WWII Dronehead

04/08/2026

A mostly complete (no data plate, prop hub fl**ge, timer cover, or spark plugs) Kiekhaefer 0-45-1 now on eBay. The original prop hubs and carburetors for the 0-45-1 are getting ever harder to find. https://www.ebay.com/itm/257423365815?_skw=drone+engine+prop+hub&itmmeta=01KNPQQ3NV3AT3FNHTTAQRX1SA&hash=item3befa0d6b7:g:vHUAAeSw4J9pxu5-&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAA0GfYFPkwiKCW4ZNSs2u11xCiEyAQC3NgBf1kyJwxRqrYU0zFZ9Cs5U9PFse3xHdp3vFGgla0UWzGch0MqoI1B9Aq0kHYIh0DEXY%2Bg2PMjuAdS26tQvEMnlFXMCR8Oo1PNrmqI8oo%2FRz06iasfWQJcM%2B2YvX4DSc9RV5vutkbNkHuk1ir27SWmnjeOo%2FWy9R3ReCAHvIZYmC65St8LNxZlBRMHa5zjpIZB1YiOwFM%2BpKTTZOfHWi2zZQofVBAutzS23WGuH%2FGC3Y5sdNi2lP5PSI%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5K73NetZw

01/31/2026

Spark Plugs for the WWII Drone Engines:
The plug specified for the Righter/Herkimer 0-15-1/2-GS-17 and Righter/McCulloch 0-15-3 engines is the Champion 6-COM-62. The plug specified for the Righter/Kiekhaefer/Menasco 0-45-1 engine is the Champion R-1 or equivalent. I've used the 6-COM-62's and R-1's interchangeably in all three engine models as well as a non-standard AC plug. As long as it is an 18 mm plug with a 1 inch hex and there is sufficient clearance between electrode and the piston crown at TDC, I suspect any non-resistor plug will work in these engines.

10/18/2025

Restored and running 1945 Kiekhaefer 0-45-1 (747 cc, 20 hp) drone engine for sale. Original carburetor & Champion R-1 spark plugs. Custom new-made birch propeller for running. Custom running stand, rubber isolation engine mounts, 12-volt dual coil system, 12v electric fuel pump, digital tachometer, starting sling, and engine/drone manual PDF's included. Twenty-two minutes on engine since restoration. Demo run at Oshkosh 2018 (see video link), last run July 2025. Likely the only running 0-45-1 on the planet. Stored indoors. Engine on running stand is 41 inches tall, 36 inches wide, weighs 102 pounds. Can fit fully assembled into Honda Odyssey or breaks down to 2 parts for storage or transport. Free delivery within 150 miles of Chicago. $2K firm.

https://youtu.be/aWny6_0f2GM

https://youtu.be/QLB6Yia8rJY

09/26/2025

Restored and running OQ-2A for sale on Barnstormers HAS BEEN SOLD. Go to Barnstormers.com, click on "Search", select "Warbird" in blue on left, then scroll down to find "OQ-2 WW2 TARGET DRONE • $6,500 • FOR SALE • Radioplane Corp Aerial Target Drone. Manufactured by the Frankfort Sailplane Corporation Joliet, IL '43. wingspan 12'3", length 8'6". Engine runs. Parachute packed and release solenoid functional. Restored by an A&P mechanic. Assembler's initials on wingspar. Detailed drawing of parts available. • Contact Jack Beetz - ###-XX-###X , Owner - located Brighton, IL 62012 United States • Telephone: ---------- • Posted September 25, 2025 • THE OQ-2A HAS BEEN SOLD SEPT. 29, 2025.

09/19/2025

Sometimes it is tough to find new content for an old, limited-spectrum topic like WWII gunnery target drones. So I'll stretch those limits to include a small engine that was made in WWII to power 1/8th to 1/10th scale radio-controlled aircraft, but ultimately powered a limited number of small, radio-controlled reconnaissance drones for the US Marines in the 1960's. Engine restoration and run video here: https://youtu.be/lbtNaHkmEQU

08/08/2025

https://youtu.be/QaqJJhwVfLA?si=lX6zbFKD5cIycwrc.

