The radial engine is the better choice. For lots of reasons, but the bottom line is money and safety. That's what counts the most.

A wise decision. The Sopwith Pup we used to maintain here in the UK was an all original rotary, albeit with a lot of new old parts, and what can I say, it was an unreliable, dangerous to fly, piece of crap, and only flow by the most experience pilots. I loved it. Fit a radial.

I totally agree with your engine choice😀. It only makes sense financially and for safety.

Loved the intro, your skill are awesome! The REALLY cool thing about this bird, as you said, you can make it all your own and anyone that doesn't like can make their own.

Love the intro, the muffling your voice bit I nearly lost my tea. I like the plan, so effectively your resto modding a WW1 tri-plane replica. Yup im in, bring on the vlogs, looking forward to the adventure. All the best from Lancashire, UK

You missed "gyroscopic precession" as a negative for rotary engins

Excellent episode! The other con for the radial (which is not really a con) is it will change the aircraft flight characteristics. In fact, it will improve them as it will reduce the massive centrifuge effect generated by the rotary engine.

Wright decision.

Turboprop on a DR1... PRICELESS 😆

I’m looking forward to seeing more of Chuck !

Hey Mikey! One more thing about the rotary engines of the WW1 era... The MOST common lubricating oil was 'Castor Oil'!!! An additional reason for the scarf covering the face. Yes, THAT Castor Oil and all of its "effects". Ken

No no no Mikey! If you are going in, you need to go all the way in! First Fokker DR-1 with a Turbine engine!

A terrific video! Thanks! A side note: a friend was telling me, some years back, that the rotary engines used castor oil for lubrication. The pilots were bathed in a castor oil mist. Castor oil is also used as a diarrhetic- it will give one serious runs. He told me that the pilots had to change clothes after virtually every flight. The masks and scarves they wore were mostly ineffective.

You where so logical and systematic in laying out the case for the engine choice, I can't imagine anyone giving you crap for your choice but this is the internet. Very nice explanation

Hello Mickey, Every cylinder exhausts at the 7 oclock position looking from the front!!. There is only an exhaust valve and the unburnt caster oil lubricant lubricates this and causes the oil over the side and underneath of the aircraft. We have several rotary engine aircraft flying here at TAVAS in Caboolture Australia.

Mikey excellent discussion about this wonderful aircraft to be restored

'Shaky Jake'; good choice, easy to manage. (Bentley BR2 WOULD be nice, but you'd never get Joe & Ronnie away from it : )

You got the rotary and scarf issue partly correct Mikey. One major reason for the scarf was to limit the ingestion of the lubricating oil, back then they used castor oil. We all know what castor has a reputation for moving in your gut right? Many pilots would fly a few days and then be grounded by the quirts. An other point you might want to think about is the cooling for the radial, the rotary spun the cylinders for added cooling and the top part of the cowling was closed but the cylinders rotating would add this cooling from the open bottom design. On the radial you will need to open up the top face of the cowling to allow adequate flow to those top jugs to get them cooled.

Love the opening animation! One thing that reinforces the use of the radial engine/starter and a tailwheel is safety. The airplane must be safe for the pilot to fly.

That was the best explanation of the reasoning to go original vs. modified I have ever heard. Nicely done.

LOVE that intro! Almost fell of my honking chair chuckling!

McBryan and Patey collaboration. Turbo prop Tri wing

aircraft rotary engines have a big shield over the top of the engine and is caught by the fender that is over the top of the engine.. you already have that part. i saw it in the pile..

That intro! So good. Moar! Regarding the engine... Ok, so... since it's not a real Fokker Dr.1... And considering the 'Cuda situation... Only makes sense you stick a Hemi in that Fokker. XD Seriously, the radial is a no brainer. Better flying characteristics, better maintenance, better everything. The rotary is an awesome, radical, quirky piece, true, but I'd want that plane to fly and fly well and comfortably. ... but totally go Hemi. You gotta. :)

Love the cardboard cutout. And your computer animation! Thank you Mikey!

