Aircraft engine

Sumber : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_engine#In-line_engine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


A Rolls-Royce Merlin installed in a preserved Avro York
Part of a series on
Aircraft propulsion
Shaft engines :
driving propellers, rotors, ducted fans, orpropfans
Internal combustion engines:
Piston engine
Wankel engine
Turbines:
Turboprop
Turboshaft
External combustion engines:
Steam-powered
Reaction engines
Turbines:
Turbojet
Turbofan
Propfan
Rocket-powered
Motorjet
Pulsejet
Ramjet
Scramjet
Others
Human-powered
Electric
Nuclear
Hydrogen
V
T
E
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates
mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas
turbines.
Contents
[hide]
1 Aircraft Engine Manufacturing Industry
2 Timeline of aircraft engine development
3 Shaft engines
o 3.1 Reciprocating (piston) engines
3.1.1 In-line engine
3.1.2 V-type engine
3.1.3 Horizontally opposed engine
3.1.4 H configuration engine
3.1.5 Radial engine
3.1.6 Rotary engine
o 3.2 Turbine-powered
3.2.1 Turboprop
3.2.2 Turboshaft
4 Reaction engines
o 4.1 Jets
4.1.1 Turbojet
4.1.2 Turbofan
o 4.2 Pulse jets
o 4.3 Rocket
5 Newer engine types
o 5.1 Wankel engine
o 5.2 Diesel engine
o 5.3 Precooled jet engines
o 5.4 Electric
6 Fuel
7 See also
8 Notes
9 References
10 External links
Aircraft Engine Manufacturing Industry[edit]
As of 2012, the size of the aircraft engine manufacturing market was almost $40 billion.
[1]
There
are over 350 manufacturing companies in the United States employing over 70 thousand. For a
list of all manufacturers in the world see the List of aircraft engines.
Timeline of aircraft engine development[edit]


Wright vertical 4-cylinder engine
See also: Timeline of jet power
1848: John Stringfellow made a steam engine capable of powering a model, albeit with
negligible payload.
1903: Charlie Taylor built an inline aeroengine for the Wright Flyer (12 horsepower).
1903: Manly-Balzer engine sets standards for later radial engines.
[2]

1906: Lon Levavasseur produces a successful water-cooled V8 engine for aircraft use.
1908: Ren Lorin patents a design for the ramjet engine.
1908: Gnome Omega designed the world's first rotary engine to be produced in quantity. In
1909 a Gnome powered Farman III aircraft won the prize for the greatest non-stop distance
flown at the Reims Grande Semaine d'Aviation setting a world record for endurance of 180
kilometres (110 mi).
1910: Coand-1910, an unsuccessful ducted fan aircraft exhibited at Paris Aero Salon,
powered by a piston engine. The aircraft never flew, but a patent was filed for routing
exhaust gases into the duct to augment thrust.
[3][4][5][6]

1914: Auguste Rateau suggests using exhaust-powered compressor a turbocharger to
improve high-altitude performance;
[2]
not accepted after the tests
[7]

1917-18 - The Idflieg-numbered R.30/16 example of the Imperial
German Luftstreitkrfte's Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI heavy bomber becomes the earliest known
supercharger-equipped aircraft to fly, with a Mercedes D.II straight-six engine placed in the
central fuselage to power a Brown-Boveri mechanical supercharger for the R.30/16's quartet
ofMercedes D.IVa powerplants.
1918: Sanford Alexander Moss picks Rateau's idea and creates the first successful
turbocharger
[2][8]

1926: Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV (S), the first series-produced supercharged engine for
aircraft use;
[9][nb 1]
two-row radial with a gear-driven centrifugal supercharger.
1930: Frank Whittle submitted his first patent for turbojet engine.
June 1939: Heinkel He 176 is the first successful aircraft to fly powered solely by a liquid-
fueled rocket engine.
August 1939: Heinkel HeS 3 turbojet propels the pioneering German Heinkel He 178 aircraft.
1940: Jendrassik Cs-1, the world's first run of the turboprop engine. It is not put into service.
1944: Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet, the world's first rocket propelled combat aircraft
deployed.
1945: First turboprop powered aircraft flies, a Gloster Meteor with two Rolls-Royce Trent
1947: Bell X-1 rocket propelled aircraft exceeds the speed of sound.
1948: 100 shp 782, the first turboshaft engine to be applied to aircraft use; in 1950 used to
develop the larger 280 shp (210 kW) Turbomeca Artouste.
1949: Leduc 010, the world's first ramjet-powered aircraft flight.
1950: Rolls-Royce Conway, the world's first production turbofan, enters service.
1960s: General Electric TF39 high bypass turbofan enters service delivering greater thrust
and much better efficiency.
2002: HyShot scramjet flew in dive.
2004: Hyper-X, the first scramjet to maintain altitude.
Shaft engines[edit]


Ranger L-440 air-cooled, six-cylinder, inverted, in-line engine used inFairchild PT-19
Reciprocating (piston) engines[edit]
Main article: reciprocating engine
In-line engine[edit]
Main article: Straight engine
This type of engine has cylinders lined up in one row. It typically has an even number of
cylinders, but there are instances of three- and five- cylinder engines. The greatest advantage of
an inline engine is that it allows the aircraft to be designed with a low frontal area to minimise
drag. If the engine crankshaft is located above the cylinders, it is called an inverted inline engine:
this allows the propeller to be mounted high up to increase ground clearance, enabling shorter
landing gear. The disadvantages of an inline engine include a poorpower-to-weight ratio,
because the crankcase and crankshaft are long and thus heavy. An in-line engine may be either
air-cooled or liquid-cooled, but liquid-cooling is more common because it is difficult to get enough
air-flow to cool the rear cylinders directly. Inline engines were common in early aircraft; one was
used in the Wright Flyer, the aircraft that made the first controlled powered flight. However, the
inherent disadvantages of the design soon became apparent, and the inline design was
abandoned, becoming a rarity in modern aviation.
V-type engine[edit]


A Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12 Engine
Main article: V engine
Cylinders in this engine are arranged in two in-line banks, typically tilted 60-90 degrees apart
from each other and driving a common crankshaft. The vast majority of V engines are water-
cooled. The V design provides a higher power-to-weight ratio than an inline engine, while still
providing a small frontal area. Perhaps the most famous example of this design is the
legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, a 27-litre (1649 in
3
) 60 V12 engine used in, among others,
the Spitfires that played a major role in the Battle of Britain.
Horizontally opposed engine[edit]
Main article: Flat engine


