Video: Tiny miracle radial engine—see it built, watch it come to life

Here’s another stunning work of art by Jose Manuel Hermo Barreiro: a miniature 10-cylinder radial engine. See it come to life in this short video. 

 

 

 

This little film is not just inspiring; it’s positively life-affirming. The artist is Jose Manuel Hermo Barreiro, who also works under the name Patelo, and we’ve featured his work before at Mac’s Motor City Garage—namely, this handbuilt, palm-sized V12 engine. (Editor’s Note: His latest creation as of March 2015 is an astonishing W32 miniature.) 

This more recent work is a two-row, 10-cylinder radial. Articulation is via master and slave rod arrangement and there are ten tiny longitudinal camshafts, one per cylinder. Patelo, a retired naval engineer who lives in Spain, takes an artisanal, almost spiritual approach to his designs. The engines he creates aren’t scale models so much as miniature reimaginings. Watch this video—your day will be better for it.

 

7 thoughts on “Video: Tiny miracle radial engine—see it built, watch it come to life

  1. I have an 8 cylinder steam engine hand built by my grandfather (Ernest Robert Wagner) that powered a model racing boat. It has an 11″ crankshaft and stands 6″ high. I have never seen it run but my father said it was very fast and ran off a small steam generator. “Pop” had a full machine shop in his basement with a lathe and all metal working tools. He was a Master Machinist, a Master Pastry Baker, and a Musician who played Piano, Organ, Violin, Trombone, and Saxophone. He owned a small Electronics store, built the first TV I ever saw and assembled an Empire Grandfather’s Clock that displays the correct time in the corner of our living room!

  2. Stunning item really. I would put it in a long wing high wing fix gear monoplane similar to the Spirit of St Louis and run it at low rpm cruise for long life and put large gas tank in it to fly RC from Long Beach California to Catalina Island. The distance is 26 miles. Thanks, Paul

  3. Fantastic example of precision patience. Thanks for showing this. Retired aviation engineer.

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