.15 Rotary Drum Bill Atwood

Thanks Gents,

That thing is a work of art. I always wondered how the drum was driven and how the rotor actually rode in the drum. Now I know! Wouldn't it be great if we could put bearings into a TD?

Thanks again,

Ron

Mudhen wrote:

Did you clean/polish those parts Mud??

Are the extra holes in the drum for indexing of sorts?

Ron

You rotate the drum in different positions for timing purposes, hence the multi hole configuration...at least that's the way I understood it Ron.( Rotary Drum) I cannot believe how clean that engine Mud posted is!!! It looks like new!!

Thanks Lew,

What a great design, way ahead of it's time. Unfortunate for non-collectors like me who will never be able to own one. Oh well.....

Did you ever seal the deal Lew?

Not yet Ron....He has 3 engines I want.... .15 Rotary Drum, .09 Tee Dee R/C, .15 Special...I'm going to give him a cash offer on the three and I will tell you the results Buddy.

ZACATTACK wrote:Not yet Ron....He has 3 engines I want.... .15 Rotary Drum, .09 Tee Dee R/C, .15 Special...I'm going to give him a cash offer on the three and I will tell you the results Buddy.

Well, I certainly hope it goes your way. It was a great find Lew

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Can you tell exactly what you used and did to get those parts looking great like that Mud!!?? Jesus that engine looks new!!

Lew

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ZACATTACK wrote:

i'm concerned about this crack on this rare engine...these dont come around to often and may not have another opportunity to purchase one...aint going to be cheap!! ...there is also numbers etched in the mounting braket on the one side...Was this a regular thing Bill Atwood did with all his rotary engine prototypes?? It looks authentic..but kind of rough. Tell me what you guys think..you seem to guige my wallet in the proper direction...I dont know much anbot the motor that's why the etching and crack is of concern!! Thanks as usual!

Is this engine actually for sale? If so, I'm am seriously interested in making an offer!

Hello Lew,

What ever happened to this Olympic Prototype?  Did you find out more about it?  Did you end up buying it?  

ZACATTACK wrote:

i'm concerned about this crack on this rare engine...these dont come around to often and may not have another opportunity to purchase one...aint going to be cheap!! ...there is also numbers etched in the mounting braket on the one side...Was this a regular thing Bill Atwood did with all his rotary engine prototypes??  It looks authentic..but kind of rough. Tell me what you guys think..you seem to guige my wallet in the proper direction...I dont know much anbot the motor that's why the etching and crack is of concern!! Thanks as usual!

This one just sold on ebay...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/COX-OLYMPIC-15-GLOW-PLUG-MODEL-AIRPLANE-ENGINE-/300939252574?pt=Radio_Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item461160935e

You guys will be pleased to hear that the "Type B" Prototype recently sold on eBay ...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-of-2-RARE-COX-THIMBLE-DROME-ATWOOD-OLYMPIC-15-MODEL-AIRPLANE-ENGINE-15-RACING-/351250680818?pt=Radio_Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item51c82c0bf2

... has remained within the Cox Engine Forum family.  IOW, I'm the one who bought it.  Also, I can confirm that everything about this engine looks as it should.  IOW, it looks to be an original Atwood "Type B" prototype.  I even examined the plastic under UV light and it fluoresces the same as the plastic from my genuine "Type A" prototype, and the tank from my genuine space bug Jr.

The one thing I doubt though, is the claim that only two of these "Type B" prototypes were ever built.  I know that this claim is made on page 53 of the Cox Model Engine Handbook by Dannels & Sitter.  I can also infer from the photo credits on Martin Hepperle's website that the version in his collection is also this "Type B" prototype.  [http://www.mh-aerotools.de/airfoils/cox_olympic_15_rotary.htm].  Also, look at those two huge display cases on page 68 of the Cox Model Engine Handbook.  I suspect that a "Type B" prototype rests in one of those cases.

I know that in April of 2012, another one of these "Type B" prototypes with the "ears" on the carb body sold on eBay.  It was sold by Ronald Valentine.  You can still view the pictures on the ebay listing at this URL.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Very-Rare-1965-Cox-Olympic-15-Prototype-Model-Engine-Only-50-Manufactured-/310393373917?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_nkw%3D310393373917%26_rdc%3D1&nma=true&si=I2gAr1KCjG96KvRxxlzdsbL1iD4%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

If you compare the pics of that engine with the pics on Martin Hepperle's site, you can see that they appear to be different engines.  Remember that the one in the pics on Martin's site have a trimmed down brass cylinder reinforcing the threads for the venture.  The pics of that "Type B" have been on Martin's site long before Ronald Valentine's auction.  The person who sold his "Type B" Prototype to me said it had been in his personal collection for almost 20 years.  Thus, my "Type B" and the "Type B" sold by Ronald Valentine were 2 different engines.  As neither one is the same as the one in Martin Hepperle's collection, then that means there are at least 3 "Type B" engines extant.

I guess what I am asking for is if anyone has any additional information regarding the number of "Type B" prototypes produced, I would greatly appreciate hearing about it.  For example, if anyone has a "Type B" prototype, or knows someone who used to have one, or currently has one, please let me know.  I would like to put together a more accurate estimate of the number of these produced.

Thanks folks!