British vs American Light a/c Piston engines

No probs

I can’t think of a Merlin or Griffon ‘Pusher’ installation, but perhaps…

Mark

I can’t either. I would suspect it would entail a complete re-design of the reduction gearbox as all the thrust bearing faces would be in the wrong place.
I’m sure that’s right, so even if somebody wanted to use one in a pusher installation, they couldn’t even build, or more to the point, test a prototype before a re-design.
R-R were a little busy around that time. 🙂

Not the twelfth Roman Marcus, or the twelfth pre ’48 RAF aircraft called Mark, then?

after all they preferred Roman numerals to Arabic for Mark numbers, may I remind you, ‘Mark XII’?

JDK

I was the twelfth ‘Mark’ to join this forum – I swear it. 😉

Mark

Just because ‘tractor’ and ‘pusher’ had more to do with W.W.I a/c than W.W.II wouldn’t stop the Air Min requiring the terms; after all they preferred Roman numerals to Arabic for Mark numbers, may I remind you, ‘Mark XII’? (The Romans, famous for not flying aircraft…)

Apologies.

dhfan.

Having looked up the definition of ‘Tractor’ in my precise Oxford: 😮

‘Aeroplane with engine in front (opp. pusher)’

I had been labouring under a misunderstanding for all these years.

Retreats, head bowed.

So Left hand or Right hand for rotation in Rolls Royce nomenclature.

I can’t think of a Merlin or Griffon ‘Pusher’ installation, but perhaps…

Mark

Merlin – Right Hand.

Griffon – Left Hand.

Your call.

Mark

?
You said tractor.

A little off topic

Reading in the latest “Pilot” magazine about the Stewart S51 Mustang – fitted with a V8 Chevy engine, which would turn counter-clockwise in unmodified form (as seen from the cockpit), but fitted with a gearbox (I think that’s what it is; don’t have the mag to hand) it rotates the propeller the correct way (clockwise from the cockpit)….

On the other hand…

Surely that means as opposed to pusher?

Merlin – Right Hand.

Griffon – Left Hand.

Your call.

Mark

Surely that means as opposed to pusher?

Or even…

That’s the first I’ve heard the term “anti-clockwise”. I thought counter-clockwise was the operative term. 😀

Tractor

That’s the first I’ve heard the term “anti-clockwise”. I thought counter-clockwise was the operative term. 😀

Don’t worry AF. The RAF Museum can’t get it right either. Caption to the Moth in Milestones is as risable as the rest of their captions in the gallery.

Please “Gipsy Major”, Gypsies live in caravans.

On my God! How could I be so stupid and ignorant? Grovelling apologies Steve. I’ll go and lie down in a darkened room and flagellate myself with a copy of Charlize Theron (or an early model Susannah York……)!! 😀 😀

Please “Gipsy Major”, Gypsies live in caravans.

There was an extremely long thread about this, last year IIRC. It was aimed more at the larger engines rather than the light aircraft engines and no firm conclusion was ever reached.
The UK, and international, standard is for a car engine crankshaft to rotate clockwise when viewed from the front. British light aircraft, radials and Merlins rotate the same way. Note this is crankshaft rotation, not necessarily propellor rotation.

Something has just dawned on me, which didn’t during the last thread. If we start with a car engine, the power take-off comes from the back of the engine, not the front. Turn it round and put a prop where the flywheel was and it will rotate anti-clockwise.
I think I’ll go and lie down for a while.

I believe it was just original specification. The Merlin went the opposite way to most f I remember to interchange between US and UK types. As ever I stand to be corrected.

…..why is it so??

and when that one is answered…….. I would like to know “why” the water spirals down the plug hole clockwise in one hemisphere and anti-clockwise in the other?

(ponders? “maybe it the same cause for both piston engines and plug holes”) :confused:

…..sorry I couldnt resist :p

Mark Pilkington :rolleyes: