I'll bet it really vibrates and has a lot more moving parts.

 Van

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Open WebMail Project (http://openwebmail.org)

Actually, they do not seem to vibrate unduly. There are some
Fairbanks Morse submarine engines from WW2 that have been converted
to run on natural gas powering compressor stations. What ever
vibration is as much or more from the compressor as from the engine.
The local ones are six cylinder two stroke models. Compact size for
the power developed.

Dale Davies


diesels never made it in the aircraft engine biz for long.
Many if not all have tried starting with Packard in the 1930's.

Paul



The links for reference are:
 www.maritime.org/fleetsub/diesel/chap1.htm

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbanks-Morse

Yes I realize the diesels have not had success in AC. Structure required to
support the high compression is too heavy. Maybe the application of the Mazda
Skyactiv - D technology will help. Rotor motors better though. Maybe an
application of some technology like Pat Power on a larger scale to burn heavy
fuel could change that.

My main reference was more to the vibration generated by this style engine.

The Fairbanks-Morse is about 7 to 8 feet tall. Two crankshafts and rod/piston
sets stacked one on the other creates this height. They are fairly narrow and
shorter by about 50% of an inline 12.

The reference and drawing of the GM 16 has a reference to "right hand" engine.
In GM diesel speak that would be the rotation. If you hold your hands ahead of
you like you are holding the flywheel with your thumbs up, which ever thumb is
pointing the direction the flywheel is rotating is the engine rotation. GM
used lots of left hand engines in twin and quad sets in ships and pumps.

I hope the links are interesting for some.

Dale Davies