While the 90°V, 8-cylinder arrangement would have enabled them to
utilize a great number of the 4-cylinder-engine parts, it would have
given them a somewhat larger engine than was their apparent desire,
unless they reduced the cylinder size. And while they had had some
limited experience in building and operating this kind of engine, and
twice had chosen it when seeking more power, both of these choices
were greatly influenced by the desire to obtain quickly an engine of
higher power. It is also possible that something in their experience
with the V-8 moved them away from it; the unbalanced shaking force
inherent in the arrangement may well have become evident to them. What
probably also helped them to their final conclusion was the
fundamental consideration that the V-8 provided two extra cylinders
which were not really needed.
The eventual selection of the 6-cylinder was a slight compromise. In
order to get the desired output the cylinder displacement was
increased, but this was done by lengthening the stroke--the first time
this had been altered since the original design. The increase (from 4
to 4-1/2 in.) was only 1/2 in., and the bore, the more important
influence on fuel performance, was kept the same. Overall, the choice
was quite logical. They were utilizing the in-line construction upon
which almost all of their now considerable experience had been based,
and the sizes of and requirements for parts also conformed to this
experience. They could, in fact, use many of the same parts. The
natural balance of the 6-cylinder arrangement gave them a very smooth
engine, and had they stiffened the shaft and counter-weighted the
cranks, they would have produced the smoothest engine that could have
been built at that time.
In the literature are two references to a Wright 6-cylinder engine
constructed around the cylinders of the vertical 4. One of these is in
Angle's _Airplane Engine Encyclopedia_, published in 1921, and the
other is in _Aerosphere 1939_, published in 1940. The wording of the
latter is essentially identical with that of the former; it seems a
reasonable conclusion that it is a copy. Although it is possible that
such an engine was built at some time, just as the 8-cylinder racing
engine was cobbled up out of parts from the 4-cylinder vertical, no
other record, no engines, and no illustrations have been found. It is
thus quite certain that no significant quantity was ever manufactured
or utilized.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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