Inside the 6-cylinder Anzani radial aircraft engine is a beautiful arrangement of six cam-dive gears clustered around the central dive gear. The six cylinders and the crankcase cover were removed when I took this picture during its restoration in 2002. This engine was used on the 1915 Laird biplane (B-4) which is in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Matty Laird designed and built the aircraft and was an early barnstormer flying this plane for aerobatics and stunts. It is unusual to see even-numbered cylinders on radial engines because they tend to develop vibrational harmonics. Laird named this aircraft the “Boneshaker” because of the vibrations caused by this engine.

04.21.22