Hi Rotary John,
This is from Paris Six Hours 1974..
Picture: Winrace, Norway
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Hi Rotary John,
This is from Paris Six Hours 1974..
Picture: Winrace, Norway
Are there any VIDEO's with sound out there of these motors.
whats with the RH prop?
I probably should let Rotary John respond but, I recall that when we ran the introduction of the rotaries at the Miami Marine Stadium then they went to Parker, during the Parker race there were gear case failures with the left hand rotation. I may not be totally correct with this statement, but recall being told that the rotation had to be changed to RH to make the gear cases live. This created a totally unexpected issue as with the torque of the rotary & RH rotation, caused a left turn issue. At the worlds that year in St. Louis, Barry Woods jumped off the dock 1st & 1st in to the 1st turn but the RH rotation & the torque caught him off guard & he barrel rolled.
John:
There was not a gearcase failure at Parker. Both engines failed due to rotor bearing failure because of an extremely lean fuel setting. To my recolection, there was never a gearcase failure with the rotaries and rotation was never changed. Unlike a 2-stroke, a rotary can not run backwards; its a 4-stroke. Woods did indeed barrel roll at St. Louis costing him the overall win, but I believe he said he hooked a sponson, kinda like Rich McKinly at Galvaston. In all the testing and racing, I don't recall any of the drivers complaining about steering torque. Jimbo most likely had more time behind the wheel than any other rotary driver and may be able to comment on this.
John,
Thanks for clearing that up, but quite frankly, that isn't what the scuttlebutt was all about. I actually remember that there were gear case changes in Parker. I was in that race as Bill Muncy was my co-driver & I finished 3rd. I also remember Barry telling me the reason he hooked the sposon was because of the torque. Nevertheless you were closer to the program then I, I'm just saying what I had heard.
John:
I was at the race also and if you recall the rotary boats came directly from the Miami introduction and weren't put into the water till the race started. They ran the 15/17 gearcase as the 14/23 wasn't available till Provo. While that first lap was extremely impressive, Jimbo didn't finish the second lap and Posey's engine quit less than an hour later. There never was a pit stop for either boat. One of the reasons for a lack of gearcase failures is the rotary power stroke lasts for 270 degrees of crankshaft rotation, while a 2-stroke is less than 90 degrees. The longer power stroke distributes the loads on the gears more evenly as opposed to the abrupt loading of the 2-stroke.There were only 7 guys that ever drove a rotary; maybe one of them can chime in on the steering torque.
Yes they were impressive running 1-2 after the 1st lap. At that point I couldn't even see them. Never did hear the gear load being 270 degrees but having seen a rotary & having had a troquiod (not sure of the spelling) & a rotor on my desk when I was racing & service manager for Lawn-Boy, I can understand the 270 degrees. And, I knew that you were at Parker, but forgot that they didn't unload them until race time.
Let's see if I can name the drivers. Jimbo, Downard, McKinley, Sanders, Posey, Woods & I'm missing one. Might have been an European.