If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
13 Horsepower
12 Horsepower After it's successful flight at Kitty Hawk, upon its return to Dayton the Wright 'Flyer' underwent an extensive overhaul. The engine was fitted with spark plugs and a magneto, replacing the original make & break system. Whilst installing the magneto Orville discovered the original timing was so retarded that the engine's output was reduced by about half or about twelve horsepower. Timed correctly, the engine provided more than enough power to carry a passenger. This evening I was thumbing through a flyer of a different sort, this one from Harbor Freight, in which they offered a 13 hp engine for $370. The engine has a displacement of about 25 cubic inches and claims an output of 17 ft/lbs @ 2500 rpm. The Harbor Freight engine weighs78 lbs; the 'Flyer' engine ran about 200 lb. With forty feet of span and more than 500 square feet of area, I've no doubt that the Harbor Freight engine ...or even a pair of them ...could power a replica of the Wright 'Flyer,' although I can't imagine why anyone would want to do so. But the idea of using a Harbor Freight engine meshes neatly with a recent thread about a minimum flying machine. The Wright's drove their eight-foot propellers at about 1200 rpm through the use of a chain drive. Crossing the chain on one of the props gave them contra-rotation. Should a builder wish to produce a kind of power pod suitable for use on a variety of low-cost, light-weight airframes, the thirteen horsepower Harbor Freight engine, appears amenable to a 2:1 speed reduction unit. Since this is the ratio between the cam and crankshaft of all Otto Cycle engines, suitable belts and gearing is available at your nearest automotive salvage yard. -R.S.Hoover |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
q horsepower | Euro-Motors | Aerobatics | 2 | May 19th 08 12:25 AM |
more horsepower | T-Bone | Piloting | 11 | March 20th 06 10:56 PM |
Lycoming Horsepower Calculation? | Mark Doble | Home Built | 1 | June 20th 05 10:46 PM |
Thermals and Horsepower | Ken Kochanski (KK) | Soaring | 14 | January 9th 05 05:50 PM |
Horsepower | Andre | Home Built | 3 | July 18th 03 10:50 AM |