What does 'radial' engine mean?

Question

you guys are smart about these planes!!!

Answer 1

A radial engine is like what you see on the airplanes of the 30's Where each cylinder is mounted in a circular pattern around the main block of the engine with the crankshaft in the center Think of like six V twins like on a harley but siting bottom to bottom in a big circle. The pupose of thios type of engine is that it produces a lot of torque. This helps the air plane get up in the air at slower speeds.

Answer 2

Here you go. One radial engine coming up!

http://www.greatplanes.com/airplanes/gpm...

Answer 3

A radial engine has its cylinders radial to the axis of the engine.  Hence its name.  Has nothing to do with torque-it's totally for air cooling.  In the 20's and 30's liquid cooled engines were very unreliable.  Radials simply by dispensing with the cooling system were inherently more reliable and compact.  Making them ideal for military applications.

Originally though, they were considered only suitable for bombers, as the frontal area was thought to create drag.  Better engine cowling designs fixed this problem as WW2 began.

Some folks confuse the WW1 rotary engine with a radial.  While it's true that rotary engines did have the cylinders arranged radially, in this design the whole engine rotated with the propeller.  Simpler design, but the rotating mass induced a lot of torque; there was also no true throttle.

Answer 4

It means that all or the engines cylinders are arranged in a circular formation versus a V or straight line on a car.  Look for some pictures of old bi-planes those have radial engines.  

Answer 5

A radial engine is one in which the cylinders are arranged in a circular form centered on a round crank case.

This is as opposed to an in-line engine like a small car engine, in which the cylinders are arranged in a straight line, or a "V" engine in which the cylinders are arranged in two rows tilted so that they can be connected to a single crankshaft, or an opposed engine, in which the two rows are in flat lines opposite each other on both sides of the crank case.

You can find lots of information about radial engines: how they are made, how they work, and what their role is in the history of aviation by doing an internet search on "radial aircraft engine."  The information you find will include lots of pictures and diagrams, which will make it much easier to understand.

Radial engines lend themselves to compact, high-horsepower applications useful in airplanes.  Before I joined the major airlines, I flew a cargo plane with 4 radial engines.  They were old and cantankerous, but lots of fun to fly.

Good luck!