A ULPower UL260i horizontally opposed air-cooled aero engine
A horizontally opposed engine, also called a flat or boxer engine, has two banks of cylinders on
opposite sides of a centrally located crankcase. The engine is either air-cooled or liquid-cooled,
but air-cooled versions predominate. Opposed engines are mounted with the crankshaft
horizontal in airplanes, but may be mounted with the crankshaft vertical in helicopters. Due to the
cylinder layout, reciprocating forces tend to cancel, resulting in a smooth running engine.
Opposed, air-cooled four- and six-cylinder piston engines are by far the most common engines
used in small general aviation aircraft requiring up to 400 horsepower (300 kW) per engine.
Aircraft that require more than 400 horsepower (300 kW) per engine tend to be powered
by turbine engines.
H configuration engine[edit]
Main article: H engine
An H configuration engine is essentially a pair of horizontally opposed engines placed together,
with the two crankshafts geared together.
Radial engine[edit]


A Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine
Main article: Radial engine
This type of engine has one or more rows of cylinders arranged around a centrally
located crankcase. Each row generally has an odd number of cylinders to produce smooth
operation. A radial engine has only one crank throw per row and a relatively small crankcase,
resulting in a favorable power-to-weight ratio. Because the cylinder arrangement exposes a large
amount of the engine's heat-radiating surfaces to the air and tends to cancel reciprocating forces,
radials tend to cool evenly and run smoothly. The lower cylinders, which are under the
crankcase, may collect oil when the engine has been stopped for an extended period. If this oil is
not cleared from the cylinders prior to starting the engine, serious damage due to hydrostatic
lock may occur.
Most radial engines have the cylinders arranged evenly around the crankshaft, although some
early engines, sometimes called semi-radials or fan configuration engines, had an uneven
arrangement. The best known engine of this type is the Anzani engine, which was fitted to
the Bleriot XI used for the first flight across the English Channel in 1909. This arrangement had
the drawback of needing a heavy counterbalance for the crankshaft, but was used to avoid
the spark plugs oiling up.
In military aircraft designs, the large frontal area of the engine acted as an extra layer of armor
for the pilot. Also air-cooled engines, without vulnerable radiators, are slightly less prone to battle
damage, and on occasion would continue running even with one or more cylinders shot away.
However, the large frontal area also resulted in an aircraft with an aerodynamically
inefficient increased frontal area.
Rotary engine[edit]


Le Rhone 9C rotary aircraft engine
Main article: Rotary engine
Rotary engines have the cylinders in a circle around the crankcase, as in a radial engine, (see
above), but the crankshaft is fixed to the airframe and the propeller is fixed to the engine case, so
that the crankcase and cylinders rotate. The advantage of this arrangement is that a satisfactory
flow of cooling air is maintained even at low airspeeds, retaining the weight advantage and
simplicity of a conventional air-cooled engine without one of their major drawbacks. The first
practical rotary engine was the Gnome Omega designed by the Seguin brothers and first flown in
1909. Its relative reliability and good power to weight ratio changed aviation
dramatically.
[10]
Before the first World War most speed records were gained using Gnome-
engined aircraft, and in the early years of the war rotary engines were dominant in aircraft types
for which speed and agility were paramount. To increase power, engines with two rows of
cylinders were built.
However, the gyroscopic effects of the heavy rotating engine produced handling problems in
aircraft and the engines also consumed large amounts of oil since they used total loss
lubrication, the oil being mixed with the fuel and ejected with the exhaust gases. Castor oil was
used for lubrication, since it is not soluble in petrol, and the resultant fumes were nauseating to
the pilots. Engine designers had always been aware of the many limitations of the rotary engine
so when the static style engines became more reliable and gave better specific weights and fuel
consumption, the days of the rotary engine were numbered.
Turbine-powered[edit]
Turboprop[edit]


Cutaway view of a Garrett TPE-331turboprop engine showing the gearbox at the front of the engine
Main article: Turboprop
While military fighters require very high speeds, many civil airplanes do not. Yet, civil aircraft
designers wanted to benefit from the high power and low maintenance that a gas turbine engine
offered. Thus was born the idea to mate a turbine engine to a traditional propeller. Because gas
turbines optimally spin at high speed, a turboprop features a gearbox to lower the speed of the
shaft so that the propeller tips don't reach supersonic speeds. Often the turbines that drive the
propeller are separate from the rest of the rotating components so that they can rotate at their
own best speed (referred to as a free-turbine engine). A turboprop is very efficient when operated
within the realm of cruise speeds it was designed for, which is typically 200 to 400 mph (320 to
640 km/h).
Turboshaft[edit]


A Rolls-Royce Model 250 turboshaft engine common to many types of helicopters
Main article: Turboshaft
Turboshaft engines are used primarily for helicopters and auxiliary power units. A turboshaft
engine is similar in principle, but in a turboprop the propeller is supported by the engine and the
engine is bolted to the airframe: in a turboshaft, the engine does not provide any direct physical
support to the helicopter's rotors. The rotor is connected to a transmission which is bolted to the
airframe, and the turboshaft engine drives the transmission. The distinction is seen by some as
slim, as in some cases aircraft companies make both turboprop and turboshaft engines based on
the same design.
Reaction engines[edit]
Main article: Jet engine
Reaction engines generate the thrust to propel an aircraft by ejecting the exhaust gases at high
velocity from the engine, the resultantreaction of forces driving the aircraft forwards. The most
common reaction propulsion engines flown are turbojets, turbofans and rockets. Other types
such as pulsejets, ramjets,scramjets and Pulse Detonation Engines have also flown. In jet
engines the oxygen necessary for fuel combustion comes from the air, while rockets carry
oxygen in some form as part of the fuel load, permitting their use in space.
Jets[edit]
Turbojet[edit]


A General Electric J85-GE-17A turbojet engine. This cutaway clearly shows the 8 stages of axial compressor at the front (left side of the picture),
the combustion chambers in the middle, and the two stages ofturbines at the rear of the engine.
Main article: Turbojet
A turbojet is a type of gas turbine engine that was originally developed for
military fighters during World War II. A turbojet is the simplest of all aircraft gas turbines. It
consists of a compressor to draw air in and compress it, a combustion section where fuel is
added and ignited, one or more turbines that extract power from the expanding exhaust gases to
drive the compressor, and an exhaust nozzle that accelerates the exhaust gases out the back of
the engine to create thrust. When turbojets were introduced, the top speed of fighter aircraft
equipped with them was at least 100 miles per hour faster than competing piston-driven aircraft.
In the years after the war, the drawbacks of the turbojet gradually became apparent. Below about
Mach 2, turbojets are very fuel inefficient and create tremendous amounts of noise. Early designs
also respond very slowly to power changes, a fact that killed many experienced pilots when they
attempted the transition to jets. These drawbacks eventually led to the downfall of the pure
turbojet, and only a handful of types are still in production. The last airliner that used turbojets
was the Concorde, whose Mach 2 airspeed permitted the engine to be highly efficient.
Turbofan[edit]


