Australian International Airshow 2015

This aircraft was (re)built in New Zealand but the rotary radial engine is an original from 1917.
Interesting to see the cylinders moving around behind the cowling.

The engine has it's own sound. Flown using a just a setting of power. So Full, 50%, 25% power where fuel flows for the duration. 25% power the engine is power for say 10 revolutions, then no ignition for 30 revolutions. So sounds like phhhhst, pop, pop, pop, phhssst, pop, pop, pop, ......

Extremely difficult to fly. A carburettor with a throttle is so much easier to fly as the torque from the spinning propellor is constant. The wing tips tend to waver when the power is applied and then cutoff. No wonder more pilots were lost to their own machines than to pilots from the other side.