Originally Posted by
Rama
The old radials actually spun around with the prop (think Sopwith Camel) and didn't have carburetors, they would cut out the ignition to reduce power. In the later years of radials they made some huge ones- 3350's etc. Nothing beats the sound of a round motor.
Those were technically called rotary engines (nothing to do with the mazda wankel rotary). The purpose was to use the engine itself as a flywheel to dampen vibrations...although the flywheel effect also provided plenty of precesion for the entire airplane when turning or pitching