A cutaway of a CFM56-3 turbofan engine
Main article: Turbofan
A turbofan engine is much the same as a turbojet, but with an enlarged fan at the front that
provides thrust in much the same way as a ducted propeller, resulting in improved fuel-efficiency.
Though the fan creates thrust like a propeller, the surrounding duct frees it from many of the
restrictions that limit propeller performance. This operation is a more efficient way to provide
thrust than simply using the jet nozzle alone and turbofans are more efficient than propellers in
the trans-sonic range of aircraft speeds, and can operate in the supersonic realm. A turbofan
typically has extra turbine stages to turn the fan. Turbofans were among the first engines to use
multiple spoolsconcentric shafts that are free to rotate at their own speedto let the engine
react more quickly to changing power requirements. Turbofans are coarsely split into low-bypass
and high-bypass categories. Bypass air flows through the fan, but around the jet core, not mixing
with fuel and burning. The ratio of this air to the amount of air flowing through the engine core is
the bypass ratio. Low-bypass engines are preferred for military applications such as fighters due
to high thrust-to-weight ratio, while high-bypass engines are preferred for civil use for good fuel
efficiency and low noise. High-bypass turbofans are usually most efficient when the aircraft is
traveling at 500 to 550 miles per hour (800 to 885 km/h), the cruise speed of most large airliners.
Low-bypass turbofans can reach supersonic speeds, though normally only when fitted
with afterburners.
Pulse jets[edit]
Main article: Pulse jet engine
Pulse jets are mechanically simple devices thatin a repeating cycledraw air through a no-
return valve at the front of the engine into a combustion chamber and ignited it. The combustion
forces the exhaust gases out the back of the engine. It produces power as a series of pulses
rather than as a steady output, hence the name. The only application of this type of engine was
the German unmanned V1 flying bomb of World War II. Though the same engines were also
used experimentally for ersatz fighter aircraft, the extremely loud noise generated by the engines
caused mechanical damage to the airframe that was sufficient to make the idea unworkable.
Rocket[edit]


An XLR99
Main article: Rocket engine
A few aircraft have used rocket engines for main thrust or attitude control, notably the Bell X-
1 and North American X-15. Rocket engines are not used for most aircraft as the energy and
propellant efficiency is very poor except at high speeds, but have been employed for short bursts
of speed and takeoff. Rocket engines are very efficient only at very high speeds, although they
are useful because they produce very large amounts of thrust and weigh very little.
Newer engine types[edit]
Wankel engine[edit]
Main article: Wankel engine


Powerplant from aSchleicher ASH 26e self-launching motor glider, removed from the glider and mounted on a test stand for maintenance at the Alexander
Schleicher GmbH & Co inPoppenhausen, Germany. Counter-clockwise from top left: propeller hub, mast with belt guide, radiator, Wankel engine, muffler
shroud.
Another promising design for aircraft use was the Wankel rotary engine. The Wankel engine is
about one half the weight and size of a traditionalfour-stroke cycle piston engine of equal power
output, and much lower in complexity. In an aircraft application, the power-to-weight ratio is very
important, making the Wankel engine a good choice. Because the engine is typically constructed
with an aluminium housing and a steel rotor, and aluminium expands more than steel when
heated, a Wankel engine does not seize when overheated, unlike a piston engine. This is an
important safety factor for aeronautical use. Considerable development of these designs started
after World War II, but at the time the aircraft industry favored the use of turbine engines. It was
believed that turbojet or turboprop engines could power all aircraft, from the largest to smallest
designs. The Wankel engine did not find many applications in aircraft, but was used by Mazda in
a popular line of sports cars. Recently, the Wankel engine has been developed for use in motor
gliders where the small size, light weight, and low vibration are especially important.
[11]

Wankel engines are becoming increasingly popular in homebuilt experimental aircraft, due to a
number of factors. Most are Mazda 12A and 13B engines, removed from automobiles and
converted to aviation use. This is a very cost-effective alternative to certified aircraft engines,
providing engines ranging from 100 to 300 horsepower (220 kW) at a fraction of the cost of
traditional engines. These conversions first took place in the early 1970s, and with hundreds or
even thousands of these engines mounted on aircraft, as of 10 December 2006 the National
Transportation Safety Board has only seven reports of incidents involving aircraft with Mazda
engines, and none of these is of a failure due to design or manufacturing flaws. During the same
time frame, they have reports of several thousand reports of broken crankshafts and connecting
rods, failed pistons and incidents caused by other components not found in the Wankel engines.
Rotary engine enthusiasts refer to piston aircraft engines as "Reciprosaurs," and point out that
their designs are essentially unchanged since the 1930s, with only minor differences in
manufacturing processes and variation in engine displacement.
Diesel engine[edit]
Main article: Aircraft Diesel engine
Most aircraft engines use spark ignition, generally using gasoline as a fuel. Starting in the 1930s
attempts were made to produce a compression ignition Diesel engine for aviation use. In general,
Diesel engines are more reliable and much better suited to running for long periods of time at
medium power settings, which is why they are widely used in, for example, trucks and ships. The
lightweight alloys of the 1930s were not up to the task of handling the much higher compression
ratios of diesel engines, so they generally had poor power-to-weight ratios and were uncommon
for that reason, although the Clerget 14F Diesel radial engine (1939) has the same power to
weight ratio as a gasoline radial. Improvements in Diesel technology in automobiles (leading to
much better power-weight ratios), the Diesel's much better fuel efficiency and the high relative
taxation of AVGAS compared to Jet A1 in Europe have all seen a revival of interest in the use of
diesels for aircraft. Thielert Aircraft Engines converted Mercedes Diesel automotive engines,
certified them for aircraft use, and became an OEM provider to Diamond Aviation for their light
twin. Financial problems have plagued Thielert, so Diamond's affiliate Austro Engine
developed the new AE300 turbodiesel, also based on a Mercedes engine.
[12]
Competing new
Diesel engines may bring fuel efficiency and lead-free emissions to small aircraft, representing
the biggest change in light aircraft engines in decades. Wilksch Airmotive build 2-stroke Diesel
engine (same power to weight as a gasoline engine) for experimental aircraft: WAM 100
(100 hp), WAM 120 (120 hp) and WAM 160 (160 hp)
Diesel engines may also be carving out a niche among low- and medium-altitude unmanned
aircraft. The U.S. Army's MQ-1C Grey Eagle employs a heavy-fuel diesel engine which has the
advantages of extended range, more time on station, and fuel commonality among the vehicle
fleet, as compared to gasoline-powered piston engines or turbine engines. A smaller but similar
UAV also using a heavy-fuel diesel engine is Unmammed Aerial Systems Inc.'s Nightwind IVB.
Precooled jet engines[edit]
Main article: Precooled jet engine
For very high supersonic/low hypersonic flight speeds inserting a cooling system into the air duct
of a hydrogen jet engine permits greater fuel injection at high speed and obviates the need for
the duct to be made of refractory or actively cooled materials. This greatly improves the
thrust/weight ratio of the engine at high speed.
It is thought that this design of engine could permit sufficient performance for antipodal flight at
Mach 5, or even permit a single stage to orbit vehicle to be practical.
Electric[edit]
About 60 electrically powered aircraft, such as the QinetiQ Zephyr, have been designed since the
1960s.
[13][14]
Some are used as military drones.
[15]
In France in late 2007, a conventional light
aircraft powered by an 18 kW electric motor using lithium polymer batteries was flown, covering
more than 50 kilometers (31 mi), the first electric airplane to receive a certificate of
airworthiness.
[13]