The history of Carl Kiekhaefer a pioneer in the marine outboard and drone engine development.

Trace the remarkable rise of Mercury Marine, from a Wisconsin farm to a global leader in marine propulsion and offshore powerboat racing! Founded in 1939 by ...

07/07/2025

I like to run a drone engine on the 4th of July as nobody complains about the noise. After 7 years of storage I decided to fire up my recalcitrant child, the Kiekhaefer 0-45-1. History dictates everything has to be perfect for it to fire off. In the video you will see the last run at Oshkosh in 2018. However, I have no video of the July 4, 2025 run as it motored for only 30 seconds - BACKWARDS! I had expended 45 minutes of pulling and priming, eventually flooded it, then drained and cleared it, and in desperation, decide to advance the timing from TDC to 5 or 10 degrees BTDC. Next hot pull it lit off, blowing the bushes in front of the engine like hurricane, no wind or oil blowing on me as I stood dumbfounded behind the engine, with a staccato stream of fuel mist blasting backwards out of the carburetor towards my belly button. Adjusting the mixture or timing had no effect on changing the 2,300 rpm on the tach. I let it run 30 seconds and hit the kill switch. I never knew a rotary-valve two-stroke engine could run backwards, but the internet says it is possible, however it will run poorly because the spark is now firing after TDC and of course the rotary valve is now mis-timed and barely supporting a to stroke cycle. Happy 4th of July to me!

06/29/2025

Fellow Dronehead Ted has a tubular steel display stand built for a Righter/McCulloch 0-15-3 engine. It is approx. 16 inches tall and 12 inches wide. The engine overhangs forward over the curved base. If anyone has an interest in this display mount, message Dronehead and we'll put you in touch with Ted to figure things out.

06/26/2025

I restored my Righter 2-GS-17 serial number 42-2250 to running condition in 2013. At that time I knew little about the engine, had no documents or manuals, and was fearful of breaking things I couldn't replace. so after examining the piston rings and cylinder walls through the exhaust ports and spark plug hole, and the rods and crank through the open rear case and finding everything in excellent condition, I never removed the cylinders much less the pistons and connecting rods. Over the following 12 years I've run the engine 30 times for a total of 2 hours without a problem. However, I learned of two Herkimer 2-GS-17's that had catastrophic failures while running: one apparently due to oil starvation to the rod big end bearing, the other to a rod cap nut coming adrift. So today I took the cylinders off 42-2250 to check the rods, pistons, bearings, and especially the rod cap nuts. The engine runs great, and as the photographs show, I found everything in serviceable if not excellent condition. I cut new cylinder base gaskets and re-installed the cylinders as they were. It was also clear that someone, likely after the engine's military career, was inside the engine, but they did a nice job putting it back together. Old engines are like a box of chocolates...

06/08/2025

Fascinating photographs shared by Dronehead Ted taken 21 August 1945 on Saipan. Note the OQ-3 on the catapult, the three dual-50 cal training turrets, and the B-29 fuselages that housed the trainees as they aimed the remotely-controlled turrets on ground mounts. Thanks, Ted

05/21/2025

Culver full-scale target drone: https://rumble.com/v6t0jx5-culver-td2c-1-pilotless-drone-comes-to-grief-during-arrested-landing-trials.html

The Culver PQ-14 Cadet is a modified version of the Culver LFA Cadet used as a target drone. In 1940, the U.S. Army Air Corps drew up a requirement for a radio-controlled target drone for training ant

05/01/2025

Another fantastic piece of period color film showing the Radioplane TDD-2 launched off the es**rt carrier USS Cape Gloucester CVE-109 during WWII.

This film shows the use of a radio controlled drone to facilitate the ship's gun practice. The drone is most likely a Radioplane OQ2 or OQ3 with a 6+hp two ...