I love the radial decision but I question the choice of engine. Ron Sands designed your plane to fit a Warner Scarab which weighs 292 lb The Jacob 755 weighs 505 lbs. 200 lb difference in engines is very substantial in a small plane. 200 lb more than the designer balanced the plane with May even require tail weight to get it to balance. Have not even check the difference in diameters I'm guessing it's larger Don't forget my favorite, Verner Scarlett 9S 158hp, 232lbs Brand new fuel injected and has Canadian distributor and warranty

The real reason WWI pilots wore a silk scarf was to prevent chafing the skin on the pilot's neck caused by constantly checking behind them to avoid being taken by surprise by the enemy getting on their tail, but yes, it also was used to wipe off the castor oil thrown out by a rotary engine. The Oburusal rotary engine used in the original DR1 was a copy of the French Gnome Rhone rotary. Rotaries did have all the draw-backs mentioned in other comments. Good luck with the resto!

Mikey, the opening animation was awesome! I think you're making the best choice in going with a radial.

Good choice on the engine Mikey. I trained as an aircraft mechanic in Quakertown, PA in the early 80's. One of my instructors had worked for Jacobs and we had a few of the engines in the school. He was always promoting their reliability and performance. I always loved the rocker covers with the Jacobs name across them. Keep William safe with a good engine!

Mikey, follow kermit weeks videos. He has several rotary engined WW1 aircraft.

Awsome. When it comes to either flyable versus museum I go flyable. Putting the radial back in it just makes sense. Keep up the awsome work Mikey.

Gday Mikey Enjoyed your episode today ..You put the right engine on the Fokker . Keep doing what you know is Right to get it flying .PLANE Savers Mk 2 is Excellent!! Thanks Mate From Tony in Australia.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA the opening! LMAO! Almost spit water everywhere. I definitely agree with your decision on the engine. Would it be cool to see the rotary? Yes. But the radial just makes more sense.

I agree, in the RC world you get "Stand off Scale" and that is what this Fokker is about. It must "LOOK" like the real thing but be a usable flyable aircraft! When its flying you wont tell the difference. Great animations Mikey.

Dang. I was hoping you were segueing into "we're going to put a radial engine in this Plymouth" 😆

Mikey, you know what, been watching you and your dad and the rest since Buffalo days. Man, you are one funny character and know your airplanes pretty darn well.

One interesting and often overlooked advantage of the rotary engine is one of inherent balance. If you look at your card model of the rotary you see that the pistons are not in reciprocating motion in the frame of reference of the aircraft but are rotating about the crank centre while the engine cylinders and crankcase are in circular motion around the engine centreline. This allows the rotary engine to achieve low vibration levels without counterweights. Unfortunately this advantage is outweighed by the negatives. It was apparently not possible to get a CofA on a rotary-engined aircraft here in the UK from some date in the mid 1930s so that ensured very few survived.

Your plan makes sense! Flyable is better than a museum piece!

Very cool intro Mikey! I remember reading all the "Biggles" books by Capt. WE Johns as a kid. It always stuck in my head about the rotary engine of the Sopwith Camel and how Biggles had to "blip" the engine when landing, by switching the ignition on and off to get the desired airspeed and control. A very tricky procedure coupled the mess and smell of castor oil from the engines smeared all over the pilots faces. The books are a good idea of flying in WW1. Great series mate!

Great intro amination! You certainly know your stuff! Thanks for sharing!

yes, rotary has "total loss" lubrication system! usually Caster oil! There is a company here in NZ who are manufacturing new rotary (gnome?) engines if you need one!

Not a lot of that I did know. As a purist at heart, I can and do appreciate what you pointed out. Overall a fascinating short video. Thanks!

Excellent job on your production for this episode, Mikey! Also, I personally feel that you are making ABSOLUTELY the correct decision going on a radial engine.

Love it! I'm a huge WW1 history buff and flying a classic biplane someday is my dream.

You know the opening of this was so well done! Lol

Mikey build her as you see fit. You're at the "pointy end" of this project with the best situational awareness to achieve your goals. Besides you know your Plane Savers family (new and from season 1, episode 0) will Love and accept her. Keep on doing the goodness that you do Mikey! Wishind you, Stella and Stuka the best.👍👏😁

thumbs up on your decisions , Mikey , also neat graphic's on this video , Bill

Very informative, Mikey. Radial? Good choice!

Radial is definitely the more sensible option, the pilot will certainly be more thankful for it!