Limited experiments with solar electric propulsion have been performed, notably the
manned Solar Challenger and Solar Impulse and the unmanned NASA Pathfinder aircraft.
Fuel[edit]

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to
reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2010)

This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline
citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (September 2010)
All aviation fuel is produced to stringent quality standards to avoid fuel-related engine failures.
Aviation standards are much more strict than those for road vehicle fuel because an aircraft
engine must meet a strictly defined level of performance under known conditions. These high
standards mean that aviation fuel costs much more than fuel used for road vehicles.
Aircraft reciprocating (piston) engines are typically designed to run on aviation gasoline. Avgas
has a higher octane rating than automotive gasoline to allow higher compression ratios, power
output and efficiency at higher altitudes. Currently the most common Avgas is 100LL that refers
to the octane rating (100 octane) and the lead content (LL = low lead).
Refineries blend Avgas with tetraethyllead (TEL) to achieve these high octane ratings, a practice
that governments no longer permit for road vehicle gasoline. The shrinking supply of TEL and the
possibility of environmental legislation banning its use has made a search for replacement fuels
for general aviation aircraft a priority for pilot's organizations.
[16]

Turbine engines and aircraft Diesel engines burn various grades of jet fuel. Jet fuel is a relatively
heavy and less volatile petroleum derivative based on kerosene, but certified to strict aviation
standards, with additional additives.
See also[edit]
Air safety
Aircraft engine position number
Engine configuration
Hyper engine
List of aircraft engines
Model engine
United States military aero engine designations
Notes[edit]
1. Jump up^ The world's first series-produced cars with superchargers came earlier than aircraft. These were Mercedes 6/25/40 hp
and Mercedes 10/40/65 hp, both models introduced in 1921 and used Roots superchargers. G.N. Georgano, ed. (1982). The new
encyclopedia of motorcars 1885 to the present (3rd ed.). New York: Dutton. p. 415. ISBN 0-525-93254-2.
References[edit]
1. Jump up^ "Pell Research Aircraft Engine Manufacturing Industry Report". Pellresearch.com. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
2. ^ Jump up to:
a

b

c
Ian McNeil, ed. (1990). Encyclopedia of the History of Technology. London: Routledge. pp. 31521. ISBN 0-203-
19211-7.
3. Jump up^ Gibbs-Smith, Charles Harvard (1970). Aviation: an historical survey from its origins to the end of World War II.
London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
4. Jump up^ Gibbs-Smith, Charles Harvard (1960). The Aeroplane: An Historical Survey of Its Origins and Development. London: Her
Majesty's Stationery Office.
5. Jump up^ Winter, Frank H. (December 1980). "Ducted Fan or the World's First Jet Plane? The Coanda claim re-examined". The
Aeronautical Journal (Royal Aeronautical Society) 84.
6. Jump up^ Antoniu, Dan; Cico, Geroge; Buiu, Ioan-Vasile; Bartoc, Alexandru; utic, Robert. Henri Coand and his technical work
during 19061918 (in Romanian). Bucharest: Editura Anima.ISBN 978-973-7729-61-3.
7. Jump up^ Guttman, Jon (2009). SPAD XIII vs. Fokker D VII: Western Front 1918 (1st ed.). Oxford: Osprey. pp. 2425. ISBN 1-
84603-432-9.
8. Jump up^ Powell, Hickman (Jun 1941). "He Harnessed a Tornado...". Popular Science.
9. Jump up^ Anderson, John D (2002). The airplane: A history of its technology.. Reston, VA, USA: American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics. pp. 25253. ISBN 1-56347-525-1.
10. Jump up^ Gibbs-Smith, C.H. (2003). Aviation. London: NMSO. p. 175. ISBN 1 9007 4752 9.
11. Jump up^ "ASH 26 E Information". DE: Alexander Schleicher. Archived from the original on 2006-10-08. Retrieved 2006-11-24.
12. Jump up^ "Diamond Twins Reborn". Flying Mag. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
13. ^ Jump up to:
a

b
Worldwide premire: first aircraft flight with electrical engine, Association pour la Promotion des Aronefs
Motorisation lectrique, December 23, 2007.
14. Jump up^ Superconducting Turbojet, Physorg.com.
15. Jump up^ Voyeur, Litemachines.
16. Jump up^ "EAA'S Earl Lawrence Elected Secretary of International Aviation Fuel Committee" (Press release).
[dead link]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons
has media related
to Aircraft engines.

Look up aircraft
enginein Wiktionary,
the free dictionary.
Aircraft Engines and Aircraft Engine Theory (includes links to diagrams)
The Aircraft Engine Historical Society
Jet Engine Specification Database
Aircraft Engine Efficiency: Comparison of Counter-rotating and Axial Aircraft LP Turbines
The History of Aircraft Power Plants Briefly Reviewed : From the " 7 lb. per h.p" Days to the "
1 lb. per h.p" of To-day
"The Quest for Power" a 1954 Flight article by Bill Gunston


Aircraft engine position number
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aircraft engine position numbering

Thrust levers in a Boeing 727 with the engine number on each lever
On multi-engined aircraft, aircraft engine positions are numbered from left to right from the
view of the pilot looking forward.
[1]

Contents
[hide]
1 Wing and rear-mounted engines
o 1.1 Twin-engined aircraft
o 1.2 Three-engined aircraft
o 1.3 Four-engined aircraft
o 1.4 Six-engined aircraft
2 Other configurations
o 2.1 Centerline
3 References
Wing and rear-mounted engines[edit]
Twin-engined aircraft[edit]
#1 - port - on the left
#2 - starboard - on the right
Three-engined aircraft[edit]
#1 - port - on the left
#2 - centre - on the centerline
#3 - starboard - on the right
Four-engined aircraft[edit]
#1 - port outer - on the left furthest from the fuselage
#2 - port inner - on the left nearest to the fuselage
#3 - starboard inner - on the right nearest to the fuselage
#4 - starboard outer - on the right furthest from the fuselage
Six-engined aircraft[edit]
#1 - port outer - on the left furthest from the fuselage
#2 - port middle - on the left between #1 and #3
#3 - port inner - on the left nearest to the fuselage
#4 - starboard inner - on the right nearest to the fuselage
#5 - starboard middle - on the right between #4 and #6
#6 - starboard outer - on the right furthest from the fuselage
Other configurations[edit]
Centerline[edit]
The English Electric Lightning has two jet engines on the centerline one above the other.
[2]

