The Joe Martin Foundation

Presents the

The Miniature Engineering Museum Collection

Courtesy of Paul and Paula Knapp

On display at the Craftsmanship Museum in Carlsbad, California

Also visit Paul Knapp's Miniature Engineering Museum site—"Where engines gather"

Paul Knapp and Joe Martin shake hands after Paul delivered the first fifty-one engines from his collection for display at the Vista Craftsmanship Museum. Some of the engines rest on countertops awaiting display in the glass cases. Since then more than 50 more engines have been added to the display. (Click photo to view larger image.)

Paul Knapp is a fine craftsman himself, with a real love for internal combustion engines. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Joe Martin Foundation. His wife Paula is also very knowledgeable about the individual engines in the collection and very supportive of Paul's desire to acquire and display a truly impressive collection of the best from around the world. Over the past few years they have put together a collection of over 300 of some of the finest and most significant model engines to be found. As part of Paul's Miniature Engineering Museum, they have been on display at airports and museums throughout the West, and Paul has now decided to display the majority of the collection in the Joe Martin Foundation's Craftsmanship Museum in Carlsbad, CA. The display started with just over 50 engines in 2008 and has now expanded to about 200 engines in 2011. In the future we may rotate some of Paul's other engines through the display, but there will always be plenty to look at here. In the meantime, for those who can't get by the museum to look at these beautiful models first-hand, this page presents a photo of each engine and a little about it so you can tour the exhibit on your own computer.

This Bentley Rotary engine represents the kind of beauty and excellence in craftsmanship the engines in this collection represent. As an additional item of interest on this particular engine, Paul Knapp built it himself—one of two of the models in the display he built personally. Unlike a radial engine that looks similar, on a rotary engine like this, the propeller is actually attached to the engine itself and the entire engine spins with the propeller on a fixed hollow crankshaft that is attached to the airplane. To see a video of an engine just like this one making its first flight powering a model plane see a YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSYp1jFz6_E. (Click on photo to view larger image.)

Shown above are some of the engines in their display cases. The engines fill many expensive glass display cases, and a descriptive card next to each makes a self-guided tour possible, although a museum docent is always on hand to answer questions. The 70" long display cases have been placed on 12" tall risers to make viewing easier for adults. Take your time and enjoy the beautiful details of each engine. Photos documenting each can also be seen below. (Click either photo to view a larger image.) In addition to these engines, the museum also displays over 100 steam, Stirling and other engines by Rudy Kouhoupt and others plus a collection of vintage 2-cycle, 4-cycle, diesel and CO2 model airplane engines.

Engine Videos—See and hear miniature engines in action

We have collected a number of links to videos on the Internet of engines in action. After viewing the engines below, come back and CLICK HERE to visit that page.

Each engine is shown below with a bit of the history behind it and who built it. Click on any of the small thumbnails to see a larger image of the engine. Several views of each engine were photographed while we were doing the studio work, as we felt these engines were worth saving in an appropriate archive for future reference. The engines are displayed in order based on the number that Paul Knapp has assigned them in his collection within the time periods each group was added to the display.

Wright Brothers Flyer

See the end of the photo listing below for images of the 1/4 scale Wright Brothers Flyer built by Robert Cooper and added to the museum collection in May, 2014.

The Miniature Engineering Museum Collection of Paul and Paula Knapp Featured
at the Joe Martin Foundation Craftsmanship Museum in Carlsbad, CA

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

Exhibits added May 2008

02—Edwards 5-Cylinder Radial, designed and built by Forest Edwards, early 1980's, L=12", W=12", H=13"

Forest Edwards builds and flies scale model airplanes and engineers miniature engines.  He has won numerous awards for his scale airplanes, engines and flying skills. In the early 1980s, Edwards designed and developed this 5-cylinder radial engine to power his 1/4-scale Fleet model airplane, based on the 1930 Fleet Biplane. He received many requests to manufacture the engine, so between 1982 and 1994, Edwards produced 30 engines. Many were installed into model airplanes and some are still being flown today.

The 5-cylinder radial burns regular gasoline, incorporates a dry sump lubrication system and produces more than six horsepower. In his last few engines, Edwards added a centrifugal advance in the distributor and a crankshaft-driven supercharger for maximum performance.  Edwards’ engines are completely machined from 7075 aircraft-grade aluminum and are perhaps the most reliable model radial engines built to date.

03—Bentley BR2 Rotary Aero Engine, 1/4 scale model built by Paul Knapp, Arizona, 1993. The model weighs almost 12.5 pounds without stand. L=14", W=12.5", H=14"

Paul Knapp constructed this model with the help of Lew Blackmore's book, Bently BR2 and computer aided design (CAD) drawings by Bill Mazak of Arizona. The engine is machined from stainless steel with aluminum cylinders and heads. The engine burns regular gasoline on spark ignition, has a pressurized lubrication system and a carburetor like its full-size counterpart.

The rotary engines of World War I rotated with the propeller. The hollow crankshaft that extended from the back of the engine was fixed to the airframe and the crankcase was attached to the propeller. Thus, the crankcase and cylinders rotate with the propeller about the stationary crankshaft. The Bentley BR2 was produced in England and was the largest and most powerful rotary engine used in WWI. It powered many airplanes, most of them biplanes.

07—Conley Small-Block V8 Engine, designed (1988) by Gary Conley, Illinois, model built by Paul Knapp, Arizona, 1993. L=15", W=7", H=10"

This methanol-burning small-block V8 was built from a casting kit designed by Gary Conley.  It incorporates a fully functional scale 671 blower with dual carburetors.  It will turn approximately 12,000 revolutions per minute at full throttle.

10—Cirrus 4-Cylinder Inline Aero Engine, 1/4 scale model built by Merritt Zimmerman, circa 1989, L=19", W=8", H=10"

The 1/4 scale Cirrus 4-cylinder model is one of six made by Merritt Zimmerman. It operates on gasoline with oil mixed in for lubrication. Zimmerman also made 75 1/6-scale-model Cirrus 4-cylinder engines. (One 1/6-scale model also is on display.)

Zimmerman began building miniature engines in the 1940s.  He designed and produced his own castings and also did his own machining. At 83, in less than six weeks, Zimmerman designed, built and tested a 1/4-scale model of the 5-cylinder Kinner radial engine. His engine and drawings were published in 1993 in construction articles in Strictly IC magazine (www.strictlyic.com).

14—Seidel ST540 5-Cylinder Radial Model Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Wolfgang Seidel, Germany, 1992. L=9", W=8", H=9"

Wolfgang Seidel designed and built several custom radial engines. The ST540, ST770 and ST996 were among the smaller series of radial engines that were used in one-fifth scale and one-fourth scale model aircraft. These engines varied in size from about 8 inches to 11 inches in diameter.

15—Seidel ST 770 7-Cylinder Radial Model Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Wolfgang Seidel, Germany, 1992, L=10", W=10", H=12"

Wolfgang Seidel designed and built several custom radial engines. The ST540, ST770 and ST996 were among the smaller series of radial engines that were used in one-fifth-scale and one-fourth-scale model aircraft. These engines varied in size from approximately 8 inches to 11 inches in diameter.

16—Seidel ST 996 9-Cylinder Radial Model Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Wolfgang Seidel, Germany, 1993. L=9", W=11", H=13"

Wolfgang Seidel designed and built several custom radial engines.  The ST540, ST770 and ST996 were among the smaller series of radial engines that were used in one-fifth-scale and one-fourth-scale model aircraft. These engines varied in size from approximately 8 inches to 11 inches in diameter.

20—Morton M5 Radial Model Aircraft Engine (cutaway), built by Dennis Fadden, Canada, 1990s. L=7", W=6", H=7"

Bruce Satra, of Utah reproduced a Morton M5 engine from 1940s plans and made aluminum castings from the model. Dennis Fadden used Satra’s castings to build this cutaway. Fadden’s M5 has a master-rod that is in the top cylinder with the remaining articulating rods attached to the master. This is a perfect example of how a typical 5-cylinder radial engine operates.

34—Cirrus 4-Cylinder In-Line Aero Engine, 1/6-scale model built by Merritt Zimmerman, 1980-1994. L=7", W=3", H=5" 

Merritt Zimmerman produced his own castings to build 75 of this 1/6-scale Cirrus engine (glow ignition) from about 1980 to 1994. He sold many more castings in kit form for miniature engine builders during the same period. To differentiate his engines from those built by others, an oval-shaped embossed emblem with the name Z H Cirrus was bonded to the crankcase identifying those engines completed by him. The oval emblem was not sold or included in any of the kits.

40—Miniature SJ7 Pulsejet Engine, built by Mike Early, Arizona, circa 1996. L=29", W=13", H=10"

Perhaps the most famous pulsejet engine is the Argus V1 “Buzz Bomb” made by Germans in World War II. Fuel was sprayed directly into the engine through a 3 x 3 array of nine nozzles behind a valve grid—a direct-injection pulsejet. The fuel supply was pressurized by the tank of compressed air that was also used to drive the gyros and operate the control surfaces of the V1 airframe.

This miniature pulsejet engine operates exactly like the V1. It burns regular gasoline and has a variable thrust range from 1/2 to 6 1/2 pounds. Mike Early developed and built the engine, and made the aluminum castings for the intake. He fabricated the combustion chamber and tailpipe from stainless-steel sheet metal. Early produced approximately 12 models from 1996 to 1998.

43—de Havilland Gipsy I 4-Cylinder Inline Engine, 1/4-scale model built by Pat Loop, 1990s. L=8", W=4", H=8", Weight = 9 lb, 2 oz.

Pat Loop handcrafted this miniature Gipsy right down to the spark plugs. It runs on gasoline with spark ignition and a pressurized wet sump lubrication system. Les Chenery provided the castings.

44—Kinner 5-Cylinder Airplane Engine, 1/4-scale model designed and built by Merritt Zimmerman, Michigan, 1994. L=9", W=11", H=12"

The Kinner Airplane & Motor Corp. of California began building 5-cylinder engines in 1919. The company also built light aircraft from 1931 to 1937. In 1939, the company changed its name to Kinner Motors and produced engines for thousands of World War II training aircraft.

47—Berger 7-Cylinder Radial Model Airplane Engine, designed and built by Lee Berger, California, circa 2001. L=8", W=8", H=9"

This is the first successful 2-cycle radial engine using a common crankshaft with a master rod and articulating rods inside a common crankcase. Since every cylinder of a 2-cycle engine fires on every revolution, an even or odd number of cylinders can be used. In 4-cycle engines, however, each cylinder fires every other revolution, thus requiring an odd number of cylinders.

48—Conley V8 Engine, designed and built by Gary Conley, Illinois, 1985. L=8", W=6", H=6"

Gary Conley built several machined V8 engines. He also built a few V4, V6 and V12 models. In 1988-89, he fabricated the molds and patterns to produce a casting kit for his V8 and made it available in several variations. Most commonly, it was supplied with a carburetor, but later versions included multiple carburetors with velocity stacks (specially configured tubes that increase the velocity and direct the air into the carburetor).  Other variations came with miniature superchargers, such as the Roots-style 671 blower commonly seen on hotrods and dragsters in the 1960s.

(See Gary Conley's site at www.conleyprecision.com.)

55—Seidel ST 726 7-Cylinder Radial Model Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Wolfgang Seidel, Germany, 2000. L=10", W=14", H=16"

Wolfgang Seidel designed and produced many small 5-, 7- and 9-cylinder radial engines for model airplanes in the early 1990s. In the late 1990s, his designs led to larger engines, including 5-, 7- and 14-cylinder two-row radials.

56—Seidel ST 1426 14-Cylinder Radial Model Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Wolfgang Seidel, Germany, 1998/1999. L=14", W=14", H=16", 31 lb 8 oz with display stand

Wolfgang Seidel custom designed and built several radial engines. The ST540, ST770 and ST996 were among the smaller series of radial engines that were used in one-fifth scale and one-fourth scale model aircraft. In the late 1990s, Seidel designed a larger series of radial engines that are commonly used in the larger one-quarter scale or smaller one-third scale model aircraft.

The ST1426 is the largest engine in the series, and perhaps the largest model airplane engine commercially sold. It is a 14-cylinder two-row 364cc (22.2 cubic inch) radial that is 14 inches in diameter, weighing 28 pounds and turning approximately 4,000 revolutions per minute.

57—“Kitty Hawk” 4-Cylinder Inline Engine, 1/4-scale model made by Lloyd Butler, Ohio, 1980s. L=9", W=10", H=6"

The engine used in the 1903 Wright brothers’ flyer was a 4-cylinder, 4-cycle, internal-combustion engine that lifted the world’s first airplane and its pilot into the air in 1903. The engine was designed and built by Charlie Taylor and the Wright brothers. The engine had no fuel pump, carburetor or spark plugs. It was water cooled and generated 12 horsepower.

60—Micro Cirrus 4-Cylinder Inline Engine, (air cooled) designed by Merritt Zimmerman, 19741/12-scale models, built in Ukraine, 2001 and 2003. L=5", W=6", H=4"

Two variations of the model Cirrus engine are these micro engines from Ukraine. (See also #112 below for the V-8 version.) They run on methanol with glow ignition and are among the smallest multi-cylinder 4-cycle engines in the world. The custom glow plugs are only a 5mm hex with a 3.5mm thread. The engines are less than 4 inches long and have a mere .5cc displacement in each cylinder, making the 4-cylinder only 2cc and the V8 only 4cc total displacement. Initial test results proved these micro engines would spin their 7- and 8-inch propellers to 13,000 revolutions per minute.

62—"Triscamp" 3-Cylinder Miniature Radial Engine, designed and built by Robert Washburn, Washington, circa 1990

Robert Washburn designed and fabricated eight of these tiny 3-cylinder, 2-cycle, methanol-burning radial engines by gearing together three individual engines into one housing.  Lubrication is provided by castor oil mixed with the fuel.

66—Wall "Wizard" 2-Cylinder Opposed Engine, designed and manufactured by Elmer A. Wall, Wall's Model Engine Laboratory, Chicahg, Illinois, 1940's. L=8", W=12", H=7"

67—Zimmerman “Cirrus” 4-Cycle V8 Engine, 1/6-scale model built by Profi M.E., 2001. L=14", W=6", H=6"

Modifications to the original Zimmerman design are the addition of 4 cylinders and a geared flywheel instead of a propeller hub, making it suitable for a small automobile or power boat. The gear on the flywheel drives a water pump for circulating coolant around the cylinders, through the heads, and into the radiator. Each of the two carburetors fuels one bank of four cylinders.

70—Seidel ST525 5-Cylinder Radial Model Airplane Engine, designed and built by Wolfgang Seidel, Germany, 2000. L=14", W=12", H=12", Weight=14 lb 12 oz with display stand

75—Eldon I 2636 6-Cylinder Model Boat Engine, designed and built by Eldon Dwyer, New Mexico, early 1980s. L=14", W=8", H=7"

After building a prototype from bar stock, Dwyer made the patterns and castings to produce a second engine that he used in his power boat in 1982. It was modified for an electric starter since it was not readily accessible once mounted in the boat.

76—Gay 4-Cylinder Engine, designed and built in, San Diego, California, 1927. L=10", W=7", H=8", Weight=12 lb 4 0z

An instructor (Mr. Gay) and his class at the Naval Machinist School produced this 4-cycle air-cooled overhead-valve engine from aluminum castings, bronze and iron. The crankcase is cast in bronze, making the engine somewhat heavy, but eliminating the need to fabricate and insert crankshaft bearings. The crankcase is the oil reservoir for lubricating the internal parts. The crankshaft slings the oil as it spins. The external overhead rocker assembly is manually lubricated before running the engine.

84—"Little Dominator" Model Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Noel Jensen, Montana, circa 1993. L=8", W=8", H=9"

When Noel Jensen needed an engine for his model airplane he drew a couple sketches, went into his workshop and produced a rotary valve, twin cylinder, air cooled engine that he called the Little Dominator. His engineering and machining skills led him to a simple design and efficient powerplant. The engine’s one-inch bore and 1.1-inch stroke turns a 16/6 propeller at 6000 revolutions per minute. The engine burns methanol on glow ignition and utilizes belt driven rotary (cylindrical) valves for induction and exhaust.

85—"Dominator" Model Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Noel Jensen, Montana, circa 1993. L=8", W=8", H=9"

91—Clarke 1-Cylinder Trolling Boat Motor, 1/3-scale model built by Profi M. E., Ukraine, 2000. L=5", W=3", H=8"

The full-size motor was originally manufactured in Michigan in the 1930s. The propeller is mounted directly to the crankshaft and the entire engine is submerged under water for cooling.  It was only 21 inches long, so it was convenient to transport and to mount to the back of a boat. The operator would tilt the motor out of the water, wind a rope around the pulley and then quickly pull the rope to start the motor (like starting a lawnmower). The curved splash guard above the propeller protected the operator from becoming soaked while tipping the running motor back into the water. The aluminum tube carried the exhaust from the motor up and out of the water to prevent water from entering the motor when it was turned off.

92—Clarke 2-Cylinder Trolling Boat Motor, 1/3-scale model built by Profi M. E., Ukraine, 2002. L=6", W=3", H=10"

Like the model above, the full-size version of this motor was originally manufactured in Michigan in the 1930s. It operates in the same manner, with the entire motor operating underwater to keep it cool while air is ducted down through the cast case. The copper exhaust pipe runs up above water level and then back down to exhaust under water. This keeps water from entering the motor through the exhaust pipe when the motor is not running.

93—Luhrs Mini Single-Cylinder, 4-Cycle Engine, built by George Luhrs, Long Island, NY, circa 2001. L=6", W=3", H=6"

Two limiting factors in the miniaturization of gasoline engines are the size of the air and fuel molecules. George Luhrs dispelled the theory that gasoline burning, spark ignition engines can be miniaturized only so far, considering this engines is one of the largest he has built. With a bore and stroke of only 1/8 of an inch, one of his smaller four-cycle, single-cylinder gasoline engines nearly fits inside the gas tank of this engine, and his tiny works of art run magnificently.

109—Stover Type “K” Stationary Engine, Freeport, Illinois, 1920s, model built by George Luhrs, NY, 1990s. L=5", W=3", H=4"

Stationary engines were extensively used to power machinery and equipment in all industries from the late 1800’s into the mid 1940’s. D.C. Stover was a prolific inventor and began manufacturing various products in 1862. In 1916 he formed the Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company and production peaked in 1919. Before closing their doors in February 1942 Stover shipped 277,558 engines. 

George Luhrs is known for producing the smallest engines in the world and his miniature Stover is no exception. He machines every part from bar stock and utilizes no castings. It burns gasoline on spark ignition and, just as its full-size counterpart, requires manual lubrication before operation. Spark is produced by a small coil and battery located in the base.

112—"Micro Cirrus" V8 Engine, (air cooled) designed by Merritt Zimmerman, 1974, 1/12-scale model manufactured by Profi ME, Ukraine, 2001 - 2003 

Two variations of the model Cirrus engine are these micro engines from Ukraine. (The 4-cylinder version can be seen as #60 above.) They run on methanol with glow ignition and are among the smallest multi-cylinder 4-cycle engines in the world. The custom glow plugs are only a 5mm hex with a 3.5mm thread. The engines are less than 4 inches long and have a mere .5cc displacement in each cylinder, making the 4-cylinder only 2cc and the V8 only 4cc total displacement. Initial test results proved these micro engines would spin their 7- and 8-inch propellers to 13,000 revolutions per minute.

114—Gnome 160 Rotary Airplane Engine, 1/3 Scale model built by Ray Williams, New York, 2001. L=24", W=16", H=19", Display weight=47 lb 10 oz

Ray Williams built both a 1/3 scale model of the Gnome 160 horsepower rotary engine and the World War I Avro 504K airplane that was designed in 1913 in the United Kingdom. Williams flew his model in December, 2001 making this the first model rotary engine ever to fly.

The model engine, as in the full-size engine, operates on gasoline with spark ignition and a pressurized oil system. It has a displacement of 27 cu. in. and the engine itself weighs 11 pounds. The scale model Avro 504K into which it was fitted had a 12-foot wingspan.

115—Valentine "Blitz" 1-cylinder Diesel Engine, designed and built by Ron Valentine, Germany, circa 1993

This and the following engine are among the smallest engines in the world. (Note the U.S. quarter dollar coin used as the support base for a size reference.) These 2-cycle diesel engines burn a special diesel fuel that is less viscous and produces combustion when head and pressure are applied. The piston and cylinder are lapped, a machining process that matches the piston to the cylinder so closely in size (within millionths of an inch) that  piston rings are not needed.

116—Valentine "Rasant" 1-cylinder Diesel Engine, designed and built by Ron Valentine, Germany, circa 1993

This and the previous engine are among the smallest engines in the world. (Note the U.S. quarter dollar coin used as the support base for a size reference.) These 2-cycle diesel engines burn a special diesel fuel that is less viscous and produces combustion when head and pressure are applied. The piston and cylinder are lapped, a machining process that matches the piston to the cylinder so closely in size (within millionths of an inch) that  piston rings are not needed.

124—"Sea Lion" 4-Cylinder, 4-Cycle, Water Cooled Marine Engine, built by Jim Hawk, circa 1980's.  L=13", W=6", H=9"

126—"Maxse T-Seven" 7-cylinder Radial Model Airplane Engine, built by Maxse Tayler, B.C., Canada, circa 1996. L=31", W=31", H=21" on table stand

Closely resembling the Jacobs 7-cylinder radial engine, Maxse Tayler used the piston and cylinder assemblies from the commercially manufactured Saito 120 model airplane engines. Everything else was fabricated or machined from bar stock. It sports a full compliment of accessories including electronic ignition, shielded wiring, fuel primer pump, fuel-air mixture control, high altitude carburetor pre-heater, two oil pumps, two generators and dual magnetos. The lubrication system uses a dry sump and two-stage oil pump.

132—"Green Dragon" Model Airplane Engine, built by John Nuovo, California, early 1990's. L=7", W=5", H=6"

John Nuovo acquired the castings from Australia and produced six engines that he dubbed "Green Dragon" after applying the crackle green finish. This is an air cooled aircraft version with a light weight cast iron lined aluminum cylinder. It burns methanol with castor oil mixed in for lubrication on spark ignition. The fuel is contained within the machined aluminum tank mounted to the back of the engine. he is well known for his precise machining skills and engine building capability to produce engines for airplanes, boats and tether cars.

133—"Green Dragon" Model Automobile Engine, built by John Nuovo, California, early 1990's. L-=7", W=5", H=6"

135—"Rasant MK III" Diesel Radial Model Airplane Engine, built by Ron Vanlentine, Germany, 2004. L=2.5", W=3", H=2"

140—Manx 250IL 2-Cylinder Inline Model Airplane Engine, designed and built by Robert Hoskins, Tennessee, 1979

Robert Hoskins, President of Aero Tech Inc. (Tennessee) developed this engine in 1979 to fly his model airplane. He wanted scale sound; something the 2-cycle engines could not produce. Striving for light weight reliability, he machined this model from aluminum bar stock and engineered 13 ball bearings into it—6 that support the crankshaft alone. Although expensive to construct, the reliability and power output were worth the effort. The engine turned 7500 revolutions per minute with a 20-6 propeller on glow ignition and flew his 35-pound airplane with ease.

143—5-Cylinder Radial Model Airplane Engine, designed and built by Barry Robinson, England, 1998. L=7", W=10", H=10"

144—2-Cylinder Opposed Model Airplane Engine, made by Barry Robinson, England, early 1990's. L=6", W=8", H=4:

145—JT 1800 9-Cylinder Radial Model Airplane Engine, designed and built by John v. Thompson, Kansas, early 1990's. L=14", W=28" (prop), H=14"

John Thompson employed Saito 120 model airplane engine cylinder assemblies for this radial, but from that point on it is his design. Each cylinder has its own pair of cams that operate the inlet and exhaust valves. it weighs in a t 28 pounds and has a 1.25-inch (32 mm) bore and a 1-inch (24.8 mm) stroke with a total displacement of 10.8 cu. in. (180 cc). Initial tests with a 28-14 propeller indicated it produces 18+ horsepower. John incorporated a Borg Warner 1SH`1 2-inch, 10-blade turbocharger compressor for fuel distribution and atomization located within the intake manifold in the rear of the engine. it runs on glow ignition and burns gasoline with oil mixed in for lubrication. It sports his custom designed hydraulic controlled variable pitch propeller.

146—Thompson "Tarantula" 9-Engine Radial Model Aircraft Engine, designed and built by John V. Thompson, Kansas, 1970's. L=12", W=18", H=11"

Construction articles fro John's Tarantula were published in Strictly IC magazine in the 1980's. The "9-engine" part of the name is not a typo. It is because the engine consists of nine individual Cox .049 1-cylinder model airplane engines geared together in an aluminum crankcase hidden within a plastic Williams Brother Pratt & Whitney R-985 model engine kit. The nine engines are geared to the propeller shaft and all cylinders fire at the same time. It's a 9-engine engine.

147—Thompson Designs Flat Four Model Airplane Engine, model by John V. Thompson, Kansas, 1990's. L=13", W=13", H=11"

148—John Deere Type "E" 1-1/2 HP Stationary Engine, Gene Dettmar prototype, Dettmar Industries, Waterloo, IA, 1980's. L=16", W=10", H=12"

Dettmar Industries of Waterloo, IA began to produce this 1/2 scale model of the John Deere Type "E" stationary engine in the 1980's. Little is known about the company's outcome, but few if any became available for purchase. Since the late 80's, only a small number of casting kits and completed engines have appeared.

158—Morton M-42 4-cylinder, In-line, Flathead Model Car Engine, made by Jim Hawk, Oklahoma, circa 2006. L=9", W=5", H=5"

In 1944, many of the components used in the Morton M5 radial engine and M-4 inline were to be incorporated into this newly proposed M-42 flathead engine. The drawings for the M-42 were completed, but the engine never made it to production. From only one drawing that survived the Morton Company, Jim Hawk fabricated the wooden patterns, produced his own aluminum castings and machined the components to complete this running model. It burns gasoline on spark ignition and will turn a 14-6 propeller in excess of 6500 RPM.

164—Heinen Motore (HEMO) V-4, designed and built by Jurgen Heinen, Germany, 1994. L=12", W=6", H=7"

166—Sopwith Snipe Instrument Panel, 1/4-museum-scale model built by Robert Cooper, Georgia, 2003. L=6", W=9", H=8"

Robert Cooper built a “museum-scale” model of the 1918 British Sopwith Snipe fighter aircraft.  A museum-scale model contains everything as close to the real thing as possible. For example:  Most aircraft are riveted together with thousands of rivets. In a scale model the builder makes fake rivets with glue drops for each rivet. For museum scale, the model builder makes the rivets, installs them and sets them just like the full-size airplane.

Cooper’s model airplanes have several functional features including the Bentley BR2 rotary engine built by Paul Knapp with throttle quadrant, tamper valve, fuel pump and fuel filter.

This is a copy of the instrument panel from Cooper’s model. It features operating lights from individual toggle switches located in the accumulator box (lower right). The magneto switches (lower left) are below the pulsator (glass tube oil pressure gage). The turn-and-bank indicator and fuel gage are lower center. The second photo shot in low light shows the lights shining on each instrument, powered by a set of batteries on the back of the panel. The tiny switches in the lower right corner of the panel actually activate each light individually.

171—Tadpole, 1/3-Scale Model of the 1939 Dooling Brother’s “Frog” Tether Car, designed and built by Ted Maciag, Florida, 2006. L=8", W=4", H=2"

177—V12 Air-Cooled OHV Model Aircraft Engine, designed by Martin Ohrendorf, Germany, builder unknown, 2000

This 60-degree, overhead valve V-12 is machined from billet aluminum (bar stock) with cast iron lined cylinders. It has a bore of 21 mm and stroke is 21 mm, making the total displacement 87 cc. It burns methanol on glow ignition and spins its 24/10 propeller at 4,500 RPM. Each carburetor supplies fuel to four opposed cylinders, and the three carburetors are linked together for smooth operation.

189—“Eldon I 2636” 6-Cylinder, Two-Cycle, In-line Model Boat Engine, deigned by Eldon Dwyer, New Mexico, early 1980s, built by Jim Hawk, Oklahoma, late 1980s. L=13", W=7", H=7"

Exhibits added July 2008

04—14-Cylinder, Twin-Row Radial Engine, 1/8 scale, designed and built by Dennis Fadden, Canada, circa 1996. L=8', W=6", H=7".

The model operates on regular gasoline with spark ignition and swings a 12-inch diameter propeller. Dennis Fadden used cylinder and head castings produced by Bruce Satra, Utah, rather than machining them himself. However, most of Fadden's model engines are machined from bar stock rather than using castings.

Fadden's engines vary from simple single-cylinder model airplane engines to complex in-line and opposed multi-cylinder engines. Fadden also has produced an array of custom designed model inboard and outboard boat motors. he does not produce or use any drawings to create his engines.

05 and 06—Fadden 1-cylinder and 3-cylinder Engines, designed and built by Dennis Fadden, Canada, early 1990's. L=7", W=6", H=8".

Dennis Fadden designed both the 1-cylinder and the 3-cylinder engines. Bruce Satra, Utah, made the cylinder and head castings for both engines, but Fadden machined the crankcase for the 1-cylinder engine from bar stock (billet) material.

To produce the 3-cylinder radial engine, Fadden made patterns from wood and used the patterns to sand cast the crankcase and gear case from aluminum. Then he machined the castings and internal parts.

11—Mason "Mastiff" 4-Cylinder Opposed Engine, designed by L.C. Mason, England, built by T.E. Murphy, Phoenix, AZ, 1982. L=13", W=8", H= 9", Weight = 13 lb.

22—Loop Aircraft Tachometer, 1/4 scale, designed and built by Pat Loop, Washington, 1995.

Tachometers display the speed of an engine in revolutions per minute (rpm) and this is one of the smallest mechanical tachometers in the world. Pat Loop created this miniature tach to confirm that it could function and display rpm as accurately as a full-size tach. Extensive testing proved that it could. It displayed accurate readings from 0 to 7000 rpm.

37—Coholic 3-Cylinder Radial Engine, designed and built by Andrew Coholic, Canada, 1999. L=8", W=4", H=9".

Andrew Coholic created this tiny 2-cycle radial engine by mounting three Cox .049 engines into a common crankcase. The engines are geared together with a common propeller shaft, and they alternately fire every 120 degrees. The carburetor is mounted to a manifold that feeds fuel to each engine upon its intake cycle.

Two-cycle engine usually require pressure in the crankcase to force fuel into the combustion chamber on the intake cycle. The gearing of individual 2-cycle engine together eliminates the need for a pressurized crankcase.

41—18-Cylinder, Two-row Radial Engine, 1/4 scale, made by Harold Beckett, circa 1995

Harold Becket is a retired United Airlines pilot who handcrafted this engine from drawings provided by Sam and Lee Hodgeson. The model operates on regular gasoline with dual spark ignition. It has a pressurized lubrication system.

The radial engine was much more powerful and reliable than the old rotary design (where the whole engine turns). It was used to power large aircraft such as airliners and bombers. Two-row radials were used extensively in World War II aircraft. The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 (14-cylinder two-row radial) was produced in greater numbers than any piston aircraft engine. it was used in the Consolidated B-24 and PBY-2 as well as the Douglas C-47/DC-3.

In 1939, the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 was installed in the Grumman F4F-3 and was the world's first engine to use a two-stage supercharger—two years ahead of the first two-stage Rolls Royce Merlin V-12 engines.

49—Kavan FK50 MKI 2-Cylinder, Opposed Miniature Airplane Engine, designed and built by Franz Kavan, Germany, mid-1980's. L=9", W=11", H=8", Weight = 9 lb-10 oz.

The engine burns methanol on glow ignition. Later production engines became available with a shielded spark ignition. Placing the spark plug wires into a metal casing (braided tubing) eliminates radio interference generated by the spark plugs, essential when flying radio controlled model aircraft.

This is one of the earliest model airplane engines with an oil sump that holds lubricating oil for the crankcase components. This is known as a "splash" oil system. The crankshaft is partially submerged into the oil level in the sump. As it spins, it slings oil throughout the entire crankcase assembly. The upper combustion chamber, rocker arms and valves are lubricated by oil mixed with the fuel.

54—Continental C-85 Opposed Aircraft Engine, 1/4 scale, built by Dennis Fadden, Canada, circa 1990. L=10", W=10", H=9", Weight = 8lb.

Dennis Fadden's Continental C-85 is a "true-to-scale" model of the full-size version that was commonly used in light aircraft during the post-World War II period—most notably in the Piper Cub.

63—Satra 0-440 4-cylinder Opposed Model Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Bruce Satra, Utah, mid-1980's.

69—Anzani 3-Cylinder Radial Aircraft Engine, 1/4 scale, designed by Les Chenery, England, built by Roger Butzen, California, circa 1995. L=15", @=23", H=12", Weight = 14 lb-2 oz.

This scale model runs on gasoline with spark ignition and pressurized lubrication system. The cylinders are spaced 120° apart, thus creating a radial configuration. Engine drawings and castings for the crankcase, cylinders and carburetor were provided by Les Chenery.

In the early 1900's, Italian-born Alessandro Anzani began building engines in France. his first success was a 2-cylinder motorcycle engine that established a world speed record in 1905. A few years later, Anzani turned to making an aeroplane engine.

73—Schillings 4-Cylinder In-line DOHC Engine, designed and built by Hubert Schillings, Germany, circa 1975. L=11", W=6", H=6", Weight = 7 lb-2 oz.

Hubert Schillings designed several miniature engines from 1970 to 1980. Configurations vary from 1-cylinder aircraft engines to 2-, 3-, 4-, 6- and 8-cylinder inline and V-type engines for both aircraft and automobiles. Most of his engines were machined from aluminum bar stock, but a few were machined from magnesium.

The 4-cylinder in-line dual overhead cam (DOHC) engine has cylinders in a row vertical to the crankshaft. Each cylinder has four valves (two for intake and two for exhaust) to improve performance and efficiency. Two camshafts operate the valves. One camshaft operates the intake valves and the other the exhaust valves, thus "dual overhead cams."

77—Holt 75 Caterpillar Engine, Model by Reinhold Krieger, Germany, 2001. L=12", W=7", H=10", Weight = 15 lb.

The Holt 75 Caterpillar casting kit was first introduced by Cole's Power Models of Ventura, CA around 1940, but after WWII it lay dormant. Coles re-activated it in 1970 after a new set of patterns was made to comply with the modern foundry practices. It is a 4-cylinder, 4-cycle, water cooled in-line engine that was, in full size, most successfully used in tanks of WWI. The speed of the engine is controlled by a centrifugal fly-ball governor that was commonly used for governing the speed of steam engines. The model engine has a bore of 1 inch and a stroke of 1-1/4". The crankcase holds the lubricating oil that is distributed by the crankshaft as it spins, but external rocker arms must be manually lubricated before operating the engine. it is water cooled and burns gasoline using a spark ignition.

79—Wall Duplex Mariner, built by Elmer A. Wall, circa 1940-41. L=9", W=6", H=8".

Elmer A. Wall, an engineer/inventor of considerable ability, operated a motor car manufacturing company in Chicago before Ford made his Model "T." He also designed and built an electrical power system supplying part of the city before Consolidated Edison existed. He had many associates in the engineering profession in this country and abroad. During the depression he began designing and manufacturing casting kits for miniature internal combustion engines such as this Duplex Mariner.

Wall's Model Engine Laboratory was located in Chicago, IL and the catalog cover read:

"Build Your Model Internal Combustion Engines with

WALL CASTINGS and DETAILED DRAWINGS

on your own lathe in your own work shop.

Easy to Build and Interesting to Run.

Suitable for Model Aircraft and

Record-Breaking Model Power Boats.

Also

86—Miniature 7-Cylinder Radial Engine, designed and built by Pius Job, Switzerland, 1993. L=10", W=9", H=15" (on stand).

98—Fadden 1-Cylinder Model Airplane Engine, designed by Bruce Satra, Utah, 2000 and built by Dennis Fadden, Canada, 2002. L-5", W=4", H=5".

Dennis Fadden built this model engine using castings made by Bruce Satra. The cylinder and head assembly is from a 1/6 scale model of the Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Jr. 9-cylinder engine that Satra manufactures and sells as a kit.

100—Anzani 3-Cylinder Fan Engine, 1/4 scale, designed by Alfred Eichinger, Austria, custom built in Ukraine, 2002. L-8", W=12", H=9", Weight = 3 lb- 13 oz.

The automatic inlet valves are situated inside the head where the intake pipe connects. The exhaust valves are mechanically operated at the back of the combustion chamber. The model has spark ignition and burns gasoline mixed with oil for lubrication.

In 1910, Italian born Alessandro Anzani added a third cylinder to his twin-cylinder, air-cooled motorcycle engine to create this fan-type aircraft engine. Anzani's fan engine carried Frenchman Louis Blériot in his monoplane over the English Channel in 1909—the world's first flight over a large body of water in a "heavier-than-air" craft.

106—1-Cylinder, 4-Cycle Model Boat Motor, designed and built by Henry Parohl, NY, 1960's. L=5", W=4", H=4".

“On September 8, 1935 at the annual Walter Elliot Memorial Race in New York’s Central Park, Henry was crowned a new champion when his gas driven Elanor 2 powerboat was clocked at 26.77 mph in 5 laps around a 750 foot circular coarse. The precision necessary in the construction of the motor was nothing new to the owner, who in private life, was a craftsman making tiny dies for a wrist watch company.”

   —From The Model Craftsman, November, 1935

121—Supercharged Thunderbird Miniature Engine, manufactured by Scott Motors, Inc., Arizona, 1940s. L=6", W=3", H=6".

In 1946, the Thunderbird was advertised as the only miniature engine with a genuine supercharger, “just like the big ones!” Supercharging increases atmospheric pressure in the engine to produce more horsepower.

The ad described the engine as “the perfect racing engine for airplanes, cars and boats.”

123—Wankel (Mazda Type) Rotary Engine, model designed and built by Henry Parohl, NY, 1960s. L=6", W=7", H=6".

125—Parohl Single-Cylinder, Overhead Valve (OHV) 4-valve Model Boat Engine, designed and built by Henry Parohl, New York, 1960s. L=9", W=9", H=10".

130—Fadden .010 Outboard Boat Motor, designed and built by Dennis Fadden, Canada, 2005. L=3", W=1", H=3.5"

142—Racing Thunderbird (Hayward-Connelly), manufactured by Scott Motors, Inc., 1940’s. L=5", W=4, H=6".

Scott Motors, Inc., was located at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, AZ. It was owned by John Connelly and Leland Hayward.  Connelly ran the aircraft overhaul facility at the airport and Hayward had some connection with the airline industry. The company was named after Connelly’s son, Scott. The Racing Thunderbird engines were developed and tested in the Phoenix facility, but it is not known if any were actually sold between 1946 and 1948 when the company relocated to the San Francisco Municipal Airport. Just as production was getting underway on the Racing Thunderbird a fire destroyed much of the manufacturing facility, which put a halt to continued work. 

154—Boxer 2-Cylinder Opposed Aircraft Engine, designed and built by unknown maker, Germany, unknown date. L=9", W=9", H=7"

The 4-cyle engine appears to be made from castings, but was actually constructed from aluminum, brass and steel bar stock. Much of it was roughed out on conventional machine shop equipment. Many hours were spent hand-forming the parts using files and scrapers. The finish was applied by glass beading the surfaces and then nickel-plating the steel parts, such as the rocker arms and propeller hub.

The most unique feature is two exhaust ports for each cylinder. This was accomplished by drilling into the head from the front, cross drilling from the top to the bottom, and then plugging the original hole ahead of the exhaust pipes.

167—K-35 Single-Cylinder, Two Cycle Model Airplane Engine, designed and built by Fred Kunze, Arizona, 1975. L=8", W=4", H=5"

168—Supercharged V-8 Racing Engine, designed and built by James Weber, Riverton, Wyoming, 2004.

Closely resembling the Chrysler 300 ‘Hemi’ from the early 60s this 1/3-scale model has a 1.0 inch bore and .900 inch stroke for a total displacement of 5.65 cubic inches. The engine burns gasoline or methanol (methyl alcohol) on dual electronic spark ignition and incorporates a two-stage pressurized dry-sump lubrication system. His custom designed Roots type sliding-vane supercharger with dual carburetors pushes the engine speed to 12,000 revolutions per minute.

172—Vega 50 T Two-Cylinder, Opposed Model Airplane Engine, manufactured by J.C. Harbone, England, 1980. L=7", W=7", H=5".

174—Single-Cylinder, Air-Cooled, Four Cycle OHV Engine, United Kingdom, builder unknown, date unknown. L=5", W=12", H=9".

175—Three-Cylinder, Air-Cooled, Radial Model Airplane Engine, United Kingdom, Builder unknown, date unknown. L=5", W=12", W=9", Weight = 7 lb.

178—Hawk 40, Single Cylinder, Air-Cooled Aircraft Engine, designed and built by G. Punter, Australia, 1976

179—“Water Witch” Single-Cylinder Marine Engine, built by Dick Pretel, California, circa 1983.

180—“Gannet” Single-Cylinder, Water-Cooled Marine Engine, built by Gannet Engines, England, 1960s, modified by Dick Petrel, California 1997

181—“KEN”, Single Cylinder, Air-Cooled Marine Engine, designed by Ken Brennerman Oakland CA 1938, built by Dick Pretel, 2003

185—Schillings 6-Cylinder, In-line DOHC Engine, designed by Hubert Schillings, built by Rolf Luther 1998

Hubert Schillings designed several miniature engines from 1970 to 1980. Configurations vary from 1-cylinder aircraft engines to 2-, 3-, 4-, 6- and 8-cylinder V-type and inline engines for both aircraft and automobiles. Most of his engines are machined from aluminum bar stock (ingot).

This 6-cylinder Inline Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC) design has cylinders laid out in a straight line with two camshafts that operate the valves. One camshaft operates the intake valves and the other camshaft operates the exhaust valves, thus the description “dual overhead cams.”

186—Wasp Jr., Single-Cylinder Model Airplane Engine, designed and built by Bruce Satra, Vernal UT, 2000

187—100cc Two-Cylinder, Two-Cycle, Opposed Aircraft Engine, Designer/Builder Unknown, Germany, 1985. L=15", W=16", H=22"

192—Edwards FA90-3 3-Cylinder Radial Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Forest Edwards, California, 1981. L=8", W=8", H=9", Weight = 1 lb-12 oz

This is Forest Edwards’ first home-made model airplane engine. He utilized the cylinder heads and cams from three Saito FA-30 single cylinder model airplane engines to produce this radial. All other components were machined from bar stock. It burns methanol with castor oil mixed in, but the exposed rocker arms required manual lubrication before operation. Its performance was good with smooth running characteristics throughout the full operating range of speeds.

193—1/4 Scale Caminez 4-Cylinder Radial Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Wally Warner, MI, 2007. L=10", W=8", H=9", Weight = 7 lb-5 oz

194—JENNO 14 Single-Cylinder Model Airplane Engine, designed and built by Larry Jenno, NV, 1943. L=3", W=2", H=3", Weight = 8 oz

196—ROSS Two-Cylinder, Two-Cycle Target Drone Engine, designed and built  by Lou Ross, AZ, 1973

197—ROSS Four-Cylinder, Two-Cycle, Target Drone Engine, designed and built  by Lou Ross, AZ, 1972

198—KING “T85”  Two-Cylinder, Four-Cycle,  Air-Cooled Engine, designed and built by Stephen J. King, FL, 2005. L=10", W=6", H=7", Weight = 5 lb 

200—KING “741” Seven-Cylinder, Two-Cycle, Air-Cooled Radial Airplane Engine, designed and built by Stephen J. King, FL, 2007. L=8", W=8", H=9", Weight = 6 lb-5 oz

201—“RCS 400 5-Cylinder Radial Airplane Engine, designed and manufactured by Moki, Inc., Ukraine, 2007. Size=14" dia.

202—SATRA ‘R-5’ Model Radial Airplane Engine, designed and built by Bruce Satra, UT, 1984. L=8", W=6", H=7", Weight = 2 lb-6 oz

203—SATRA 0-440, 4-Cylinder Opposed Model Airplane Engine, designed and built by Bruce Satra, UT, mid 1980s. L=11", W=8", H=7"

204—(Upper left) .098 Vertical 2-Cylinder, 2-Cycle Aero Engine, designed and fabricated by John Swartzwelder, WA, mid 1970's. Weight = 8 oz

While working in the "wind tunnel" model shop at Boeing, John fabricated several small multi-cylinder aircraft engines from commercially available Cox .049, .020, and .010 cc model airplane engines. Some were simply geared together via a common propeller shaft and custom engine mount, while others required engineering sophisticated crankcases with specially designed crankshafts. They burn methanol (methyl alcohol) with castor oil mixed in for lubrication.

205—(Lower left) .098 Opposed 2-Cylinder, 2-Cycle Aero Engine, designed and fabricated by John Swartzwelder, WA, mid 1970's

206—(Middle, upper row) .040 Opposed 2-Cylinder, 2-Cycle Aero Engine, designed and fabricated by John Swartzwelder, WA, mid 1970's

208—Springfield A.1 Single-cylinder, Two-cycle Model Engine, designed and fabricated by Roy E. McAdams, Springfield, OH, circa 1919. L=4.75", W=4", H=4.75" (w/o glow plug), Base=6" x 6", Weight = 8 oz.

Exhibits added July 2009

18—Morton M5 5-Cylinder Radial Engine, designed and built by Morton Aviation, Kearney, NB, 1949. L=7", W=15", H=6"

35—Cirrus 4-Cylinder, Water-cooled, In-line Model Airplane Engine, 1/6 scale model built by Merritt Zimmerman, 1980-1994. L=7", W=3", H=5".

Merritt Zimmerman produced his own castings to build (75) 1/6 scale Cirrus engines (glow ignition) between about 1980 and 1994. He sold many more castings in kit form for miniature engine builders during the same period. To differentiate  his engines from those built by others, an oval shaped embossed emblem with the name "ZH Cirrus" was bonded to the crankcase identifying those engines completed by him. The oval emblem was not sold or included in any of the kits.

39—27-25 Propeller for 1/4 scale Bentley BR-2 Rotary Airplane Engine, built by Robert Cooper, Savannah, GA, 1997. L=28", W=4", H=2".

Robert Cooper laminated the wood together just as it was done in the early days of flight with the use of home made horsehide glue. Once bonded, the propeller was hand carved until each half matched. Then it was balanced by inserting weights into the center hub.

42—Otter 30 4-Cylinder In-line Boat Engine, Designed by Dr. Haydock, England, mid-1970's. L=11", W=8", H=20".

Dr. Haydock (first name unknown) designed 1-cylinder, 2-cylinder and 4-cylinder engines fro model boats. He built a handful of otter 30 cc engines from his own patterns and castings. All engines were sold as completed engines and not as kits.

46—JPX T240 Turbojet Model Aircraft Engine, built in France, circa 1992. L=15", W=6", H=6".

Practical gas turbine power for model aircraft became a reality when Bryan Seegers of Arizona made model aviation history in 1988. He flew what is believed to be the world's first miniature turbojet-powered aircraft

By 1992, commercially available miniature jet engines like this JPX-T240 began to appear on the market. This engine burns propane fuel and can produce up to 13 pounds of thrust. Today's model jet engine burn gasoline or jet fuel and produce several times more thrust.

58—U-22 Turbojet Model Aircraft Engine, built by Dennis Fadden, Canada, circa 1980

64—Red Wing Stationary Engine, built by Harold Beckett, Longmont, CO, circa mid-1990's. L=17", W=11", H=13"

The Red Wing stationary engines made in Red Wing, MN were commonly used to power industrial machinery and farm equipment in the early 1900's. Harold Beckett built this 1/4 scale model of the Red Wing from a casting kit. It has a bore of 1.125", a 2" stroke and burns gasoline on spark ignition. The cylinder passes through the large reservoir in the front which is filled with water for cooling. Stationary engines require manual lubrication before operation and have several oil and grease cups that require re-filling periodically while the engine is in operation.

68—Jupiter 220 2-Clinder Opposed Model Airplane Engine, manufactured by Farger & Joosten, Germany, early 1980's. L=9", W=11", H=6"

These belt-driven, overhead camshaft engines (that also were available in a 1-cylinder version) are superbly engineered but quite heavy, so not practical for competitive flying. Despite the  37 cc capacity, the power output was considered low. The power could be increased with re-profiled camshafts, different plugs and added piston rings. (To re-profile means to machine a different shape to the cams to change when the intake and exhaust valves open and close.) This drastically affects the engine's performance.

78—Miniature 3-Cylinder Radial Engine, designed and machined by Cliff Bumpus, circa 1994. L=7", W=11", H=10"

Cliff Bumpus machined the engine from bar stock (aluminum ingots). The cylinders are spaced 120° apart in a circular pattern, typical for a 3-cyinder radial configuration. The miniature runs on glow plugs rather than spark plugs. The combustion of the fuel in the engine keeps the glow plug hot between cycles, so it does not need to be regulated or powered while the engine is running like a spark plug would.

80—3-Cylinder Radial Model Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Henry Parohl, New York, circa 1960. L=9", W=12", H=9"

In the early 1930's, Henry Parohl was setting records with his model powerboats and homemade miniature engines—two-and four-cycle singles and twins. Then he began designing more complex three- and five-cylinder radial aircraft engines. Although the radials are quite a change from his early boat engines, Parohl's building technique and style have been retained throughout his engine building career.

83—Miniature 7-Cylinder Radial Engine, designed and built by Pierre Blais, Canada, 1990. L-10", W=11", H=12"

Pierre Blais' engine burns a methanol/castor oil mixture on glow ignition. The combustion of the fuel keeps the glow plug hot between cycles, so the plug does not need to be regulated or powered while the engine is running like a spark plug does.

94—Ford Model "A" 4-Cylinder Automobile Engine, 1/5 scale replica by Profi M. E., Ukraine, 2002. L=8", W=6", H=7"

This scale replica of the 4-cycle, water-cooled engine in the famous Ford Model "A" automobile of 1928 has a bore of .675" and a stroke if .827". Total displacement is .30 cubic inches.

Castings were made for the crankcase, head and oil pan, and bar stock was machined for the crankshaft and camshaft. The engine will burn gasoline or methanol on spark ignition, and it contains oil in the oil pan for lubrication. Internal lubrication is a splash system that relies on the crankshaft to splash (sling) the oil within the crankcase when it rotates.

The engine was custom manufactured for an American automobile buff. Paul Knapp designed and fabricated the spark plugs.

99—1937 Harley Davidson "Knucklehead" Motorcycle Engine, 1/4 scale model built by Replica Engines, Michigan, circa 1997. L=9", W=9" H=9"

101—Miniature 7-Cylinder Radial Engine, designed and built by Lee Root, circa 1975. (Courtesy of Margarita and Al Root, and Rhetta and John Hopfauf)

Lee Root's engines have inspired enthusiasts, hobbyists and miniature engine builders throughout the world. Although parts of his engines appear to be castings, they were machined entirely from bar stock. Root's 7-cylinder radial was ahead of its time and more advanced than most miniature engines made today.

102—Chevrolet Corvette Small Block V-8 Engine, designed and built by Lee Root, Washington, 1980's. L=13", W=9", H=9". (Courtesy of Margarita and Al Root, and Rhetta and John Hopfauf.)

Lee Root machined 7075 aircraft grade aluminum to produce the crankcase, heads, rods and pistons, and there are no castings used in the engine. The cylinder liners are cast iron, the crankshaft and cam are heat-treated 4340 steel. He used a full-size corvette racing cam for the cam profiles.

103—Ford Model "A" Engine, designed and built by Lee Root, Washington, circa 1980's. L=11", W=6", H=10". (Courtesy of Margarita and Al Root, and Rhetta and John Hopfauf.)

104—The "Root Special" DOHC 4-Cylinder Racing Engine, designed and built by Lee Root, Washington, 1980's. L=11", W=8", H=8". (Courtesy of Margarita and Al Root, and Rhetta and John Hopfauf.)

Lee Root needed a small 4-cylinder engine to test a miniature electronic throttle-body fuel injection system he was developing. he worked from his imagination and produced no drawings for this engine. His water-cooled race engine has a bore of .875" and a stroke of .75" for a total displacement of 1.8 cubic inches. It burns gasoline for fuel, utilizes pressure lubrication and sports his highly successful, electronic throttle-body fuel injection on spark ignition.

107—5-Cylinder Radial Model Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Henry Parohl, New York, circa 1960. L=11", W=10", H=9"

Most of Henry Parohl's engines incorporated gravity fed lubrication systems. Prior to running the engine, the operator would fill the small, transparent reservoir ahead of the number one (top) cylinder with motor oil. Then, with its spark ignition turned on, the engine would run on regular gasoline. The oil would slowly feed from the reservoir into the engine for lubrication.

117—Erickson FE200 (MCC) Prototype Migrating Combustion Chamber Engine, manufactured by Erickson Motors, Indiana, circa 1993. L=9", W=8", H=7".

This engine has a square piston inside a square cylinder. Both migrate about the crankcase as it rotates. The piston slides up and down inside the cylinder as it slides left to right inside the crankcase.

The migrating combustion chamber allows this unique engine to take full advantage of the gas expansion after combustion. By the time the exhaust is released to the atmosphere it has expanded to its fullest and is almost completely depleted of pressure. The exhaust temperature is not much higher than ambient air.

This 200 cc prototype was CNC machined from bar stock. Later production engines were made smaller (120 cc) and made from castings.

119—Schillings 6-Cylinder Opposed DOHC Miniature Engine, designed and built by Hubert Schillings, Germany, circa 1975. L=9", W=9", H=7".

129—Gannet Single-Cylinder Four-Cycle Model Airplane Engine, manufactured by Gannet Engineering, England, 1960's. L=8", W=7", H=7".

137—Magnum 182 V-Twin Model Airplane Engine, manufactured in England, circa 1980's. L=9", W=10", H=7".

138—Magnum 273 3-Cylinder Radial Model Airplane Engine, manufactured in England, circa 1980's. L=20", W=9", H=9".

149—Olds Stationary Engine, 1/2 scale model built by Everett Kroll, California, 1990's. Castings by Paul Briesch. L=16", W=13", H=14".

Everett machined and fabricated all of the components necessary to complete a running engine. it burns gasoline with a little oil mixed in for upper-end (piston and valve) lubrication. Typical of most stationary engines is that manual lubrication is required on the moving parts before operation, and periodic lubrication.

157—Trimble Air-Cooled Prototype Single-Cylinder Engine, designed and built by George Trimble, Arizona, 1958. L=7", W=3", H=5".

George Trimble's first engine is this air-cooled, four-cycle single that burns gasoline on spark ignition. The ventilated crankcase is filled with oil for splash lubrication, but the exposed rockers required manual lubrication before operating the engine.

184—TechnoPower 5-Cylinder Radial Prototype Engine, Designed and built by Wally Warner, Illinois, 1983.

199—Bandicoot Experimental Model Airplane Engine, by Rich Wiley, Missouri, Date Unknown.

213—Babcock Jr. Gas Powered Micro Rail Mite Racer, designed and built by John D. Ellis, New Jersey, 2009. L=4.5", W=3", H=2".

219—Ferrari V-12 Model Auto Engine, 1/4 scale, built by Bennie Vreeman, Netherlands, 2009. L=12", W=8", H=6".

220—Suevia 252 Single-Cylinder Model Airplane Engine, designed and built in W. Germany, 1980's. L=6", W=3.5", H=6". (Courtesy of Dale Jordan.)

228—Two-Cylinder Vertical Steam Engine, built by Alphonse C. Vassallo, California, 1968. (Courtesy of Cherise Vassallo, Ingrid Vassallo, Andre Vassallo). L=8.5", W=5", H=6". Weight: 4.5 lb.

229—Two-Cylinder Flame Licker Engine, built by Alphonse C. Vassallo, California, 1968. (Courtesy of Cherise Vassallo, Ingrid Vassallo, Andre Vassallo). L=12", W=6.5", H=3.5". Weight: 7 lb.

230—Two-Cylinder, Reversible Stirling Cycle Engine, built by Alphonse C. Vassallo, California, 1971. (Courtesy of Cherise Vassallo, Ingrid Vassallo, Andre Vassallo). L=21", W=8", H=7". Weight: 12 lb.

231—Two-Cylinder Opposed Model Airplane Engine, built by Alphonse C. Vassallo, California, 1985. (Courtesy of Cherise Vassallo, Ingrid Vassallo, Andre Vassallo). L=11", W=10", H=7.7". Weight: 6.5 lb.

232—Cylindrical Cam Stirling Engine, built by Alphonse C. Vassallo, California, 1996. (Courtesy of Cherise Vassallo, Ingrid Vassallo, Andre Vassallo). L=23", W=7", H=8". Weight: 17 lb.

The axial engine (also called cam, swashplate or barrel engine) is a type of reciprocating engine that replaces the common crankshaft with a circular plate. The pistons press against the plate in sequence, forcing it to rotate around its center. in Al's engine, the plate has a channel machined around its circumference to capture ball bearings attached to shafts so the reciprocating pistons not only push, but also pull against the cam, forcing it to rotate around its center. The key advantage of the design is that the cylinders are arranged in parallel around the edge of the cam resulting in a very compact cylindrical shaped engine.

233—V-Four Stirling Cycle Engine, built by Alphonse C. Vassallo, California, 1994. (Courtesy of Cherise Vassallo, Ingrid Vassallo, Andre Vassallo). L=13", W=16", H=11". Weight: 20 lb.

234—Cylindrical Rotary Engine, built by Alphonse C. Vassallo, California, 1973. (Courtesy of Cherise Vassallo, Ingrid Vassallo, Andre Vassallo). L=7", W=5", H=3.5". Weight: 5 lb.

235—5-Cylinder Radial Model Airplane Engine, built by Alphonse C. Vassallo, California, 1982. (Courtesy of Cherise Vassallo, Ingrid Vassallo, Andre Vassallo). L=17", W=13", H=14". Weight: 21 lb.

Exhibits added August 2011

 08—Challenger V8 Prototype Engine, designed and built by Bachtold, Thoms and Dettrick, Illinois, mid-1960s. L=12", W=12", H=14", Weight: 25 lbs-0z

Machinist Alf Bachtold began making this engine but needed help to complete it.  He formed a loose partnership with pattern maker Clayton Thoms and a designer named Dettrick (first name unknown). Half-way through the project, the three men disagreed on how they would share profits from engine sales, so the partnership ended.  Bachtold bought out the other two and gave the prototype to Thoms.

The prototype has castings from the head down that remained part of the final design. The top end parts were machined by Bachtold from solid metal. The timing gear cover has the letters T/B cast into it, denoting Thoms and Bachtold.

12—3-Cylinder Radial Model Airplane Engine, designed and built by 3W Engines, Germany, circa 1990

This spark-ignition 2-cycle engine is composed of three single-cylinder engines geared together within one common crankcase. It has a bore of 1.6", a stroke of 1.1" (6.3 cu in total), weighs 10.1 pounds, and will produce 11 horsepower spinning a 34 x 26 propeller at 4,500 revolutions per minute. It burns a gas/oil mixture on electronic spark ignition. 3W received a patent on this radial engine in 1997.

13—Robarts R780 7-Cylinder Radial Engine, designed and built by Bob Walker, Robarts Manufacturing, Illinois, 1993. L=10", W=10", H=11"

Bob Walker modeled this engine after the Jacobs R755 commonly used in three aircraft: the Beech Stagger Wing, Cessna 195 and Cessna UC-78 Bobcat (nicknamed the “Bamboo Bomber” because its airframe was fabricated from wood).

17—Curtiss OX-5 V8 Airplane Engine, 1/4-scale model built by Replica Engines, Michigan, 1995.  L=14" W=8", H=10", Weight=12 lbs-2oz

This is a miniature copy of the Curtiss OX-5 water-cooled V8 used in the standard Curtiss J.N. “Jenny” aircraft. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the aircraft was produced in great numbers and was used to train almost 95 percent of the U.S. and Canadian pilots.

26—Cox .75 Radial Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Paul Daniels, Missouri, 1980s. L=7", W=8", H=9", Weight=7lbs-8oz

 74—Eldon I 2636 Prototype 6-Cylinder In-Line Boat Motor, designed and built by Eldon Dwyer, New Mexico, early 1980s. L=12", W=5", H=5"

Eldon Dwyer designed this two-cycle, water-cooled engine to power his model hydroplane.  This prototype is machined from bar stock except for the cylinder and head assembles.  These he acquired from K&B Engines, Lake Havasu, Arizona.

115- Micro Diesel Display (includes #115, 116, 135, 253, and 274), Valentine Miniature and Micro Diesel Model Engines, by Chris and Ronald Valentine, FL 1980s

Ronald Valentine is known worldwide for his craftsmanship and miniature and micro diesel engines. His goal is to design and build the smallest operational diesel engine in the world. The Nano Bee (left front) measures merely 7/8 of an inch long with a bore and stroke of only 2mm making the total displacement only .006cc or .00037 cu in. His brother Chris exhibited his skill  in machining when he produced this Nano Bee in Ronald’s shop. Under Ron’s guidance Chris machined this one from aluminum and steel bar stock, with some tolerances held to one ten-thousandth of an inch. This tiny engine will spin a 1-1/4 X 1 inch aluminum propeller up to 12,800 revolutions per minute. (See second photo.)

150—International Harvester Stationary Engine, model built by Everett Kroll, CA, 1990s Casting Kit by M and E Products, SC, 1995

151—International Harvester Stationary Engine, model built by Everett Kroll, CA, 1990s. Casting Kit by M & E Products, SC, 1995

153—(Serial #101) Micro Dooling 61, designed and built by John D. Ellis, MI, 1980,s

In 1986 John began to design and build 1/3-scale models of the Dooling Brother’s “F” car as a tribute to his Father who produced the casting dies for the original Dooling “F” cars in the 1940’s. John’s intent was to purchase Cox .020 engines for his completed cars but the project took so long that when he was finally ready the Cox engines were no longer available.  

After much effort to get small engines produced he decided to take on the project of tooling and casting his own engines. He chose the Dooling 61 since it was one of the engines used in the original tether cars. This miniature is exactly 1/3-scale, burns methanol on spark ignition, and it turns 38,200 revolutions per minute.

165—Fadden Twin Model Airplane Engine, designed and built by Dennis Fadden, Canada, 2000

Dennis Fadden used Bruce Satra’s (Morton) cylinder castings, carburetor, and distributor to produce this two cylinder model airplane engine. All other components were machined from aluminum and steel bar stock and brass tubing.

170—(SN B7-151) Technopower 7-Cylinder Radial Airplane Engine, manufactured by Technopower Engines, IL, circa 1980’s. L=7", W=8", H-7", Weight=2 lb-8 oz

190—Handt 5-Cylinder Radial Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Erich Handt, Germany, 1971

Erich Handt was born in 1919 and became a precision engineer’s apprentice at the early age of 17. After the war in 1945 he took a job in aviation technology and began building and flying model aircraft.

He machined and constructed his first two-cycle engine in 1967 and his first successful four-cycle engine in 1971. The cams on his four-cycle were driven by a belt he modified from a dental tool. Stimulated by the success of his first four-cycle he became the first four-cycle engine manufacturer in the Federal Republic of Germany to produce a miniature series of model engines.  

191—Handt, 3-Cylinder Radial Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Erich Handt, Germany, 1971

Erich Handt was born in 1919 and became a precision engineer’s apprentice at the early age of 17. After the war in 1945 he took a job in aviation technology and began building and flying model aircraft.

He machined and constructed his first two-cycle engine in 1967 and his first successful four-cycle engine in 1971. The cams on his four-cycle were driven by a belt he modified from a dental tool. Stimulated by the success of his first four-cycle he became the first four-cycle engine manufacturer in the Federal Republic of Germany to produce a miniature series of model engines.  

209—ELJO Single-Cylinder Marine Engine, manufactured in England, 1960s. L=7", W=6.5", H=8", Weight= 4 lb-11 oz

210—One Cylinder 4-Cycle Model Airplane Engine, builder unknown, date unknown. L=8.5", W=5", H=6", Weight = 2 lb

214—Warner Large Scale 5-Cylinder Radial Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Wally Warner, MI, 2009. L=9", W=11", H=12", Weight: 7 lb-2 0z

218—Schillings 4-Cylinder Inline SOHC Engine, designed and built by Hubert Schillings, Germany, early 70’s. L=12", W=8", H=6", Weight = 5 lb

Hubert Schillings designed several miniature engines from 1970 to 1980.  Configurations vary from 1-cylinder aircraft engines to 2-, 3-, 4-, 6- and 8-cylinder inline and V-type engines for both aircraft and automobiles. Most of his engines were machined from aluminum bar stock (billet), but a few were machined from magnesium. 

This 4-cylinder inline Single Overhead Cam (SOHC) has cylinders in a row vertical to the crankshaft.  Each cylinder has two valves (one for intake and one for exhaust)   and the single camshaft operates both the intake and exhaust valves; “thus the single overhead cam.” 

237—Profi “DOHC 50” 4-Cylinder Inline Racing Engine, designed and built by Profi M.E. Czech Republic, 2008. L=10", W=6", H=6", Weight = 2 lb.

238—Riggle Quarter-Scale Midget Race Car, designed and built by Jim Riggle, ND, mid 1980s. L=37", W=16", H=12", Weight = 31 lb 

Jim made the patterns and molds for this 4-cylinder, water-cooled, DOHC mono-block engine. It sports pressurized dry sump lubrication, 2 valves per cylinder, a peristaltic oil pump, a water pump, a fuel pump, and it burns methanol on spark ignition. The engine proved to produce 4.5 hp at 15,500 revolutions per minute on a dynamometer. He also produced the chassis and Midget car body, which provided the perfect platform to test his new engine. It has many hours of racing time and could break the rear tires free at almost any speed.

239—Schillings V8 DOHC Engine, designed and built by Hubert Schillings, Germany, mid 70s

Hubert Schillings designed several miniature engines from 1970 to 1980. Configurations vary from 1-cylinder aircraft engines to 2-, 3-, 4-, 6- and 8-cylinder inline and V-type engines for both aircraft and automobiles. Most of his engines were machined from aluminum bar stock (billet), but a few were cast or machined from magnesium.

This V8, Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC) engine has two rows of cylinders 90 degrees apart, and each row has two camshafts to operate the valves; one camshaft operates the intake valves and the other camshaft operates the exhaust valves. It has a cast magnesium crankcase and oil pan, and machined aluminum heads and cam boxes.

242—“Iron Maiden” Steam Traction Engine, designed and built by Stephen J. King, FL 2008. L=18", W=8", H=7", Weight = 4 lb

The reversible double acting engine has a .4 inch bore, 1.25 inch stroke, and a 25:1 drive ratio with a clutch. It is about 14 inches long and runs on water and anything that burns clean. A small pump just ahead of the right wheel feeds oil through the bearings and crankshaft and returns to the reservoir above the pump. The crankshaft is machined from tool steel with the remaining parts machined from aluminum and stainless steel. It took Stephen over two years to build.

243—British MK IV Battle Tank, designed and built by Stephen J. King, FL 2009. L=17", W=9", H=7", Weight = 9.6 lb

The MK IV tank is probably the world’s first main battle tank. There were about 1200 made in many variations and they participated in virtually every British battle on the Western Front from 1917 until the end of the war. 

247—Bennett Water-Cooled Twin, designed and built by Paul Bennett, CA, 1969, Weight = 3 lb

Paul designed and built this opposed water-cooled twin in 1969 for his model boat. An article (with drawings) documenting his effort was published in Model Engineer magazine in January, 1972. It has a 1-inch bore with a 3/4 inch stroke, double throw crank and runs on gasoline with spark ignition. The engine requires manual lubrication of the rockers and pushrods, and oil must be added to the crankcase before operation. It is completely machined from aluminum and steel bar stock.

248—Kurz Compressor Engine, designed and built by Frank Kurz, CA, 1980s, Weight = 13 lb

Frank purchased a casting kit for a small compressor from Cole’s Power Models (no longer available) and converted it into this overhead cam, two-cylinder engine. It has a starter that doubles as a generator to power the small electric cooling fan. Frank had a knack for incorporating already existing components and unrelated mechanisms into his engines. This one is no different in that he utilized an iris diaphragm from a vintage camera for air control into the carburetor. It is a gas burner with spark ignition and has a 1.25 inch bore and stroke.

249—Vega 4-Cycle, Side-Valve Model Airplane Engine, by John Harbone, Birmingham, England, 1988-1995

Side-valve (flathead) engines have the valves located in the crankcase alongside the cylinder driven by the camshaft within the crankcase. This arrangement requires no tappet adjustment and offers an engine much more compact in size.      

251—TMN 4-Cycle, Sleeve-Valve Cutaway Airplane Engine, built by Petr Chvatal, Czech Republic, circa 2000

252—Indian Silver Arrow, Two-Cycle Outboard Boat Motor, designed and built by Ted Maciag and Profi ME, 2001

253—5-Cylinder Diesel Radial Engine, designed and built by Ronald Valentine, 2007

254—5-Cylinder Radial Engine, designed and built by Roger Paul, 1978-1981

255—4-Cylinder, Water-Cooled, Inline Boat Engine, builder unknown, date unknown

261—Miniature Supercharger, designed and built by Frank Kurz, CA, 1980

Frank designed this small turbocharger as an experiment. Superchargers are typically belt driven; however, turbochargers are driven by the exhaust gases produced from a running engine. As the engines speed increases the exhaust drives the turbo faster which creates more pressure to the cylinders, producing more horsepower. Frank machined it from aluminum and steel bar stock and he tested the turbo on a small engine, but the test results are not known.

262—Wall Wizard Water-Cooled, 4- Cycle Model Boat Engine, built by Dick Pretel, CA  

Mr. Pretel built this from a standard Wall Wizard casting kit, but modified the cylinders for water cooling instead of air. It is designed to burn gasoline on spark ignition and the crankcase holds oil for splash lubrication; rockers and push rod ends must be manually lubricated before each run. The intakes, exhaust pipes, flywheel, and numerous other parts are chrome plated for appearance and protection from water in marine applications.

264—Four Stroke (FS-91) Cutaway Model Airplane Engine, Manufactured by O.S. Engines of Japan, circa 1980's

265—Six-Cylinder Experimental Rotary Engine, built by Bell Lab engineers and J.W. Kijowski, circa1965

267—DK -17, 4-Cycle, Air-Cooled model Airplane Engine, designed by Peter Tarn and built by Dietmar Kolb, Germany, 2004

Dietmar Kolb’s model engine is designed to burn methanol on glow ignition. It has a bore of 13.5mm and a stroke of 11.4mm for a total displacement of 1.63cc. It will spin its 8 x 4 propeller up to 12,000 revolutions per minute.

In October, 2014, Peter Tarn sent the following information regarding the design:

"A small batch of these engines was produced in Germany by Dietmar Kolb to my design, which utilises the crankcase, crankshaft, piston, and cylinder of the popular Russian MK-17 diesel of 1.49cc capacity. I still have the prototype, which I designed and built as a one-off exercise in 2002-2003, here at Darlington, UK.

My prototype was photographed by Ken Croft for inclusion in one of Ron Chernich’s on-line articles, (New Zealand), in 2003. Dietmar Kolb and the late Heiner Neuman then contacted me from Germany and requested the drawings, which I happily passed to both parties. I was pleasantly surprised, a year later, to find that a batch had been produced in Germany from my drawings and distributed around the world.

268—Elto Cub, 1/3-Scale Outboard Boat Motor, by Ted Maciag, FL 2005 

The Elto Cub was manufactured in 1940 by the Evinrude Light Twin Outboard Co. It was a single-cylinder, water-cooled two-cycle with a bore of 1.125" and a stroke of 1". It weighed only 8 pounds, was only about 29 inches tall, produced one-half horsepower, and sold for $26.50 in 1940. Oil was mixed with the gasoline for lubrication.

271—RCV 60 Sleeve-Valve Cutaway Engine, designed and built by RCV Engines, US

274—Nano Bee, "World’s Smallest Diesel Engine," built by Chris Hans Valentine and Ronald Valentine, FL, 2011

Ronald Valentine’s goal is to build the smallest operational diesel engine in the world. His Nano Bee measures merely 7/8 of an inch long with a bore and stroke of only 2mm adding up to a total displacement of only .006cc or .00037 cu in. Under Ron’s guidance Chris Valentine exhibited great skill in his machining techniques as he produced this Nano Bee. He machined it completely from aluminum and steel bar stock with some tolerances held to one ten-thousandth of an inch (1/10,000" or 0.0001"). The engine will spin a 1-1/4 x 1 inch aluminum propeller up to 12,800 revolutions per minute.      

275—Sorrel Two-Cylinder Model Boat Engine, designed and built by Col. James Sorrel, CA, 1960’s

285—Single-Cylinder, 4-Cycle Air-Cooled Engine, builder unknown, date unknown

292—Elto Pal Outboard Boat Motor, built by Evinrude Light Twin Outboard Co., circa 1940 

In 1920 Ole Evinrude and his wife Bess re-entered the outboard motor business with their new company named Elto (Evinrude Light Twin Outboard Co.).  The Elto PAL was manufactured between 1937 and 1941; this single cylinder water-cooled motor is only 22 inches tall, weighs about 14 pounds, and produces about 1HP. The “Pal” was discontinued in 1941 and the “Elto” brand name was discontinued shortly after.

295—Miniature Spark Plugs, produced by Dale Detrich, OH, 2005

Dale uses Corian for the insulators in his miniature spark plugs. This modern-day material developed by DuPont is commonly used for kitchen countertops but due to its superb machining characteristics it has become popular for miniature engine builders who prefer to make their own spark plugs. The material’s limiting factors of thermal expansion and heat resistance (about 212F) make it suitable for engines with lower compression, lower temperature output, or higher performance engines with very short running sessions.

296—“Rimfire” Spark Plug Prototypes,  by Paul Knapp, AZ, 1993

The first prototype (left front) is the surface-gap plug responsible for the “Rimfire” name and logo. The logo was designed by the late Chuck Driscol of Mesa AZ. All of the prototypes and early test samples were fabricated from Macor machinable ceramic.

About Rimfire Spark Plugs...

Paul Knapp designed a new 1/4-32 miniature spark plug in 1993 for the model airplane industry. The “Rimfire” name was derived from his first design; a surface-gap racing plug that performed exceptionally well at high speed but was too small to retain enough heat at low speed to prevent fouling. After several electrode designs, public demand led to the typical single ground electrode so the builder could change the gap for different applications. In 1994, hand made samples were sent to many model racing enthusiasts in exchange for their reports on performance and/or failures. This valuable information was used to improve performance and reliability as Paul developed his new spark plug. By 1995, Rimfire spark plugs were used worldwide, and many were undergoing rigorous testing by several Aerospace companies such as XCOR Aerospace, Austrian Aerospace, German Aerospace, and NASA. The popularity among the model engine builders, the model airplane industry, and the need for different applications led to a variety of sizes and styles. 

297—The Mini Tether Car Racer, produced by Scotty Hewitt, CA, circa 2000

Scotty custom fitted a Gasparin G-10 (CO₂) motor into a Matchbox No. 52 race car to produce this tiny functional tether car. The instructions require you to secure the suction cup by moistening slightly and then attach the cable. The car should run between 10 and 20 laps depending on the gas charge, temperature, humidity, etc. Scotty notes, as a matter of interest, the car will have traveled over 90 feet in a 15 lap run.

298—Beginner’s Kits for New Machinists, sold by American Edelstaal circa 1975

American Edelstaal (distributers of the Unimat lathe in the USA) provided beginner’s kits designed to give the new users a project to help get started in machining. Mike Showah purchased the kits for that reason, but he quickly moved on to other (more complex) projects and never got back to these. The kits are relatively small; the truck is about 4.5 inches long and includes bits of metal stock, a few gears, hardware, and instructions. The steam powered truck included a small “Tonka Toy” van so you could build an authentic looking steam powered vehicle. Click or copy and paste the following link to see one of these rare little trucks in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHk2ONOMMQU .

Exhibits added October 2011

97—Edwards Two-Cylinder Supercharged Opposed Model Aircraft Engine, designed by Forrest Edwards, 1990's.

Forrest Edwards built and flew scale model airplanes and engineered miniature engines. He wanted to produce a small, lightweight and powerful miniature engine for the large scale model aircraft racing circuit. To maximize the horsepower Edwards equipped his twin-cylinder engine with his own custom-engineered supercharger, a device for raising the pressure in an internal combustion engine.

This one-of-a-kind prototype runs on unleaded gasoline with spark ignition and a dry sump lubrication system. With its 1-3/4" bore and 1-1/4" stroke the supercharged twin produces approximately 15 horsepower at 7500 RPM using a 24-16 propeller.

244, 245, 246—Valentine Four-Cycle Model Airplane Engine Display, designed and built by Ronald Valentine, FL 1980s

283—Seidel Prototype Radial Engine, by Wolfgang Seidel, Germany, early 1980's

Wolfgang Seidel designed and built several custom radial engine. The ST540, ST770 and ST996 were among the smaller series of radial engines that were used in one-fifth scale and one-fourth-scale model aircraft. These engines varied in size from about 8 inches to 11 inches in diameter.

286, 287, 288—"Soda Gas" (CO₂) Engines, by Stefan Gasparin, Czech Republic, 1972

Mr. Gasparin began building CO₂ engines in 1972. He designed and built over 60 variations from 1 through 18 cylinders including single-cylinder, inline, opposed flat, “V,” rotary and radial configurations. He was registered in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1989 for producing the world's smallest CO₂ engine.

(Photo 1) All three engines are on custom wood stands with a pressure tank mounted to the base.

(Photo 2) The 3-cylinder G160TS has a bore of 7mm and a stroke of  4.2mm and weighs 33 grams.

(Photo 3) The 9-cylinder G24NR is a rotary rather than a radial engine. That means that the crankshaft is fixed to the airplane's firewall and the entire engine rotates around the crankshaft, with the cylinders spinning at the same rate as the propeller. This was a common design for early aircraft in WWI. The bore on each cylinder of this engine is 3.175mm and stroke is 3mm. It weighs just 34.5 grams.

(Photo 4) The G24NN two-row 18-cylinder radial engine features a bore in each cylinder of 3.175mm and the stroke is 3mm. It weights 53 grams. Only 19 of these engines were built before the company was closed in 2006. This one, #20 was custom built by Mr. Gasparin just for Paul Knapp's Miniature Engineering Museum in 2011.

289—Gasparin CO₂ Micro Flyer with G2.6 “World's Smallest CO₂ Engine,” by Stefan Gasparin, Czech Republic, 1972

Gary worked for years designing the patterns to build a scale Dodge Viper V-10 engine. A fire at the foundry destroyed all the patterns for his previous 427 V8 and the Viper project. After much despair, Gary was able to recover part of the pattern for the Viper block, shorten it to 8 cylinders and begin work on a new engine. After several more years more work, Gary was able to introduce the Stinger 609. It displaces 6.09 cubic inches or almost 100 cc and is the culmination of almost 30 years of knowledge gained in the designing and construction of model engines. The new Stinger possesses no parts used in prior V-8 engines. The bore is 1.00", with a .970" stroke. It weighs about 11.25 pounds and measures approximately 14" long (from the front timing belt to the end of the transmission), 6" wide and 8-1/4" tall. The supercharged version shown here is about 10" tall. Among the numerous innovative features like large oval shaped intake ports, "D" shaped exhaust ports, and investment cast parts, two bold attributes stand tall: the dry sump pressurized oiling system and a full ignition system. The engine even has a user replaceable oil filter and includes a built-in electric starter as standard equipment.

291—Miniature of New York Radial Engine, built by Miniature Aircraft Corporation of New York, circa 1940

300—Novi V8 1/4 Scale Sprint Car, designed and built by Jim Riggle, ND, mid 1980s. L = 37", W = 16", H = 12"

Jim used this sprint car as the test platform for his new model of the NOVI V8 engine. He made the patterns and molds for the castings and machined all of the parts to make it operational; his ultimate goal was to eventually design and develop a fully functional 1/4-scale “Indy” NOVI powered race car. The engine is a water-cooled DOHC (Dual Over Head Cam) 4-cycle with a one-inch bore and stroke. It sports a peristaltic pressure and scavenge pump for pressurized dry-sump lubrication, two peristaltic fuel pumps, a water pump, eight downdraft butterfly-type carburetors with velocity stacks, and it is designed to burn methanol on electronic spark ignition. The serpentine timing belt insures positive drive to all accessories and pumps. The car is set up for radio control and it incorporates a Columbia type quick-change differential rear end.   

Courtesy of Ed Miller

The real thing...The full-scale versions of these cars normally run on 1/4 and 1/2 mile dirt ovals and can turn lap times in the 14-15-second range for a 1/2 mile track. For example, the lap record at Knoxville raceway on the 1/2 mile oval is in 14.07 seconds. That is a lap average of almost 128 MPH on dirt, much of which is done sliding totally sideways with full-lock oversteer! Speeds on the straightaway can top 140 MPH. The power-to-weight ratio with 650 HP in a 1400 pound car is similar to that of a Formula 1 car.

Exhibits added November 2011

02P—Edwards 5-Cylinder Radial Model-Aircraft Engine, designed and built by Forest Edwards, early 1980s, L=12". W=12", H=13", Weight = 11 lb-12 oz

Forest Edwards built and flew scale-model airplanes and engineered miniature engines.  He won numerous awards for his scale airplanes, engines and flying skills.

In the early 1980s, Edwards designed and developed this 5-cylinder radial engine to power his 1/4-scale Fleet model airplane, based on the 1930 Fleet Biplane.  He received many requests to manufacture the engine, so between 1982 and 1994, Edwards produced 30 engines.  Many were installed into model airplanes and some are still being flown today.

The 5-cylinder radial burns regular gasoline, incorporates a dry-sump lubrication system and produces more than six horsepower.  In his last few engines, Edwards added a centrifugal advance in the distributor, and a crankshaft-driven supercharger for maximum performance.  Edwards’ engines are completely machined from 7075 aircraft-grade aluminum and are perhaps the most reliable model radial engines built to date.

61—Micro Cirrus 4-Cylinder Inline Engine, (water cooled) designed by Merritt Zimmerman, 1974, 1/12-scale models built in Ukraine, 2001 and 2003, L=5", W=6", H=4"

Two variations of the model Cirrus engine are these micro engines from Ukraine.  They run on methanol with glow ignition and are among the smallest multi-cylinder 4-cycle engines in the world.  The custom glow plugs are only a 5mm hex with a 3.5mm thread.  The engines are less than 4 inches long and have a mere .5cc displacement in each cylinder, making the 4-cylinder only 2cc and the V8 only 4cc total displacement.  Initial test results proved these micro engines would spin their 7- and 8-inch propellers to 13,000 revolutions per minute.

88—Schillings 3- Cylinder (FAN) Engine, designed and built by Hubert Schillings, Germany, circa 1975, L=8", W=9", H=6", Weight = 5.0 lb

Hubert Schillings designed several miniature engines from 1970 to 1980.  Configurations vary from 1-cylinder aircraft engines to 2-, 3-, 4-, 6- and 8-cylinder inline and V-type engines for both aircraft and automobiles.  Most of his engines were machined from aluminum bar stock, although a few were machined from magnesium.

The 3-cylinder (fan-configuration) Dual-Over-Head-Cam (DOHC) engine has all cylinders above the center line, but uses a master rod and 2 articulating rods like those used in a radial engine. Each cylinder has two valves (one for intake and one for exhaust) and the camshafts are belt driven 1:2 off of the crankshaft. Two camshafts operate the valves in each cylinder head.  One camshaft operates the intake valves and the other the exhaust valves, thus “dual overhead cams.”

89—Schillings V-Twin DOHC Engine, designed and built by Hubert Schillings, Germany, circa 1975, L=8", W=9", H=6"

Hubert Schillings designed several miniature engines from 1970 to 1980.  Configurations vary from 1-cylinder aircraft engines to 2-, 3-, 4-, 6- and 8-cylinder inline and V-type engines for both aircraft and automobiles.  Most of his engines were machined from aluminum bar stock. The crankcase on this two-cylinder is one of only a few that he machined from magnesium.

111—Mike GR6-120 Six-Cylinder Two-Cycle Radial Model Airplane Engine, designed and built by Mike Goldowsky, early 1990s, L=7", W=8", H=9", Weight = 6 lb-6oz

113—Micro Cirrus V8 Engine, (water cooled) designed by Merritt Zimmerman, 1974, 1/12-scale models built in Ukraine, 2001 and 2003, L=6", W=3", H=7"

Two variations of the model Cirrus engine are these micro engines from Ukraine.  They run on methanol with glow ignition and are among the smallest multi-cylinder 4-cycle engines in the world.  The custom glow plugs are only a 5mm hex with a 3.5mm thread.  The engines are less than 4 inches long and have a mere .5cc displacement in each cylinder, making the 4-cylinder only 2cc and the V8 only 4cc total displacement.  Initial test results proved these micro engines would spin their 7- and 8-inch propellers to 13,000 revolutions per minute.

301—"Skylark" Two-Cycle Marine Engine, designed and built by Gerald Smith, UK, 1980s 

301—"Magpie" Two-Cycle Marine Engine, designed and built by Gerald Smith, UK, circa 1946-1949 

Exhibits Added October 2012

306—Canon Kit, 13th Century navy Mount, distributed by American Edelstaal (L=7", W=5")

American Edelstaal, distributors of the Unimat lathe, provided beginner's kits designed to give the new lathe user simple projects to help get started in machining. Mike Showah purchased this kit for that reason, and, when finished with this one quickly moved on to other more complex projects. The kits provided all the materials and drawings necessary to finish the project. Include is the original kit box.

314—Gasparin G63-V12 12-cylinder Soda Gas (CO₂) Engine, designed and built by Stefan Gasparin, Czech Republic, 2012

318—Royer Model Airplane Engine, manufactured by Royer Motors, Pasadena, CA, 1932 (L-7", H=7")

319—GIL Model Airplane Engine, manufactured by GIL Manufacturing, Chicago, IL, 1922 (L=9")

320—Model Craftsman 4-cycle Airplane Engine, designer unknown, builder unknown, 1938 (L=4", H=5", W=3")

331—Motorcycle made from watch parts, designed and  built by Dmitriy Khristenko, Florida, 2011 (L=6", W=3", H=3.5")

332—Quatrocycle made from watch parts, designed and  built by Dmitriy Khristenko, Florida, 2011 (L=5.5", W=2.4", H=2.5")

333 334

335 336

337 338

333, 334, 335, 336, 337, 338 and 339—Custom built engines by Fred Kunze

Throughout Fred's engineering career in the aviation industry he spent much of his free time in the design, development and production of model airplane engines. The best known model engine he designed was his K-35 that he first produced in 1976. There was great interest in his K-35 and the demand grew rapidly, which lead him to manufacturing a total of 39 engines. The last five have finned heads instead of solid aluminum heads. He made the patterns for casting the crankcases, rear cover and timer assemblies and machined everything else from solid bar stock.

All of the K-35s had two exhaust ports with both front and rear bypasses. All were 2-cycle and designed to burn methanol and castor oil on spark ignition.

340—Midget Gas Engine, builder unknown, date unknown (L=9", W=6", H=8.5")

Construction articles for this engine were published in Popular Mechanics Shop Notes (Volume XXXIV) in 1938. The first step was to produce wood patterns from the plans provided and either make your own castings or take the patterns to a foundry to have them make the castings. Once the castings were in hand, mechanical drawings would allow the builder to machine the engine parts to completion. This engine was produced from cast iron castings. It has a bore and stroke of 1.250, burns gasoline and the crankcase holds oil for splash lubrication. The rocker arms must be lubricated before operation. The engine was rated at 1/6 horsepower at maximum speed, but the maximum rpm was not specified.

341—Gypsy Major MK I, Designed and built by Reinhold Krieger, Germany, 2002 (L=14", W=8", H=10")

344—Pratt & Whitney 28-cylinder, 4-row Radial Engine, designed and buit by Dennis Fadden, Canada, 1980's (L=17", W=17, H=17")

The model was designed to operate on gasoline and spark ignition and sports a 12-inch, 3-blade adjustable pitch propeller. Dennis began the project in the mid-1980's but moved on to other projects and never got back to this one. The engine (without cylinder heads) measure 6 inches in diameter and is 21 inches long including the propeller hub. The crankshaft is assembled inside and includes gears for distributors and a 3-to-1 planetary gear set driving the propeller. The rear case houses two oil pumps for dry sump lubrication and a centrifugal supercharger to increase pressure to the cylinders.

The full-size engine designated R-4360 (4360 cubic inches) Wasp Major is compose of four rows of seven-cylinder radial engines. Each row is staggered to assist the distribution of cool air to the rear rows of cylinders during operation. Sheet metal shrouds encased the heads and cylinders to direct the flow of air around and through the rows of cylinders. The engine was dubbed the "Corn Cob" due to its appearance. It was used in such aircraft as the Consolidated B-37, Boeing Stratocruiser, B-50, 377, Spruce Goose and the Super Corsair.

351—Panther Pup, designed by Bill Reichart, built by Steve Myers, CA, Circa 2000 (L=15", W=22", H=12")

The engine is an air-cooled, four-cylinder, four-cycle designed to burn gasoline on spark ignition. Oil is added to the crankcase for splash lubrication but the external rocker arm assemblies require manual lubrication before operation. it is comprised of four bronze castings with all other components machined from brass, steel and aluminum bar stock. It has a bore of 1 inch and a stroke of 7/8 inch, measure 7 inches wide by 12 inches long and weighs 18 pounds.

Steve's showpiece indludes an array of duplicate parts neatly displayed in a drawer beneath the engine. His intent was not to run the engine, but rather to exhibit the effort it took to produce such a showpiece. The quality of his machining and the design and execution of the display stand is unparalleled and portray perfection at its highest level.

Exhibits Added August 2013

347—Single Cylinder OHC Air-Cooled Demonstration Engine, Germany, 1990s (L=8", W=16", H=8", Wt=8 oz)

358—JEMMA 7 Cylinder Radial Engine, built by Bob Haagenson, CA, (L=13", W=9", H=10", Wt=11 lb 6 oz on base)

Bob built about fifty model engines ranging from single cylinder (hit and miss) stationary engines to four, six, and eight cylinder racing engines and eventually a Rolls Royce V12 Merlin aircraft engine. All were designed and built to burn gasoline on spark ignition and several were built from his personal designs.

361—Kalfus Designed 30cc (.18ci) Tether Boat Engine, designed and built by Ed Kalfus, MI circa 1940 (L=9", W=4.5", H=7", Wt=4 lb 6 oz)

374—15cc (.90ci) Radio Control Boat Engin , designed and built by Ed Kalfus, MI, 1960s (L=6.5", W=6", H=5", Wt=2 lb 4 oz)

375—10cc (.60ci) Tether Boat Engine, designed and built by Ed Kalfus, MI, 1950s (L=5", W=3.5", H=5.5", Wt=1 lb 10 oz) 

376—Associated Hired Man, Paul Briesch Castings, built by Herb Hodapp, MN, 2000 (L=19", W=8", H=9", Wt=17 lb 12oz)   

Herb Hodapp was best known for the reproduction model engine (Champion) spark plugs he produced since the days the original manufacturer’s ceased production. Less known is that he was an engine builder as well. In the early 2000s he produced a half dozen these ¼-scale Hired Man stationary engines from Paul Briesch castings. It has a bore of 7/8 inch and stroke of 1inch, burns gasoline (or Coleman) on spark ignition, and there are numerous oilers and grease cups strategically located for proper lubrication.  

377-380—Schroeder Display of Multi-Cylinder Cox Engines, designed and built by Roger Schroeder (4-engine display—L=4", W=7", H=8.5", Wt=1 lb 10 oz)

393—Gasparin Flat Four CO₂ Airplane Engine, date unknown

1/4 Scale Wright Brothers Flyer by Robert Cooper

Paul Knapp (left) and Paul Healy place the model, still on it's support rack, onto the fork lift to lift it up for attachment to the ceiling.

1) Orville Wright at the controls. Note the sliding platform under his hips. By sliding his hips from side to side, a linkage warped the wings to allow the plane to bank. (This was before the invention of ailerons.) The head and hands were specially made for Robert by George Marsden.

2) A 1/4 scale model of the engine developed by Wright employee Charlie Taylor to power the craft. It had no carburetor and used a chamber to vaporize the gas/air mixture as the gas dripped slowly in. the mixture was then sucked directly into the combustion chamber when the piston went down.

3. An anemometer (air speed indicator), a stopwatch and a distance gauge hooked to measure propeller revolutions were activated at the start of the flight. This left a record of speed, time of flight and distance.

Exhibits added February 2016

304/450—Stolen Eric Whittle Cirrus, Reward Poster and Whittle Robin Engine Reward Prize

Eric Whittle (UK) won first place with his 1/9-scale Cirrus aero engine at the North American Model Engineering Show (NAMES) in Wyandotte MI. While visiting with friends at the show his engine was stolen from the awards table on April 24, 1994. Immediately members and friends of the model engineering community began to offer assistance and funds for a reward.

Jim Schiller (WA) produced, printed, and mailed hundreds of posters with a reward of $2,500 for the safe return of Eric’s engine. He mailed them to hobby shops, show owners, model engine and engineering clubs, newspapers, magazines, and virtually anyone associated with model building and model engineering. Jim recovered Eric’s engine about 6 months later in November of 1994.

The next year in April of 1995 Eric returned to NAMES in Wyandotte MI where Jim returned the engine to him. The “Robin” is Eric’s custom made award presented to Jim for his extraordinary effort, recovery, and the successful return of the Cirrus engine.

Designed by Edgar T. Westbury, England, 1940s, builder unknown, 1950's

346—Unknown German 1-cylinder .60 engine

Germany, builder unknown, date unknown

364—Franklin opposed 6-cylinder airplane engine

Designed and built by Dennis Fadden, Canada, 1990's

371—Miniature flash steam engine

Builder unknown, date unknown

396, 397, 398—Three Hirtenberger Patronen VT21 engines on wooden display stand

Developed by Hirtenberger Patronen, Austria 

The prototype on the right is manually machined from aluminum and steel bar stock; it is signed by "Pesch" (its creator) on the side of the crankcase and is believed to be the first HP VT engine built. It is physically smaller than the production engines bearing a bore of 14mm and a stroke of 13mm making the total displacement only 20cc. Another notable difference is that it has an oil reservoir in the crankcase with a filler cap in back of the engine.

Designed and Built by Doug Parker, VT, 2014

407—"Lo-Boy" Cox .049 tether car

Designed and Built by Doug Parker, VT, 2014

412—Bobber V-twin custom motorcycle

Designed and built by Stephen J. King, FL, 2014

Measuring only 13 inches long this miniature bike is powered by a custom built 7cc side-valve 120 degree V twin with exposed lifters driven by a centrally located camshaft. It sports a pair of single-butterfly, spray-bar, type carburetors and it is designed to burn methanol on glow ignition. The frame is based on a 1947 Harley Knuckle Head with a much wider rake and includes a Harley inspired front end, functional lights, drum brakes, clutch, and transmission.

414—"Sprinter" Cox .049 tether car

Designed and built by Doug Parker, VT, 2014

415, 87, 413—Three Morton M1 engines on wooden display stand

Engines developed by Dennis Fadden and Bruce Satra

Dennis Fadden of Canada designed several model engines that used Bruce Satra’s Morton castings. They worked together on many Morton variations including this single cylinder model. Dennis machined his first M1 from aluminum bar stock and later made castings of the crankcase. When finished he sent the M1 (left) to Bruce for his consideration and testing. Bruce was impressed with the power output and began to develop his own version for production. He produced new castings and sent a set to Dennis to prove the design and build an engine for testing (center). It was easy to build and a good runner so Bruce offered it in kit form to the model engine community.

416—Shovelnose Hydro tether boat w/ 2-cylinder engine

Builder unknown, Date Unknown

418—"Dragonfly" Cox .049 tether car

By Doug Parker, VT, 2014

419—'32 Ford tether car w/ Nelson 65 engine

By Marshall Ziegert, CA, 2001

420—Pegasus R9-2800 radial aircraft engine

By Authentic Scale, US, 2014

421—"So What Speed Shop" Ford OS powered tether car

By Chris Garcia CA, 2003

This aluminum tether car was custom built by Chris for Ed Hegarty of California and sports Chris’s custom wire wheels.  Below is an excerpt from Street Rod Magazine, November 2003.

424—Berger 2-cylce radial aircraft engine

Designed and built by Lee Berger, CA, circa 2001

425—Duesenberg tether car and engine

Designed and built by Wayne Short, CA, 2010

425A—Aluminum Casting kit for Duesenberg tether racecar

429—"A-bone" Cox .049 tether car

By Doug Parker, VT, 2015

435—Frisco Standard 1/4 scale marine engine

Built by Ron Schindele, AZ 2013

438—"Pacifier" V4 water cooled engine by Bob Shores

Designed and built by Bob Shores, FL, 2004

Bob Shores was known worldwide for his miniature engineering designs and model engine kits. He began to develop this V4 in 2003 and finished it in 2004. Castings for the crankcase, heads, and bell housing were produced from his hand-made patterns and he machined the balance of the parts from bar stock. It measures a mere 5.5 inches wide, 6.5 inches long and 6 inches high and weighs about 3 pounds. It has a bore and stroke of .625 inch and burns gasoline on spark ignition. Water circulation is accomplished by a small geared water pump and the internal parts are lubricated by wet sump splash; the rocker assemblies require manual lubrication before operation.

440—"Bosh" water cooled inline 4 engine

By Bob Shores, FL, 1995

442, 443, 444, 445—Four Atwood Crown Champion model engines on wood display stand

By Bill Atwood, 1940's

In 1939 Bill Atwood designed his line of 10cc racing engines known as the Crown Champions to compete in the popular model racing circuits. The Blue Crown, with its bore of .925 inch and stroke of .900 inch, produces 1/4+ horsepower at 10,000 to 15,000 revolutions per minute. This .603 cu. in. engine is designed for model car racing and supports an updraft carburetor and a downdraft carburetor. It came with the flywheel and was designed to burn gasoline on spark ignition.

The Red Crown is virtually identical to the Blue Crown but utilizes only the updraft carburetor. It was designed for model cars and also included the flywheel.

The Green Crown is equipped for flying and performs well with 13 inch and 14 inch propellers. It sports the same updraft carburetor as the Red and Blue Crown, has an integral mounted fuel tank, and included a serrated prop hub and washer.

The Purple Crown advertised in the brochure was similar to the Blue Crown but incorporated two downdraft carburetors for boat applications. No examples of the Purple Crown have been found.

447—John Deere "E" stationary engine, 3/10 scale

Built by Bob Haagenson, CA, circa 2008  

448—Miniature Cam Grinder

Designed and built by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2004  

The unique feature of Ron’s cam grinder is an indexing cog gear that automatically controls the down-feed of the grinding wheel at about .001 per revolution of the cam. This feature allows the operator to leave the machine momentarily while the machine continues its operation. It uses standard 6 inch x 1-1/4 grinding wheels, sports a cam pattern degree wheel with a taper-lock, a feed-jog switch, and a ball bearing cam follower: The follower arm can be locked in the up position for loading and unloading, or in the down position for transport and storage.

449—Imaginary Revell model kit box for Ron Bement's '32 Ford hotrod

Designed and fabricated by Craig Augustin, CO, 2007

451—1/4 scale 1931 Aeronca E113 aero engine and propeller

Designed and built by Les Chenery, UK, 2000

This quarter-scale model measures 8-1/2 inches long, 11 inches wide, and 9 inches high; it has a bore and stroke of 1-1/8 inch for a total displacement of 2.2 cu. in. (36cc). The engine will spin its 20 inch x 10 inch pitch propeller at 2800 revolutions per minute in counter-clockwise rotation. It is designed to burn gasoline on spark ignition and sports a pressurized wet sump lubrication system. 

453—"Super Cyclone" wooden tether boat

Designed and built by Robert Lester, MI, 2015

478—Miller DOHC water cooled race engine

Designed and built by Ed Miller, WY, circa late 1990’s

479—Miller 2-cylinder DOHC race engine

Designed and built by Ed Miller, WY, circa early 2000’s

480—Miller 2-cylinder, 2-cycle race engine

Designed and built by Ed Miller, WY, circa early 2000’s

481—1/3 scale Miller flathead V8 in progress

Designed and built by Ed Miller, WY, circa early 2006

Exhibits added November 2016

Harry A. Pingstone

485—Pingstone Tether Boat

Built by Harry A. Pingstone, Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), 1933

The boat measures 12 inches wide by 40 inches long and is powered by Mr. Pingstone's custom-made 30cc air-cooled overhead cam engine. The engine measures 10 inches high, 9 inches wide, and 5 inches long including the flywheel. With a bore of 32mm and a stroke of 37mm this 29.75cc (1.8 cu in) engine burns gasoline on spark ignition. It utilizes a pressurized dry-sump lubrication system, a pressurized fuel system; Mr. Pingstone’s custom designed gear-driven over head cam, and his custom-designed recoil starter. He fabricated all of the parts including the castings for the crankcase and gear boxes and machined everything else from bar stock. The head (as well as the cylinder) is machined from solid cast iron with 3/4 inch ports and manganese valves measuring 7/8 inch in diameter. The valves are set at 45 degrees, each captured by two springs and retained with split collets.