Alright. Thumbs up for that intro alone!

Great vid Mikey, especially the intro-toon! I think also you have the right idea about the plane, it ain't about lookin' at it, it's about FLING it!

Great presentation, thank's for the history of the engines!

Season 2 episode 6 now has a talking head, pretty neat. The Rotary vs Radial is nuts. I had no idea the rotary spun the engine. I would think a spinning engine would really torque the plane. Never mind a facefull of oil. No wonder they always looked like they were about to lose it. Great episode with some historical information. The 67 Shelby "Eleanor". Has been duplicated by some people with way too much money. I've seen them built. To make DR-1 flyable. Definitely go radial. No constraints as you pointed out.👍🛩🛩🛩👍

Chip Foose designed the car for Gone in 60 Seconds. Mikey you should watch the original Gone in 60 Seconds.

That opening was great Mikey. Funny too. Nice job!

Whole hart-idly agree with your decision on the Fokker. To me it’s all about the tribute to this plane with a few creature comforts and a more usable plane but still keeping the essence of the history there. 👍🏻👌🏻👏🏻

Thanks. Another good episode. A good choice for the engine too, I reckon, especially as it's what was on the aircraft originally.

Wow what an intro, you have hidden talents Mikey. Awesome!!

Oh man, Mikey, funniest intro yet! Had me lawling 😂🤣 Great episode, too. I already knew which was which, but learned a lot of cool details!

A little fact about WW1 pilots - more of them died to dysentery as opposed to combat. With the fuel for the rotary engine being castor oil/nitromethane mixture it would get back into the pilots lungs and the castor oil took over after that. Nasty way to go. It explains why the SPAD 13 was so advanced with a V-8 engine with a proper exhaust scavenging system.

Yet another awesome episode with tons of info! Agree with the logic of going with the radial engine.

Great video, I saw Diamond Lil at Boscombe Down in 1992 wonderful plane. And she suffered a engine failure enroute to the uk just as she did in the war this time she got to the Uk .

You have to watch this episode a few times to absorb and appreciate the work and how much "content" you have managed to craft into it Mikey. Firstly your visual tutorial of the working differences of rotary verses radials was spot on. Getting your head around the fact that it is the crankshaft that is bolted to the plane and then the whole actual engine spins around it will be a weird concept for some to accept, but your working cardboard model and computer graphics explained it perfectly. As a man who restores a lot of old stuff I totally get the idea of taking things back to being "factory original", however, as your DR1 was/is a replica machine that changes the whole rule book on what route you can take with its restoration. The whole job of restoring a plane to airworthiness again must always be based around doing it safely, and for that reason going down the radial engine route is obviously the safest and most practical way. Re-fitting a Jacobs radial is also going to be the most straightforward task as that is what the airframe was built to take. I really liked the old black and white WW1 pictures you included Mikey, I had not seen those before. It was also great to see Chuck, Stella and the new dog as well, and of course the wonderful planes in the hanger being worked on. The footage from the "back lot" was great too, I'd so love to spend an hour or so having a nose-about the vehicles and machinery you have parked up in there. Regards David Jones Coventry UK.

Great episode of Plane Savers. What ever decision you make regarding the engine is fine by me. 👍

I'm in love with your N3N-3! I've never seen one one on a single Edo float like that.

Loved the intro, I agree with your rationale for using the "modern" 1930s radial

Love the animation! And the choice makes sense on a practical level.

Hi Mikey, love the fun animation 🤗 Nowadays when you mention a rotary engine most people instantly think of a Mazda or NSU Wankel engine and not a WW1 aero engine so that was a great explaination. At the end of the day, it's your aeroplane and basically you can do with it what you want. It's not like it's a Lancaster but even there, the two surviving airworthy Lancs are far from "original". The necessity of creating a flying example overrides the museum originality. Keep up the great work 👍👍👍

Great intro, Mikey! Had a mouthful of food and almost ended up choking to death :-). Yes, I agree with you on the rotary versus radial, and in my opinion, trying to find a rotary engine to a replica isn't worth the expense. Or the hassle. Even if you built it to exacting specs, it would still be a replica. Really appreciate the series, Mikey--it gives me something to look forward to every week.