#1 - below and to the front of #2
#2 - above and to the rear of #1
References[edit]
1. Jump up^ National Business Aircraft Association (1952). Skyways for business. Henry Publications. p. 52.
2. Jump up^ Power Plants

Engine configuration
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to
reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)

Wikimedia Commons
has media related
to Engines by cylinder
layout.
Engine configuration is an engineering term for the layout of the major components of
a reciprocating piston internal combustion engine. These components are
the cylinders and crankshafts in particular but also, sometimes, the camshaft(s).
Many apparently 'standard' names for configurations are historic, arbitrary, or overlapping. For
example, the 180 V engine is so named because the crankshaft is related to a V engine more
closely than it is related to other opposed-piston engines such as the boxer. Others would
consider it a flat engine because of its shape.
The names W engine and rotary engine have each been used for several unconnected designs.
The H-4 and H-6 engines produced by Subaru are not H engines at all, but boxer engines. The
Subaru H-4 and H-6 designs are so named because they are horizontally opposed pistons.
Contents
[hide]
1 Categorisation by piston motion
2 Other categorizations
o 2.1 By valve placement
o 2.2 By camshaft placement
3 References
Categorisation by piston motion[edit]
See also: Multi-cylinder engine
Engine types include:
Single-cylinder engines
Inline engine designs:
Straight engine, with all of the cylinders placed in a single row
U engine, two separate straight engines with crankshafts linked by a central gear.
The square four is a U engine where the two straight engines have two
cylinders each.
V engine, with two banks of cylinders at an angle, most commonly 60 or 90 degrees.
Flat engine, two banks of cylinders directly opposite each other on either side of the
crankshaft.
H engine, two crankshafts.
W engine. Combination of V and straight, giving 3 banks, or two V's intertwined giving 4
banks.
Opposed piston engine, with multiple crankshafts, an example being:
Delta engines, with three banks of cylinders and three crankshafts
X engine.
Radial designs, including most:
Rotary engine designs. Mostly seen on pre-|WWII aircraft.
Pistonless rotary engines, notably:
Wankel engine.
The standard names for some configurations are historic, arbitrary, or both, with some overlap.
For example, the cylinder banks of a 180 V engine do not in any way form a V, but it is regarded
as a V engine because of its crankshaft and big end configuration, which result in performance
characteristics similar to a V engine. But it is also considered a flat engine because of its shape.
On the other hand, some engines which have none of the typical V engine crankshaft design
features and consequent performance characteristics are also regarded as V engines, purely
because of their shape. Similarly, the Volkswagen Group VR6 engine is a hybrid of the V
engine and the straight engine, and can not be definitively labeled as either.
Other categorizations[edit]
By valve placement[edit]
The majority of four stroke engines have poppet valves, although some aircraft engines
have sleeve valves. Valves may be located in the cylinder block (side valves), or in the cylinder
head (overhead valves). Modern engines are invariably of the latter design. There may be two,
three, four or five valves per cylinder, with the intake valves outnumbering the exhaust valves in
case of an odd number.
By camshaft placement[edit]
Poppet valves are opened by means of a camshaft which revolves at half the crankshaft speed.
This can be either chain, gear or toothed belt driven from the crankshaft, and can be located in
the crankcase (where it may serve one or more banks of cylinders) or in the cylinder head.
If the camshaft is located in the crankcase, a valve train of pushrods and rocker arms will be
required to operate overhead valves. Mechanically simpler are side valves, where the valve
stems rested directly on the camshaft. However, this gives poor gas flows within the cylinder
head as well as heat problems and fell out of favor for automobile use, seeflathead engine.
The majority of modern automobile engines place the camshaft on the cylinder head in
an overhead camshaft (OHC) design. There may be one or two camshafts in the cylinder head; a
single camshaft design is called single overhead camshaft (SOHC). A design with two camshafts
per cylinder head is called double overhead camshaft (DOHC). Note that the camshafts are
counted per cylinder head, so a V engine with one camshaft in each of its two cylinder heads is
still an SOHC design, and a V engine with two camshafts per cylinder head is DOHC, or
informally a "quad cam" engine.
With overhead camshafts, the valvetrain will be shorter and lighter, as no pushrods are required.
Some overhead camshaft designs still have rocker arms; this facilitates adjustment of
mechanical clearances.
If there are two camshafts in the cylinder head, the cams can sometimes bear directly on cam
followers on the valve stems (tappets). This is the usual arrangement for a four-valves-per-
cylinder design. This latter arrangement is the most inertia free, allows the most unimpeded gas
flows in the engine and is the usual arrangement for high performance automobile engines. It
also permits the spark plug to be located in the center of the cylinder head, which promotes
better combustion characteristics. Beyond a certain number of valves, the effective area
covered decreases, so four is the common-most number. Odd numbers of valves necessarily
means the intake or exhaust side must have one valve more. In practice this is invariably the
intake valves - even in even-numbered head designs, inlet valves are often larger in size than
exhaust.
Very large engines (e.g. marine engines) can have either extra camshafts or extra lobes on the
camshaft to enable the engine to run in either direction. Furthermore other manipulations of
valves can be used for e.g. engine braking, such as in a Jake brake.
A disadvantage of overhead cams is that a much longer chain (or belt) is needed to drive the
cams than with a camshaft located in the cylinder block, usually a tensioner is also needed. A
break in the belt may destroy the engine if pistons touch open valves at top dead center.
References[edit]
[hide]
V
T
E
Reciprocating engines and configurations

Type
Bourke
Deltic
Orbital
Piston
Pistonless (Wankel)
Radial
Rotary
Split cycle
Stelzer
Tschudi

Stroke cycles
Two-stroke
Four-stroke
Six-stroke

Configurations and number of cylinders
Single cylinder
Single
Split-single

Inline / straight
I2
I3
I4
I5
I6
I7
I8
I9
I10
I12
I14

Flat
F2
F4
F6
F8
F10
F12
F16

V / Vee
V2
V3
V4
V5
V6
V8
V10
V12
V14
V16
V18
V20
V24

W
W8
W12
W16
W18

Other inline
H
U
Square four
VR
Opposed
X


Components
Valves
Cylinder head porting
Corliss
Intake
Exhaust
Multi
Overhead
Piston
Poppet
Side
Sleeve
Slide
Rotary valve
Variable valve timing
Camless
Desmodromic

Fuel supplies
Carburetor
Gasoline direct injection
Common rail

Mechanisms Cam
Camshaft
Overhead camshaft
Connecting rod
Crank
Crankshaft
Scotch Yoke
Swashplate
Rhombic drive

Linkages
PeaucellierLipkin
Watt's (parallel)

Other
Hemi
Recuperator
Turbo-compounding


[hide]
V
T
E
Automotive engine

Part of the Automobile series

Basic terminology
Bore
Compression ratio
Crank
Cylinder
Dead centre
Diesel engine
Dry sump
Engine balance
Engine configuration
Engine displacement
Engine knocking
Firing order
Hydrolock
Petrol engine
Power band
Redline
Spark-ignition engine
Stroke
Stroke ratio
Wet sump

