The market demographic for this engine was never anything but WW1 replicas, I would imagine. It actually is a pretty active and growing group. With original engines prohibitively expensive, this engine (priced about 2xrotec) is a pretty good relative value. Most Airdrome Camel replicas, including ours, are chrome moly steel tube fuselages and we are mating to a steel engine mount .
Here is a nice video of controlling a Gnome without a throttle. After start, one can hear he works to set the mixture, then controls the speed with the blip switch. It is apparent when he is adjusting the mixture and when he is blipping the ignition if you listen closely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM_lBROioz4
I am told by those who fly rotaries that it is not that difficult to get used to in reality, although I will admit it is quite the paradigm shift for those used to a throttle. I'll agree they are not for everyone, but should be immense fun. Hope to have delivery in about year. Watch this space