12/3/2023 0 Comments Bro dozer engineWe weren’t able to find any advertised power figures from back in the day, but blueprinted NOS or repro engines of recent times have produced between 0.077 and 0.084 rip-snorting horsepower between 6,700 and 6,900 rpm, and as much as 0.112 horsepower at 8,800 rpm. In later years some modelers used a mix of 75/25 mix of diesel fuel and castor oil. The prescribed fuel was either a 60/40 mix of castor oil and ether, or a 60/40 mix of SAE Grade 60 or 70 engine oil with ether. Induction was via ports (much like a loop-scavenged diesel) with a simple carburetor-like device. It had a variable compression ratio, which you could tune as the engine ran or for starting. It was advertised for 8,000 rpm using a 6×10 propeller (6-inch diameter/10 pitch). It displaced 0.124 cubic inches from a 0.473-inch bore and a 0.708-inch stroke and weighed 5.22 ounces. Model engine guru and historian, Adrian Duncan, says this engine was likely designed and initially built by someone outside Gotham Hobby, someone with more than a little knowledge and skill. The Deezil was a good design and of decent quality when first built. Raising the ratio has the effect of advancing the timing and vice versa. The compression screw is on top of the head and is screwed in to raise the compression and out to lower it. Subscribe Our Weekly Newsletter The rear view shows the “carburetor.” The engine inhales through a rear-facing port in the crankcase and exhausts via ports to either side of the crankcase. In fact, it’s become notorious in the model aircraft community as one of the worst model engines of any type ever built. Too bad the Deezil didn’t remain a quality product. According to various model engine historians (yes, the model aircraft hobby has its own history geeks), this wasn’t out of line for a quality engine of the period. The Gotham Hobby “Deezil” made it to production in 1947 and was initially sold at the outrageous price of $12.95 (about $149 in 2019). The Gotham Hobby diesel story begins soon after, although ironically AHC was also working on a diesel at nearly the same time but never got past the prototype stage. After a little family feuding, the brothers started Gotham Hobby. AHC was founded in 1931 by the four Winston brothers, but for whatever reason the two veteran Winston brothers weren’t welcomed back to AHC after their service. Gotham Hobby was founded by two WWII veterans, brothers who had once been part owners of a long-running New York hobby store, America’s Hobby Center (AHC). The bronze flywheel is there to simulate the weight of a propeller, leading one to conclude this engine may have actually run at some point.Īmong the many companies working on diesel model aircraft engines was Gotham Hobby of New York City. He’s never tried to start it, saying he doesn’t want to blow it up… assuming it would even start. Badger, a private pilot as well as an RC aircraft modeler, keeps the engine as a curiosity piece. Owned by Dan Badger, curator of the America’s Packard Museum in Dayton, Ohio, it’s shown nestled in the valley of a legendary full-sized aircraft engine, the Packard Merlin. Deezil: The diesel engine that lives in infamy! The manufacturing year of this engine is unknown, but it comes from the most infamous years. WWII saw advanced diesel engine technology and exposed many more people to it, so it was no wonder the model aircraft engine hobby took a stab at downsizing it once the war was over. Simplified engines didn’t enter the market in a big way until after WWII, and here comes the diesel content. In the early days of the hobby before World War II, the intricate spark-ignition engines were the biggest expenses. We’ll bet you didn’t know that diesel engines have long been a part of the model aircraft world.
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