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UnderTheRadar
"Clear the Prop"
By: Norm Goyer
In 1903 there were no aircraft engines.
The Wright Brothers, being the first to fly, had to design and build their
own four-cylinder horizontal engine to power their aircraft. Other early
aeronauts had to use auto and motorcycle engines in their flying machines.
During WWI, England, France and Germany used basically the same rotary
engine designed in France in 1907. The rotary Gnomes and Le Rhones dominated
aircraft power plants. Why? They were powerful, light and available. Modern
Wankels, used in some Mazda sport cars and English motorcycles, also called
rotary, were completely different. The rotary engines of WWI had the
crankshaft bolted to the firewall and the propeller attached to the cylinder
heads. The crankshaft didn’t rotate; the engine did. The rotating cylinders
provided excellent cooling for the engine.
The “V” type and overhead valve in-line engines were also developed during
WWI. The German Fokker D-VII had an outstanding six-cylinder in-line
Mercedes engine while the American Curtiss Jenny used a V-type OX-5 engine.
In 1925, the US military started using Pratt & Whitney radial engines. These
powerful nine-cylinder round engines were also used by the Thompson Trophy
racers, including the famous Gee Bee. Just prior to WWII many radial engines
of all sizes were being manufactured by Continental, Lycoming, Wright, Pratt
& Whitney, Kinner, Jacobs and foreign manufacturers. The round radial engine
had found a home in the aircraft of the day.
Light aircraft, such as the Cub, were not possible until small and
inexpensive four-cylinder horizontally opposed engines were developed in the
early-thirties. Piper, Taylorcraft, Stinson and Aeronca used four-cylinder
Continentals, Lycomings and Franklins of 40 to 90 hp. During WWII, the
number of cylinders and horsepower of the horizontally-opposed engines were
increased. When the war ended in 1945, the aircraft industry had many radial
engines to choose from, plus a growing number of flat four and sixes of up
to 185 hp.
We will find out how the designers used these engines during the post-war
aviation boom in Part II of “Clear Prop.”
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