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    $\begingroup$ The engine itself does not care whether it is upside down. The carburettor and the fuel system do. So whether the engine is radial does not matter (many early engines were actually rotary). $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 3, 2014 at 14:02
  • $\begingroup$ @JanHudec Ah, good to know. I'll amend the question in a moment here. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 3, 2014 at 14:04
  • $\begingroup$ The other factor is whether the wings are capable of flying inverted. Highly cambered wings (that were common on the early planes) may not be able to. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 3, 2014 at 14:24
  • $\begingroup$ @JanHudec Added that thought in as well. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 3, 2014 at 14:47
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    $\begingroup$ @JanHudec In addition to the fuel system the lubrication system often cares about the aircraft's orientation (at least on opposed engines like the ones many of us fly behind) As an example most of the Lycoming IO-360 variants are not designed for aerobatics/inverted flight - for that you would need an engine from the AEIO-360 series. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 3, 2014 at 15:48