Certain American radial engines were made previous to 1914, the
principal being the Albatross six-cylinder engines of 50 and 100
horse-powers. Of these the smaller size was air-cooled, with cylinders
of 4.5 inches bore and 5 inches stroke, developing the rated power
at 1,230 revolutions per minute, with a weight of about 5 lbs. per
horse-power. The 100 horse-power size had cylinders of 5.5 inches bore,
developing its rated power at 1,230 revolutions per minute, and weighing
only 2.75 lbs. per horse-power. This engine was markedly similar to the
six-cylindered Anzani, having all the valves mechanically operated, and
with auxiliary exhaust ports at the bottoms of the cylinders, overrun
by long pistons. These Albatross engines had their cylinders arranged in
two groups of three, with each group of three pistons operating on one
of two crank pins, each 180 degrees apart.
The radial type of engine, thanks to Charles Manly, had the honour of
being first in the field as regards aero work. Its many advantages,
among which may be specially noted the very short crankshaft as compared
with vertical, Vee, or 'broad arrow' type of engine, and consequent
greater rigidity, ensure it consideration by designers of to-day, and
render it certain that the type will endure. Enthusiasts claim that the
'broad arrow' type, or Vee with a third row of cylinders inset between
the original two, is just as much a development from the radial engine
as from the vertical and resulting Vee; however this may be, there is
a place for the radial type in air-work for as long as the internal
combustion engine remains as a power plant.
IV. THE ROTARY TYPE
M. Laurent Seguin, the inventor of the Gnome rotary aero engine,
provided as great a stimulus to aviation as any that was given anterior
to the war period, and brought about a great advance in mechanical
flight, since these well-made engines gave a high-power output for their
weight, and were extremely smooth in running. In the rotary design the
crankshaft of the engine is stationary, and the cylinders, crank
case, and all their adherent parts rotate; the working is thus exactly
opposite in principle to that of the radial type of aero engine, and
the advantage of the rotary lies in the considerable flywheel effect
produced by the revolving cylinders, with consequent evenness of torque.
Another advantage is that air-cooling, adopted in all the Gnome engines,
is rendered much more effective by the rotation of the cylinders, though
there is a tendency to distortion through the leading side of each
cylinder being more efficiently cooled than the opposite side; advocates
of other types are prone to claim that the air resistance to the
revolving cylinders absorbs some 10 per cent of the power developed by
the rotary engine, but that has not prevented the rotary from attaining
to great popularity as a prime mover.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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