Re: More 1/48 stuff in brief -MS-L

Greg Springer (gspring@ix.netcom.com)
Sun, 17 Sep 1995 10:40:56 -0700

Hallo Chaps !

I had the good fortune to examine a Le Rhone 80 HP at Aerodrome '94 and
take several close-up photos and measure the dimensions of the cylinder
heads. The copper tubing is indeed the intake manifold. It is of round
cross section when it exits the crankcase and square when it enters the
intake valve housing atop the cylinder. The exhaust valve is directly
opposite the intake and the valves are actuated by a rocker arm sitting
on a 'tower' between them. The rocker arm is connected to a pushrod
(one per cylinder) which is operated by two cams inside the crankcase.
The exhaust valve has no tubing attached. It is simply open to the air
and the cutout in the lower fuselage is to allow exhaust gases to more
freely escape, presumably to prevent their being re-ingested by the
carburettor intakes on the sides of the fuselage. I recommend 'Rotary
Engines of WWI' by William Morse ISBN 0 947750 06 1. Nelson & Saunders,
Publishers,Olney, Bucks, England. Zenith used to carry it but had it
in their close-out sale a while back. It is a small paperback which
very lucidly explains the design of the Gnome, Le Rhone, Clerget and
Bently motors. The way to tell the difference between the 80 and 110
HP Le Rhone is that the intake tubes on the 80 exit the crankcase in
front of the cylinders and on the 110, exit the crankcase from the
rear. Oberursels are copies of the 110 Le Rhone. I hope that this
pedantic (windy) message proves of some aid and comfort to the troops.

Greg Springer
' All the world is my friend for I am a brewer.'