Rotary Powered Military aircraft

[MikeLMR]

No not the old radials but proper wankel rotary engines that are used in the latest generation of unmanned aircraft.

Check out the link to the comapany and a photo I took of a rotor sat on a Mazda housing the other weekend.

They are apparently based on the Norton Rotary housings and rotors. The rotors are a two piece design with the stationary gear and bearing housings being pinned and welded into the rotor. No doubt they are much cheaper to make than the complex one piece casting of the Mazda rotors.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/MikeLMR/3.jpg

http://www.uavenginesltd.co.uk/index.php?id=393

[g11ary]

Wow a kick arse twin in an fd :-)

[Norton]

They are apparently based on the Norton Rotary housings and rotors. http://www.uavenginesltd.co.uk/index.php?id=393
You may notice that their address - Lynn lane, Shenstone - sounds familiar, it is the same address as the old Norton Rotary factory across the road.

[ArmyOfOne]

Notice the huge offset of the combustion chamber on that rotor?

[MikeLMR]

I think its because they only have leading plugs.

Even having said that, the mazda rotors have a combustion chamber that tapers out on one side and is quite steep on the other making it also offset in terms of volume

[ArmyOfOne]

But that taper on mazda rotors was on the 12A and early 13B rotors. All rotors after 1986 to include renesis have no taper. Theres an SAE paper somewhere that explains the reasons why they did away with the offset. I think I remember it stating that it makes for a more stable flame front if the volume across the entire chamber was even.