Main components
Connecting rod
Crankcase
Crankpin
Crankshaft
Crossflow cylinder head
Crossplane
Cylinder bank
Cylinder block
Cylinder head
Flywheel
Head gasket
Hypereutectic piston
Main bearing
Piston
Piston ring
Reverse-flow cylinder head
Starter ring gear
Sump

Valvetrain
Cam
Cam follower
Camshaft
Desmodromic valve
Hydraulic tappet
Multi-valve
Overhead camshaft
Overhead valve
Pneumatic valve springs
Poppet valve
Pushrod
Rocker arm
Sleeve valve
Tappet
Timing belt
Timing mark
Valve float
Variable valve timing

Aspiration
Air filter
Blowoff valve
Boost controller
Butterfly valve
Centrifugal-type supercharger
Cold air intake
Dump valve
Electronic throttle control
Forced induction
Inlet manifold
Intake
Intercooler
Manifold vacuum
Naturally aspirated engine
Ram-air intake
Scroll-type supercharger
Short ram air intake
Supercharger
Throttle
Throttle body
Turbocharger
Twin-turbo
Variable-geometry turbocharger
Variable-length intake manifold
Warm air intake

Fuel system Carburetor
Common rail
Direct injection
Fuel filter
Fuel injection
Fuel pump
Fuel tank
Gasoline direct injection
Indirect injection
Injection pump
Lean burn
Unit injector

Ignition
Contact breaker
Magneto
Distributor
Electrical ballast
High tension leads
Ignition coil
Spark plug
Wasted spark

Electrics and engine
management
Airfuel ratio meter
Alternator
Automatic Performance Control
Car battery (leadacid battery)
Crankshaft position sensor
Dynamo
Drive by wire
Electronic control unit
Engine control unit
Engine coolant temperature sensor
Glow plug
Idle air control actuator
MAP sensor
Mass flow sensor
Oxygen sensor
Starter motor
Throttle position sensor

Exhaust system
Automobile emissions control
Catalytic converter
Diesel particulate filter
Exhaust manifold
Glasspack
Muffler

Engine cooling
Air cooling
Antifreeze (ethylene glycol)
Core plug
Electric fan
Fan belt
Radiator
Thermostat
Water cooling
Viscous fan (fan clutch)

Other components
Balance shaft
Block heater
Combustion chamber
Cylinder head porting
Gasket
Motor oil
Oil filter
Oil pump
Oil sludge
PCV valve
Seal
Synthetic oil
Underdrive pulleys

Portal
Category

[hide]
V
T
E
Automobile configuration

Part of the Automobile series

Car body style and
classification
2 plus 2
Antique car
Cabrio coach
Cabriolet
City car
Classic car
Compact car
Compact executive car
Compact MPV
Compact SUV
Convertible
Coup
Coup utility
Crossover SUV
Custom car
Delivery
Delivery Truck
Drophead coupe
Executive car
Fastback
Family car
Full-size car
Grand tourer
Hardtop
Hatchback
Hot hatch
Hot rod
Kei car
Large family car
Leisure activity vehicle
Lead sled
Liftback
Limousine
Luxury vehicle
Microcar
Mid-size car
Mini MPV
Mini SUV
Minivan
Muscle car
Pony car
Notchback
Panel van
Personal luxury car
Pickup truck
Quad coup
Retractable hardtop
Roadster
Saloon
Sedan
Sport compact
Sport utility vehicle
Sports car
Station wagon
Street rod
Supercar
Supermini
Targa top
Taxicab
Touring car
Town car
T-top
Tow truck
Ute
Van
Voiturette

Specialized vehicles
Amphibious vehicle
Driverless car (autonomous car)
Flying car
Gyrocar

Propulsion
Internal combustion engine
Electric vehicle
Battery electric vehicle
Neighborhood Electric Vehicle
Hybrid vehicle (plug-in)
Hydrogen vehicle
Fuel cell
Steam car
Alternative fuel vehicle
Autogas
Biodiesel
Common ethanol fuel mixtures (E85)
Gasoline direct injection
Homogeneous charge compression ignition
Liquid nitrogen

Drive wheels
Front-wheel drive
Rear-wheel drive
Two-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive
Six-wheel drive
Eight-wheel drive

Engine positioning
Front-engine
Rear-engine
Mid-engine

Layout
Front-engine, front-wheel-drive
Rear-engine, front-wheel-drive
Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Mid-engine, front-wheel-drive
Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Front-engine, four-wheel-drive
Rear-engine, four-wheel-drive
Mid-engine, four-wheel-drive

Engine configuration
(internal combustion
engines only)
Boxer engine
Flat engine
Flathead engine
Four-stroke engine
H engine
Inline engine
Pushrod engine
Reciprocating engine
Single-cylinder engine
Straight engine
Straight-six engine
Two-stroke engine
V engine
W engine
Wankel engine

Engine fuel type
Diesel
Electric
Gasoline (petrol)
Hybrid
Hydrogen
Steam

Portal
Category

Categories:
Engine technology
Engines


Hyper engine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Liberty L-12 engine

Liberty L-12 engine, from which Hyper Engine No.1 was derived
Type One cylinder converted into "Hyper Engine No.
1"
National origin United States
Manufacturer Continental Motors
Designed by Sam Heron
First run 1932
Major applications Experimental Engine
Number built 1
The hyper engine was a 1930s study project by the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) to
develop a high-performance aircraft engine that would be equal to or better than the aircraft and
engines then under development in Europe. The project goal was to produce an engine that was
capable of delivering 1 hp/in
3
(46 kW/L) of engine displacement for a weight of less than 1 lb/hp
delivered. The ultimate design goal was an increased power-to-weight ratio suitable for long-
range airliners and bombers.
At the time, no production engine could come close to the requirements, although this milestone
had been met by special modified or purpose-built racing engines such as the Napier
Lion and Rolls-Royce R. A typical large engine of the era, thePratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin
Wasp radial developed about 1,200 hp (895 kW) from 1,830 in
3
(30 L) so an advance of at least
50% would be needed. Simply scaling up an existing design would not solve the problem. While
it would have increased the total available power, it would not have any significant effect on the
power-to-weight ratio; for that, more radical changes were needed.
[1]

