This 5-cylinder radial airplane engine runs on steam, but can also be hooked up to run on compressed air. The engine includes a wooden propelled with yellow tips. Though normally associated with airplane engines, steam engines can also be built with radial pistons driving a central crankshaft. This engine is also featured in the video below.
One of the first large donations to the Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum was the collection of famed model engine builder Rudy Kouhoupt. Rudy’s niece, Susan Alvaro, was kind enough to donate his entire lifetime engine collection for display at the grand opening of the museum in 2006. After retiring as a chemist, Rudy had a second career building engines and writing magazine articles documenting the process. Many people have built his models, but we have the honor of displaying all of his original prototypes. Rudy’s collection includes scale model engines, locomotives, tractors and more. Additionally, thirteen of Rudy’s model steam engines are hooked up to run on compressed air to demonstrate their function.
