Kitfox with radial engine

[flysebi]

.....with 7 cilinders, radial engine. And it's still a microlight.
Kitfox president John McBean says the most popular engine choice for the company’s Model 7 is the popular four-cylinder Rotax 912 that powers most LSAs. But following the trend of classic design features finding a way into new vehicles (think Beetle, Camaro or Mustang), McBean says they wanted to offer customers a vintage look in a modern light sport aircraft.
“We did it for aesthetics,” he says. “We’re going for the retro look of old meets new.”
Unlike many of the retro car designs that use all new technology simply covered in a retro looking design, the Rotec powered Kitfox provides some of the experiences of a vintage engine as well.
“If you don’t want oil burn,” McBean says, ”you probably shouldn’t choose a radial.”
Radial engines from the 1920s through the 1950s are notoriously thirsty for oil. Pilots flying the bigger, 1,000-horsepower radials on a DC-3 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_%26_Whitney_R-1830), for instance, measure the oil burn in gallons per hour. The Rotec isn’t that bad, but it does burn a bit more oil than more traditional 100-horsepower aviation engines.
More about this subject here:
Kitfox Proves Radial Engines and Wood Props Rock - Pilot Magazin (http://pilotmagazin.ro/2011/03/kitfox-proves-radial-engines-and-wood-props-rock/)

[SNS3Guppy]

They're going for the "retro" look, and stuck that stupid electronic display right in the middle of the panel?

Thumbs down.

Radial engines aren't that "retro." They're still in use today.

[BackPacker]

Why would a modern radial consistently use more oil than a flat four or flat six with the same power? Oil burn doesn't have anything to do with the cylinder configuration, but rather with the tolerances that were applied during manufacture and design, not?

Or do you use oil somehow because it pools in the lower cylinders - the same reason that you need to check for hydraulic lock on any engine with inverted cylinders?

[SNS3Guppy]

Oil pooling in the lower cylinders shouldn't be happening unless the valve guides are worn, but it does happen. The engine design makes a big difference. Some engines were natural leakers. The older radial engines with rocker bolts that ran through the rocker head were often sealed with an o-ring under a conical washer. It didn't take long before the o-ring hardened or was heat-damaged, and took a set. We were always replacing those.

In the Wright engines, pushrod tube seals were hose clamps over hose sections, over thin metal tubes and the nipples on the cylinder and cam follower housing. These tended to leak after just a little time, requiring frequent tightening (which also caused leaks) or rotation of the clamps. The good news is that cylinders got changed often enough that the clamp problem took care of itself, most of the time.

Larger radials used separate oil tanks. I don't know what the rotec uses. It probably still faces an increased potential for oil in the lower cylinders, as well as oil resting on the backside of the pistons on the lower clyinders, causing more oil to present on the cylinder walls.

[Sir George Cayley]

It's a mini Howard DGA! Luvit:ok:

SGC