Several engines were built as part of the hyper program, but for a variety of reasons none of
these saw production use. Air-cooled engines from a variety of US companies were delivering
similar power ratings by the early 1940s, and the licensed production of the Rolls-Royce
Merlin as the Packard V-1650 provided hyper-like performance from an inline while the Allison V-
1710 did the same from a US design, one produced as a private effort outside the hyper
program.
Contents
[hide]
1 Design and development
o 1.1 Hyper No.1
o 1.2 Hyper No.2
o 1.3 Continental O/V/IV/XIV-1430
2 Request for data R40-C
o 2.1 FY 1940
o 2.2 FY 1941
3 Program end
4 See also
5 References
o 5.1 Notes
o 5.2 Bibliography
o 5.3 Further reading
Design and development[edit]
Improvements in construction and lighter materials had already delivered some benefits on the
way to higher power-to-weight ratios. Aluminum was being introduced in place of steel as the
quality and strength of aluminum alloys improved during the 1930s; this lowered engine weight
noticeably, but not enough to achieve a 50% overall improvement. To reach that goal, the power
of the engine would also need to be increased. Power is a combination of energy and the rate it
is delivered, so to improve the power-to-weight ratio, one would need to increase the operating
pressures of the engine, the operating speed, or a combination of both. Further gains could be
made by eliminating losses like friction, combustion inefficiencies and scavenging losses,
delivering more of the theoretical power to the propeller.
[2]

The USAAC engineers determined that it would study all three improvements. Before long, they
concluded that increasing the combustion temperature and scavenging efficiency promised the
greatest increases of all of the possibilities. To meet that goal, increasing engine speed seemed
to be the most attractive solution. However, there were a number of practical problems that were
impeding progress in these areas.
Increasing the compression ratio is an easy change that improves the mean effective
pressure (MEP), but leads to engine knocking from inconsistent detonation. Uncontrolled, knock
can damage the engine and was a major block on the way to improved power settings. This
change would also increase the operating temperatures, which presented a problem with the
valves. Valves were already reaching temperatures that would cause pre-ignition of the fuel as it
flowed past them.
Increasing operational speed is also, theoretically, a simple change to the engine design.
However, at high operating speeds the valves do not completely close before the cam opens
them again, a problem called "valve float". Valve float allows gases in the cylinder to escape
through the partially open valve, reducing the engine efficiency. Increasing valve spring pressure
to close the valves faster led to rapid cam wear and increased friction, reducing overall
performance by more than any horsepower gained.
[3]

As valves were a key issue in both approaches to improved performance, they had been a major
area of research in the 1920s and 30s. In the UK, Harry Ricardo had written an influential paper
on the sleeve valve system for exactly these reasons, claiming it was the only way forward. He
had some success in selling this idea, most notably to Bristol Aeroplane Company Engines,
where Roy Fedden became "a believer". Ricardo's friendly competitor, Frank Halford, designed
his own sleeve valve engine with Napier & Son, another prominent British engine maker.
[4]

The USAAC was not so convinced that the sleeve valve was the only solution. Ironically it was
one of Ricardo's papers on the sleeve valve design that led to the USAAC's hyper engine efforts.
In one late 1920s paper he claimed that the 1 hp/in goal was impossible to achieve with poppet
valve type engines. The USAAC engineering team at Wright Field decided to test this claim by
beating it. They proposed an engine of about 1200 cubic inches (20 L), hoping the engine's
smaller size would lead to reduced drag and hence improved range.
Hyper No.1[edit]
Sam Heron, head of development at Wright Field and a former colleague of Ricardo while Heron
had been working at the Royal Aircraft Factory, Farnborough, started working on the problem
with a single-cylinder test engine that he converted to liquid cooling, using a Liberty L-12 engine
cylinder. He pushed the power to 480 psi Brake Mean Effective Pressure, and the coolant
temperature to 300 F (149 C) before reaching the magic numbers. By 1932, the USAAC's
encouraging efforts led the Army to sign a development contract with Continental Motors
Company for the continued development of the engine design. The contract limited Continental's
role to construction and testing, leaving the actual engineering development to the Army.
[5]

Starting with the L-12-cylinder, they decreased the stroke from 7 in to 5 in in order to allow higher
engine speeds, and then decreased the bore from 5 in to 4.62 in, creating the 84 in cylinder.
This would be used in a V-12 engine of 1008 in displacement.
[6]
They used the L-12's overhead
camshaft to operate multiple valves of smaller size, which would improve charging
and scavenging efficiency. Continental's first test engine, the single-cylinder Hyper No.1, first ran
in 1933.
They eventually determined that exhaust valves could run cooler when a hollow core filled
with sodium is used - the sodium liquefies and considerably increases the heat transfer from the
valve's head to its stem and then to the relatively cooler cylinder head where the liquid coolant
picks it up.
[6]

Liquid cooling systems at that time used plain water, which limited operating temperatures to
about 180 F (82 C). The engineers proposed using ethylene glycol, which would allow
temperatures up to 280 F. At first they proposed using 100% glycol, but there was little
improvement due to the lower specific heat of the glycol (about 2/3 that of water). They
eventually determined that a 50/50 mixture (by volume) of water and glycol provided optimal heat
removal.
[6]

Hyper No.2[edit]
A second cylinder was added to Hyper No. 1 to make a horizontal opposed engine for evaluation
of an opposed-piston 12-cylinder engine. After running the modified engine with different
combinations of cylinder bore and stroke, it was found that the high coolant temperatures
required to maintain the required output was impractical. A third high-performance single-cylinder
engine was then constructed with lower operating parameters. This engine was designated
"Hyper No. 2", and became the test bed for developing the cylinders that would become the O-
1430-1.
[6]

Continental O/V/IV/XIV-1430[edit]
Main article: Continental I-1430


IV-1430-9 in the National Museum of the United States Air Force
The Army apparently became concerned about the development of a suitable supercharger for
high-altitude use, and for further development in 1934 they asked for a newer cylinder with
slightly less performance and an increased volume of 118.8 in
3
from its 5.5 in (140 mm) bore and
5.0 in (130 mm) stroke. This size cylinder would then be used in a 1,425 in
3
12-cylinder engine,
delivering the same 1,000 hp, with a performance of 0.7 hp/in
3
. This placed its performance on a
par with newer experimental engines from Europe like theRolls-Royce PV-12, at least when
running on the higher-octane fuels the Army planned to use.
[7]

Another change was to the engine layout. The Army, convinced that future aircraft designs would
use engines buried in the wings for additional streamlining, asked Continental to design a full-
sized flat-opposed-piston engine for installation inside a wing. The resulting engine was the
Continental O-1430, which would require a ten year development period which changed the
layout to first an upright V-12 engine and later, an inverted V-12 engine before becoming reliable
enough to consider for full production as the Continental IV-1430 in 1943. By then other engines
had already passed its 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) rating, and although the IV-1430 had a better power-
to-weight ratio, there was little else to suggest setting up production in the middle of the war was
worthwhile.
[7]

