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Flat Plane Vs Cross Plane V8 engines. A flat plane V8 (animated on the left) is very much like two inline-4 engines mated together in a V configuration. Therefore end-to-end balance is inherent, as the first and last piston of a bank is always exactly in the same position, as are the center two pistons on each bank.
A boxer engine should not be confused with the opposed-piston engine, in which each cylinder has two pistons but no cylinder head. Also, if a straight engine is canted 90 degrees into the horizontal plane, it may be thought of as a flat engine, but this usage is not common.