There were benefits to the old rotary engines, that made them practical at the time. Air cooling for example. As the engine spin around it cooled itself. As technology developed of course they were replaced with radial and inline engines.

Getting sprayed with Castor oil for hours, Blackberry brandy was the popular remedy for inhaling the vile stuff. (Rotary engine) "Starter"? Spin the prop, Archibald. "Throttle"? A real man "blips his engine" to get more/less power.

Rotary engines always seemed like a good punchline to the lightbulb joke. "How many (X's) does it take to screw in a lightbulb? One to hold the bulb and X many to turn the house around it!

Very good decision. It only makes sense to use a reliable radial engine, since this aircraft is intended to be flown. I am sure if such an engine had been available to Fokker in WW1 he would have used that instead or a rotary.

so stella is a computer graphic wow you have done your work and homework

Excellent video, easily understood and I fully agree with your logic 👍👍👍👍👍

Great episode.Wonderful animations really explained the difference between the two engines,

Radial vs Rotary.....and the winner is.....Radial! Having seen a number of WW1 replica aircraft being operated with rotary engines and having heard the comments from the pilots who have flown them about the characteristics of the rotary engine and some of their "gotcha" issues, the decision to go with a suitable radial engine is a prudent and sensible one. Another excellent episode!

Hands down Best channel on KZfaq! Keep em coming Mikey

The intro got me laughing after a hard day, thank you

Awesome episode, Mikey! Very good explanation! I agree with the radial even though the rotary would be cool. Thanks for all the hard work!

Great new plane savers opening! love it!

Totally agree with your logic. Thanks Mickey; great episode as usual!

Outstanding episode again Mikey, WELL DONE! Yes, keep her safe and reliable so she is flying for years to come. 👍❤😎🎄🎅🎄😎❤👍

Good choice, put the safety of your crew first. Go radial. Besides the Jacob sound is awesome!

Good engine choice Mikey, going with what was already on the airframe is a wise decision! I love rotaries but for flyability that’s a good choice.

Totally get it - I collect old toy trains - must be original - and vintage bikes - must be serviceable but don't mess with on original! Loving S2 already

A very fun but educational episode. I like the way facts are presented. I can understand it.

I’ve always found the difference confusing - thanks for clearing that up. I think the real key to aero engine design is the development of (my favourite!) the torque spanner - all of a sudden flying was liberated from an anxious search for the next available emergency landing opportunity, before the inevitable big-end disintegration lol

Mikey, that was the coolest intro yet. Don't worry what people think about the DR 1 Do what you want to because like you said, it would be hard to get a rotary engine and it would be a pain in the butt to operate so that's it. It is no big deal!

I have an old book on WWI airplanes. In those days their oil was castor oil. Good lubricant and good laxitive. As the story goes, when the planes came back and landed, the prop was still turning as the pilot bailed out and made the run to the toilet. However some of the pilots made the run to the laundry. 😅

Great edit Mikey, love the Radial vs. Rotary artwork. Put a 440 in the Barracuda, get Nick's Garage to build you one. Thanks for another informative episode Mikey 👍

I had a b24 fly over my head at Ankeny airport on it’s way to Oshkosh I was in awe of it beautiful plane and then I’ve got to see a b25 and b17 the same day best day ever at work

Nice! I'll be checking up on this project. Cheers!🍻

Back a few years ago when I watched Buffalo on netflix I thought, Chuck is my favorite Buffalo guy...still feel that way. Chuck is awesome!

been for a flight on witchcraft with the Collings foundation its was fun to hear those P&W 1830s start

Smart choice as always !

Awsome episode mikey, i think you made a wise choice. reliability and more maintainable. Take care

Wasn’t a minute into the video before I subscribed. All around great presentation. Now to binge watch!

Great choice on the engine. I also like the fact that you're doing a single engine plane this time. It'll be a nice warm up for next years 104 restoration. ;)

When I got out of the USAF in Sept of '68 My Dad sold me a 1964 &1/2 289 HP FastBack Mustang 2-4's 4 speed Black with white Interior. It also had the elongated 'V" with the 289 above it but it also had a round white background enameled medallion with a Cobra Head on each front fender. I understand that Shelby made the running gear for 650 or 750 Fastbacks in 64.