To complete ones education on the advantages of the rotary engine
one must study the history of the aircraft piston engine.

This is a very concise history of the the aircraft engine
you can download.

www.enginehistory.org/OX5to3350.pdf

I found it interesting that later models of the R3350 turbo compound
engine gave up to 3000 hours of service in airline use.

Early non-turbo compound versions used in the B29 were lucky to get

100

hours.

Paul Lamar

They did flog them for many hours but more significant was the MTBF

(mean

time before failure) figure.  FWIW, I talked to a man who was a mechanic
working on the Connie engines who told me that the airplane averaged

only 10

hours between engine shutdown events (due to engine problems).  That's

about

40 hours MTBF per engine.  There was little left of the original engine

when

it reached 3000 hours.

Tracy

That 10 hours is a very unlikely number as the 24 hour non-stop
Connie flights from San Francisco to London would not be possible.
Probably several thousand B29 sorties to Japan would also not be
possible. There appears to be a big difference of opinion
on the reliability of the R3350TC.

Paul Lamar

It sounded unlikely to me too.   He also said it was not uncommon to see
commercial flights of the Connie arrive with one engine feathered.  They
didn't see an engine out as a reason to scrub the flight.  Must have made
for some nervous passengers if true!

Tracy

Now that I will buy. They improved the instrumentation to the point
they could detect trouble with the exhaust valves before they broke
up and took out an expensive exhaust turbine. Since shutting one 
engine down was a non-event as far as handling and continued flight
was concerned they just did it and continued on to their destination.

I was on an Air Canada 747 flight from Toronto to LA and we lost an engine.

We were only about a 1/2 hour out so we turned around and returned
to Toronto.

Here is a funny story from a friend of mine that was a B36 pilot.
The B36 used observers stationed in the aft fuselage that watched 
the six R4360 corn cob engines in flight for signs of smoke and other engine
and prop problems. One observer went on the intercom and says
excitedly to the pilot; "We lost number five engine Sir." The pilot 
said to the flight engineer; "Feather number five." The observer then said
more excitedly; "Sir you don't understand...... The engine fell off 
the wing!" :) 

Paul Lamar
 
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