauling, i got to fly one on a transport once, pretty cool, otherwise I just towed them around to be serviced and maintained them, the oil dipstick would read in 5 gallon incriminates and the fuel would hold 200gallons in each main and aux tank, and so that would be 800 gallons, 400 in each Wing. Those were 12 cylinders, 1, 200 horsepower, the jugs and cylinders were big, like coffee can big, 10 or 11 inches round. They all had WW ll paint except one, one was all bare aluminum. Seeing thay engine brought back memories.🎉❤ Thanks Merlin 😁

Great Content as usual Merlon, Can't wait to hear it run.

So very excited to see you moving forward with this endeavor