TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I believe the Gipsy Queen was the military version of the Gipsy 6 and used in the military versions of the Rapide, the Dominie.

olddutch Loc: Beloit, Wisconsin

There also a gypsy major that they used on the Heron also by De Havlven. The comments always made about the Gypsy Queen is that you never added oil. You just dumped it in the cowl and let it seep in.

JoAnneK01 Loc: Lahaina, Hawaii

My family and I flew to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for my Dad's funeral. He died on the way to visit his mother. We all knew he didn't have much time to live and he did have a smile on his face. May God bless him.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

It’s an interesting engine - first inverted engine that I’ve encountered.

dave.speeking Loc: Brooklyn OH

When I was about ten, got a ride in a Cessna 172 that
was going to the airport we took off from.

Most interesting flight was on Riddle Airlines (MATS) from
Charleston SC to Howard AFB in Panama, including two
stops at Miami to repair the same engine.
May have been a DC6. Attached! pic should read Jan. 1964.

(Download)

drucker Loc: Oregon

My uncle had his own plane and worked for Beechcraft in Wichita. An airstrip had been built on the family farm about 80 miles west of Wichita and he and his wife would fly out for weekends. I don't know if it was my first flight but it's the first I remember. We flew about five miles and circled my maternal grandparents' house until they came out and waved. I remember vividly that they looked so small but the white propane tank in the yard seemed huge.
My aunt had been badly burned in a car accident and it was very painful for her to ride the 80 miles to Wichita for treatment and skin grafts, so Carl would fly her back and forth as necessary. Only weeks or days later when I was about two-and-a-half, Carl flew out to to take Thelma to Wichita. It was a very cold March morning. My dad wanted to learn to fly and took every opportunity to fly with his brother. I wanted to go also but my mom vetoed it because it was so cold. So the brothers took off to warm the plane up a bit before Thelma got in. They flew about 20 miles and circled the home of my mom's sister until she came out and waved, then they headed back toward the farm. About two miles later there was a mechanical failure and the brothers died instantly in the crash. Both wives were expecting and I had a sister and another cousin within a month. The extended family gathered around our moms and us.
Sorry that this was a "downer" story, but sometimes life isn't always as we would have liked. The three of us cousins have shared a special bond for nearly 75 years now and there are many happy memories.

anotherview Loc: California

Aviation involves serious accidents by its nature. My involvement in naval aviation as a youth tells me so.

I offer my condolences and sympathy for the awful mishap in your early life.

Smokin' Joe

In mom's tummy flying from Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska where I was born in 1939. Dad was Alaska Airlines 1st communicatios (Avionics technition).

drucker Loc: Oregon

________

Thanks, I appreciate the note.
Many times I have marveled at how the extended family came together in support and also the friends and neighbors in the Quaker farming community of which we were a part.

Mikeinohio

Fort Jackson, SC
Basic Training 1970

olddutch Loc: Beloit, Wisconsin

There is a Menansco inverted 4 cyl and a Ranger inverted 6. Both used on several different Airplanes.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Interesting. So after the oil lubricates the crankshaft bearings, where does it accumulate to be scavenged by the scavenge pump? Seems like it would collect in the bottom of the pistons...

Wallen Loc: Middle Earth

During normal engine operation, oil gets splashed around and are collected in its oil sump as designed. It is the un-scavenged oil after shut down that will tend to collect in the cylinder. So it is good practice to turn the engine at least 2 full rotations by hand, feeling for abnormal resistance to check for hydraulic lock before running the engine. If the engine turns without abnormal effort, it means there is enough space in the chamber for normal air-fuel compression and it is safe to start the engine. Oil that collected inside the cylinder can be seen as the white smoke that comes out during the startup.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

Miami, FL I think

George Limle

Bahamas