486—“Coupster” Tether Car

Designed and built by Doug Parker, VT, 2016

Designed and built by Doug Parker, VT, 2016

John Storoz

489—“FIRE BOMB” Radio Controlled Hydroplane

Designed and built by John Storoz, MI, circa 1954

This Hydroplane was modeled after the 1950's style Gold Cup speed boats and was completely hand crafted by Mr. Storoz. John was a tool and die maker in the Detroit area and he started this project in his basement in 1954. It measures about 50 inches long, 24 inches wide, 10 inches high at the engine, and 17 inches high from the bottom of the rudder to the top of the tail fin, which doubles as a fuel tank. His custom engine is 11 inches long, 8 inches wide and 6 inches high with a bore of 1-1/8 inch and a stroke of 7/8 inch for a total capacity of 7.2 cu in (118 cc). The engine is connected to the propeller shaft by a chain just ahead of the flywheel that houses a centrifugal clutch. The flywheel is configured for rope starting. 

Mr. Storoz began making patterns, molds, and castings for the engine and then machined the components on a small Atlas horizontal milling machine, lathe, and drill press. It appears he finished the project in the early 1960's. 

Above photos show model on takeoff cradle. This falls away when the plane becomes airborn. It lands on a metal skid glued to the bottom of the fuselage. The cradle is not usually found on these older models.

491—DynaJet Pulse-Jet Powered Speed Plane

Builder unknown, date unknown

At the end of WWII modelers began designing and building miniature pulse jets to power their u-control airplanes. DynaJet was one of the first companies to produce commercial pulse jets and their engine quickly became the standard for modelers. It is a simple valve type engine that produces substantial power for the weight and it will burn almost any flammable liquid for fuel.

492—Hybrid Dragster Tether Car

By Doug Parker, VT, 2016

493—McCoy Teardrop Tether Car

Designed by Dick McCoy CA, 1946  

495—“Rat Rod” Tether Truck 

Designed and built by Doug Parker, VT, 2016

Ron Bement

Photo: Norma Garramone

496—Challenger Flathead V8

Custom built by Ron Bement, CO, 2006

Ron’s Challenger includes several innovations and modifications not found in conventional Challenger engines; he eliminated most of the castings and replaced them with his custom machined parts. This one includes a custom made 6-blade fan with airfoil blades that he produced on his EDM machine. The new gear case in front not only supports the distributor drive, but also the fuel and oil pumps and a robust water pump bracket. His high capacity water pump delivers an even flow to both cylinder banks and through his custom aluminum radiator; and the finishing touch was the addition of his signature trademark “MOON” accelerator pedal. The engine has a bore of 1 inch and a stroke of 1 inch for a total displacement of 5 cubic inches. He finished the engine in 2006 and demonstrated it at many model engineering shows and hot rod events.

In 2011 he disassembled it, added two main bearings for a total of five, and fabricated a 90 degree crankshaft to replace the standard 180 degree crankshaft. It is a strong runner and produces a notable cadence much different from other Challenger engines.

497—“OFFY” 270 ¼-Scale with Fuel Injection

Designed and built by Ron Bement, CO, 2004

The Offy engines were originally sold for marine use until 1930 when one was installed in a race car and set a new world’s speed record of 145 mph. Over night they became popular in racing circuits and were commonly used in midgets and sprint cars into the 1960s; they were available with carburetion or Hillborn fuel injection. Highly modified versions of these compact 4-cylinder DOHC engines could produce as much as 3 hp per cubic inch.  

498—4-Port Riley Model A Racing Engine OHV Conversion

Designed and built by Ron Bement, CO, 2014

In the early 1930s George Riley produced 2- and 4-port overhead valve conversions for early 4-cylinder flathead engines in an attempt to increase performance, horsepower and speeds. They were commonly used on the Ford model T, A, and B engines as well as a few other makes. The lack of good metallurgy combination with increased horsepower created reliability issues with the heads during long grueling races. As a result Riley heads were better suited for short races and became a standard for small oval track racing.      

499—ARDUN V8 Flathead Ford OHV Conversion

Designed and built by Ron Bement, CO, 2011

Ron’s passion for early hot rods and engines led him to build this miniature 1/3-scale V8 with the ARDUN overhead valve conversion. These overhead conversions were developed by Zora Arkus Duntov (1930s) for use on the Ford V8s to prevent persistent over-heating caused by “valve-in-block” flathead designs. Placing the valves overhead within hemispherical chambers also allowed for dramatic increases in the V8s power; often in excess of 300 hp.

Exhibits added December 2017

518 - Custom Single Cylinder .60 Model Aero Engine

by Charles “Chuck” Harty, CO, circa 1990s

519 - Cirrus 1/6-Scale Model Airplane Engine

by Charles “Chuck” Harty, CO, circa 1990s

520 - Hercules Twin Cylinder Utility Engine

designed by Bob Shores, built by Charles Harty, CO, circa 1990s

521 - 1/4-ScaleCirrus Model Airplane Engine

Merritt Zimmerman design, built by Charles Harty, CO, circa 1990s

522 - Wright Whirlwind J5 Model Airplane Engine

Carl- Eric Olsryd design, built by Charles Harty, CO, circa 1990s

523 - Kinner Radial Model Airplane Engine

built by Charles Harty, CO, circa 1990s

Chuck used construction articles published in Strictly IC magazine to produce his version of this 1/4 scale Kinner K5 radial engine. It has a 1.062 bore and a 1.312 stroke for a total displacement of 5.8 cu. in. It is sports a dry sump lubrication system, burns gas on spark ignition, and will spin a 22 x 10 propeller up to 4,500 rpm.

524 - Edward’s Style 5 Cylinder Radial Airplane Engine

built by Chuck Harty, CO, circa 1990s

525 - Hodgeson 7 Cylinder Radial Airplane Engine

built by Chuck Harty, CO, circa 1990s

526 - Jemma 7 Cylinder Radial Airplane Engine

built by Chuck Harty, CO, circa 1990s

527 - Custom 5 Cylinder Radial Airplane Engine

designed and built by Chuck Harty, CO, circa 1990s

528 - Heinen 5-Cylinder Radial Engine

built by Charles “Chuck” Harty, CO, circa 1990s

530 - Powerhouse Stationary Engine

designed by Jerry Howell, built by Michael Gombert, 2003

531 - Red Wing 1/4-Scale Stationary Engine

by Tim Junk, CO circa 2000

Tim purchased 12 casting kits with the intent to sell completed engines to help pay for the kits and an engine or two he would keep. His inspiration came from an old family photo he found of his great grandfather standing next to the full size Red Wing engine on his farm. When Tim completed the engines and sold what he needed to recover his costs.

It measures 14.5 inches long, 9.5 inches wide, and 13.5 inches tall including the oiler and base. It has a bore of 1.25 inch and a stroke of 2 inches; and it burns gasoline on spark ignition that is produced by a buzz coil at the rear of the engine.

543 - Gem 1 Stationary Engine

By Dwight Giles, CA, 2005

546 - Custom Engineered 2 Cylinder Hit-n-Miss Engine

designed and built by Ramon Hoagland, CO, 2014

547 - Otto-Langen Atmospheric Engine

built by Ramon Hoagland, CO, circa 2000

The engine is 1/7-scale and measures about 11 inches around by 24 inches high. It is a model of the world’s first production combustion engine. The piston starts at the bottom of the cylinder. Rather than compressing the fuel/air mixture the Otto engine simply raises the piston slightly to draw in the fuel air mixture. Then a slide-valve closes off the intake port and ignites the flammable mixture forcing the piston to the top of the cylinder. The piston, which is connected to a one-way clutch and rack gear, is pulled down by gravity causing the flywheel and pulley to rotate.

Exhibits added March 2019

533 - HD Special Miniature .05 Powered Tether Car

by Doug Parker, VT, 2017

544 - GRAY Horizontal Stationary Engine

by Dwight Giles, CA, 2005

549 - "Cricket" Tether Car

by Doug Parker 2017

551 - All American Hot Rod

by Tony Orlando, 2017

564 - Stirling Engine

by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2005

565 - Walking Beam Stirling Engine

by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2008

566 - Model Two-Cycle Two-Cylinder Engine

Designed and built by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2013

567 - Ridders 2-Cycle Vapor Engine

Design by Jan Ridders, built by Ron Schindele, 2017

The engine runs on fuel vapors generated in the tank and has a fuel/air adjustment where the knurled knob attaches to the tank. The timer assembly (located on the drive shaft) combined with the fuel/air adjustment and relatively low compression allows this
engine to maintain extremely low revolutions per minute at idle.

568 - The "Cube" 4-Cycle Model Engine

Designed and built by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2003

569 - Guttu Offy Special

by Ron Guttu, AZ, 2007

572, 573 - JOHN .060 Twin Model Engines, Glow and Diesel

by Jan Garcic, Czech Republic

575 - Profi Water Cooled V-Twin Engine Display

by Dr. Bob Kradjian CA, 2001

576 - Le Rhone 80 HP Rotary Aero Engine

by Ray Williams, New York, 2007

578 - J E Special Tether Car

by Doug Parker, VT, 2018

583 - NASH 25 HP Vertical Twin

designed by Doug Kelley, built by Ramon Hoagland, CO, 2018

584 - BATES AND EDMUNDS 25 HP Vertical Twin

by Ramon Hoagland, CO, 2018

585 -  W &A McONIE & CO Glascow
Angular Oscillating Steam Engine

by Ramon Hoagland, CO. 2017

586 - Open Crank 6, by Ramon Hoagland, CO, 2018

designed by Randall Cox, WO

587 - Loyal Cycle Engine

by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2011

588 - SJ-10 Turbojet Engine

by Mike Early, AZ, circa 1990's

589 - Challenger Flathead V8

by Dick Pretel, CA, 2001

590 - Wall OHV Inline 4

by Dick Pretel, CA, 2004

591 - Overhead Valve Inline Slant 4

by Dick Pretel, CA, 2008

592 - Wall F Head Inline 4

by Dick Pretel, CA, 2001

593 - Challenger Flathead V8

by Ed Miller (WY) and Mike Gombert (CO), 2016

Typical of Ed's engines this Challenger is designed to burn methanol on spark ignition. He developed the fully adjustable carburetor specifically for methanol and the engine will not run on gasoline. Modifications include a solid center bearing block for the crankshaft that also supports a center bearing for the camshaft. The journals on the crankshaft are over size for added strength and the pressure-fed oil lubricates the center bearing for the crankshaft and the camshaft The engine was modified for dry sump lubrication and sports a high volume geared pump that is pressure adjustable. Mike Gombert completed the engine as a tribute to Ed Miller, (his best friend of 46 years) after Ed passed away in 2015. Mr. Miller designed and developed several model engines from 1 cylinder to 8 cylinders and all were alcohol burners designed for high speed. 2019.11.6

Exhibits added November 2019

598 - Fullagar Marine Diesel Opposed Piston Engine

1/32 scale model by Phil Finney, IL, 2004

599 - Parsell & Weed Hit n Miss Engine

1/3 scale model by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2018

600 - Flat Head Water Cooled Inline 4

scratch built by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2015

604 - Custom Two Cylinder Steam Engine

builder unknown, restoration by Ron Schindele

606 - Sports Racer Tether Car

by Doug Parker, VT, 2019

610 - OLDS Stationary Engine 1/4 Scale

by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2019

611 - COSWORTH DFV 1/3 Scale Formula 1 V8 Engine

by Marcel Bouland, NL, 2019

The engine has a bore of 1 inch and a stroke of .826 inch for a total capacity of 4.64 cubic inches. It burns methanol on glow ignition, quickly snaps to 10,000 rpm at full throttle, and produces about 7 hp. See the video.

612 - Little Devil Vertical Stationary Engine

by Michael Barker, NY, 2019

613 - Silver Angel Vertical Stationary Engine

614 - Little Angel Vertical Stationary Engine

615 - Corliss Steam Engine

616 - K&B Engines - Designs of Lud Kading

by Tim and Betty Dannels

616-2 - “BUSTER” K&B Powered Model Airplane

from Tim and Betty Dannels’ Lud Kading Display

617 - K&B Infant 20 in Dealer’s Display Box, 1950

by George Milano, TN, 2018

618 - K&B Torpedo .24 Prototypes
by Lud Kading CA 1946-7

K&B advertised, but never actually produced a ringed .29 engine. Lud Kading built two experimental engines, but it was decided not to go into production. These engines were marked “1-R” and “R29.” All parts except cylinder with webs and piston with rings are the same as the lapped Torpedo .29. (Excerpt from Tim Dannels American Model Engine Encyclopedia, page 127).

620 - “Little Angel” Stationary Engine, Bob Shores Design

Exhibits added February 2020

628 - Atkinson Cycle Engine
by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2011

629 - Loyal Cycle Engine
by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2019

630 - Schindele Custom Four Stroke Engine
by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2017

Exhibits added July 2021

638, 639, 640 - Brodbeck Side Port .60 Tether Car Engines
by John Brodbeck, CA, circa mid 1940s

Tim Dannels issue of the Engine Collectors' Journal, Volume 44-#4, Issue 256 for July 2020, has an interesting article about these little known engines. Word of mouth by model engine collectors over the years says they were designed and built by John Brodbeck of K & B Engines in the mid 40's. Though they appear with a cam drive/propeller flange it is said they were actually designed for tether cars.

The unique side crankcase induction system is timed off the thickness of the crankshaft web. Apparently this feature was effective but required high-tolerance machining to maintain the close fit between the crankshaft web and the induction port.

660 - Dennymite Display
by James and Sally Dunkin, MO

Reginald Denny was an actor producer in the early days of silent movies. He owned a hobby shop on Vine St. In Hollywood and was an avid modeler with a passion for model airplanes. A few years into his business he wanted to build his own model engines for sale but did not have the experience or capability.

He published an offering for model engine makers to produce samples of engines with one requirement; the engine had to run for a 50 hours without any maintenance or repair. Of the companies who submitted samples Denny chose the samples built by Walter Righter who was manufacturing Righter Drone engines for the military war effort.

Walter Righter produced a couple prototypes in his early days of manufacturing drone engines but he rejected them because they did not perform to his satisfaction. He admitted he over-designed the prototypes with too many new features that had never been attempted before, however, his Dennymite prototypes were very successful and lead the way to produce most of the Dennymite line of model engines.

It took many years for Jim and Sally Duncan to accumulate and organize this display. It portrays the history and progression of the Dennymite engines that began with the Sky Charger in 1937 (upper left corner) through the final Dennymite engines produced in 1946.

672 - FINNEY Custom Designed Hit n Miss Engine
by Phil Finney, IL, 1992

673 - QUINCY Hit n Miss Engine
by Phil Finney, IL, 2010

674 - Little ‘Red’ Devil Hit n Miss Engine
by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2020

675 - Schindele Flame Licker
by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2020

676 - Vertical Vapor Hit n Miss Engine
by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2018

677 - Vertical Stirling Engine with Fan
by Ron Schindele, AZ, 2020

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