The project was eventually guided by the requirements in the "Request for data R40-C", which
was included as a part of the Financial Year 1940 aircraft procurement program.
Request for data R40-C[edit]
As 1938 came to an end, the war in Europe heated to its boiling point. At this point, European
aircraft had greatly surpassed US designs.
[8]
The two top USAAC fighters, theSeversky P-35 and
the Curtiss P-36A, were just able to hit 300 mph (480 km/h). Against the 340+
mph Messerschmitt Bf 109 they would be completely outclassed. The twin-engined Lockheed
XP-38 was entering an extended test program.
Although the XP-38 was able to fly at speeds in excess of 413 mph, it was big and heavy, and
was therefore not as maneuverable as its stablemates.
[9]
The XP-38 also had a newly introduced
liquid-cooled engine, the Allison V-1710. The Allison's in-line vee cylinder arrangement allowed
for a narrow aerodynamic shape that had much less drag than the air-cooled radial engine
fighters that predominated America at the time.
[10]

The fighter aircraft procurement program for FY 1940 was contained in a document that was
approved by Assistant Secretary of War Louis K. Johnson on 9 June 1939. That document was
the "Request for Data R40-C", and unlike previous aircraft procurement requests, it was sent to
only a limited number of aircraft manufacturers. The original document was to be sent to:
[11]

Bell Aircraft Corporation
Consolidated Aircraft Corporation
Curtiss-Wright Corporation Curtiss Airplane Division
Curtiss-Wright Corporation, St. Louis Airplane Division
Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation
Republic Aviation Corporation
Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division, United Aircraft Corporation
Vultee Aircraft Division, Aviation Manufacturing Corporation
After final review and approval as Air Corps Type Specification XC-622, a further four
manufacturers were added to the distribution:
Hughes Aircraft Corporation
McDonnell Aircraft Company
Boeing Aircraft Company
Northrop Aircraft, Incorporated
These companies had only ten days to agree to the terms of the document, and only 30 days to
submit their designs.
FY 1940[edit]
A total of 26 designs, with a mix of 16 engine models from six engine companies, were submitted
by seven of the selected companies. These engines became known as the "Hyper Engines", a
contraction of High-performance engines. The submitted designs were graded using a "Figure of
merit" (FOM) rating system, and then, using the FOM results (which ranged from 444.12 for the
Allison V-1710-E8 to 817.90 for the Pratt and Whitney X-1800-A4G), they were separated into
one of three groups.
Those placed in the first group were little more than modifications to existing designs. They
were not considered to be sufficiently advanced.
Those placed in the third group proposed using an engine that was unlikely to be developed
into flying condition by the time the airframe was ready to fly. They were not considered to be
viable in the time frame allowed.
The remaining ten designs were placed in the second group: those that were an
advancement in aeronautical engineering, with an engine that would be ready to fly, when
needed.
Only three of these ten designs were approved, and contracts were made for a limited prototype
run of three aircraft for each.
[12]

The three aircraft/engine combinations that were selected:
[13]

1. Vultee Aircraft's Model 70 Alternate 2, (FOM score: 817.9), which became the Vultee XP-
54, powered by the Pratt & Whitney X-1800-A4G engine
2. Curtiss-Wright St Louis' Model P248C, (FOM score: 770.6), which became the Curtiss-
Wright XP-55 Ascender, powered by the Continental IV-1430-3 engine
3. Northrop's Model N2-B (FOM score: 725.8), which became the Northrop XP-56 Black
Bullet, powered by the Pratt & Whitney X-1800-A3G engine
The high-performance engines of FY 1940
[13]

Engine Model Configuration Displacement Horsepower
Specific
horsepower
Weight
Power to
weight ratio
Continental IV-1430-3 inverted V-12 1,430 in 1,600 hp at 3,200 rpm 1.12 hp/in 1,615 lb .99 hp/lb
Pratt & Whitney X-1800-A3G 24 cylinder H-block 2,600 in 2,200 hp .85 hp/in 3,250 lb .68 hp/lb
Pratt & Whitney X-1800-A4G 24-cylinder H-block 2,600 in 2,200 hp .85 hp/in 3,250 lb .68 hp/lb
FY 1941[edit]
Three additional high-performance engines were considered for the USAAC's FY 1942 "Hyper"
engine procurement program. They were:
[13]

Wright R-2160 "Tornado"
Pratt & Whitney H-3130
Allison V-3420
Not to be left out, the US Navy selected the Lycoming XH-2470 for funding in FY 1942 as well.
[13]

The high-performance engines of FY 1941
[13]

Engine Model Configuration Displacement Horsepower
Specific
horsepower
Weight
Power to
weight
ratio
Allison V-3420 24-cylinder W engine 3,421.2 in 2,100 hp .61 hp/in
2,600 lb
(1,200 kg)
.81 hp/lb
Lycoming XH-2470
24-cylinder horizontal
opposed
2,470 in 2,300 hp .93 hp/in
2,430 lb
(1,100 kg)
.96 hp/lb
Pratt & Whitney XH-
3130
24-cylinder H-block 3,130 in 2,650 hp .84 hp/in
3,250 lb
(1,470 kg)
.82 hp/lb
Wright R-2160 42-cylinder 6-row 2,160 in 2,350 hp 1.09 hp/in
2,400 lb
.98 hp/lb
(1,100 kg)
Program end[edit]
In the end, all of these programs were canceled, and the surviving engines became museum
pieces. One survivor, a Continental IV-1430, is privately owned, and is displayed publicly from
time to time.
Ironically, engines that were not considered under the program; the Allison V-1710, Pratt &
Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp, Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone and Pratt & Whitney R-4360
Wasp Major, all surpassed the USAAC requirements, and continue flying into the 21st century,
primarily flying restored warbird aircraft.
See also[edit]
Bomber B, the German Luftwaffe's advanced medium bomber program that used similar
high-output aviation powerplants.
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
1. Jump up^ White p 211
2. Jump up^ Biermann pp 16, 17
3. Jump up^ Taylor p 64
4. Jump up^ Bingham pg 49
5. Jump up^ White p 375
6. ^ Jump up to:
a

b

c

d
Balzer p.28
7. ^ Jump up to:
a

b
White p 376
8. Jump up^ Balzer p 7
9. Jump up^ Balzer pp 9, 10
10. Jump up^ Schlaifer p 253
11. Jump up^ Balzer p 13
12. Jump up^ Balzer p 15
13. ^ Jump up to:
a

b

c

d

e
Balzer p.24
Bibliography[edit]
Balzer, Gerald H. (2008). American Secret Pusher Fighters of World War II. Specialty Press. ISBN 978-1-58007-125-3.
Biermann, Arnold E, Corrington, Lester C. and Harries, Myron L. (1942). Effects of Additions of Aromatics on Knocking Characteristics of
Several 100-octane Fuels at Two Engine Speeds. Cleveland, Ohio, May,: Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory.
Bingham, Victor. Major Piston Aero Engines of World War II. Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-84037-012-2.
Schlaifer, Robert and Herron S.D. Development of Aircraft Engines and Development of Aviation Fuels. Harvard University.
Taylor, C. Fayette (1971). Aircraft Propulsion, Smithsonian Press, GPO.
White, Graham (1995). Allied Piston Engines of World War II. SAE International. ISBN 1-56091-855-9 Check |isbn= value (help).