Dayton Air Force Museum
Today some friends and I went to the Dayton Air Force Museum. The museum has 12 primary exhibits, but I was only able to properly visit six of them while I was there. My favorite part of each exhibit was the engine display. The “Early Years” gallery had some of the early engines used in airplanes. Most of these were inline or rotary, but there were some V engines too. There was even an exhibit of a rotary engine in action which was spinning at a few rotations per minute so visitors could see how it worked. I was surprised to see that what would typically be the block rotated about what would normally be the crankshaft. Instead of having a firing order, the topmost cylinder would fire every other rotation. This was extremely different from engines I am used to working with.
The next engine I enjoyed was the King Bugatti U 16. It was two inline eights put together with a gear driving output shaft. I was looking at the front of the engine and was very confused how both banks of cylinders could drive a single output, but upon looking at the back, I saw there were two crankshafts. Apparently, the output shaft is gear driven by both crankshafts. One of the benefits to the dual crankshaft approach is that there is now a cavity going through the middle of the crankcase to shoot through. This was needed due to the fact that the engine was used in World War 1 planes. Having an aerodynamic and functional way to shoot and power the plane was essential.
The last interesting engine to me was an inverted V12. In general, the combustion chamber is above the crankcase. In this engine, the combustion chamber was below the crankcase. This was done to improve visibility for the pilot but has drawbacks. The biggest drawback is oiling. In a typical engine, the oil is allowed to drain from the top of the engine to the bottom into the oil pan. In this engine, the oil must be collected after use. Another drawback of the inverted style engine is that oil can flow into the combustion chamber instead of flowing out. If too much oil flows in, the engine could hydrolock and cause damage. I would like to have seen how development occurred. The sign mentioned that initial attempts to invert the engine failed, but not why.
Overall, it was a fun trip. Seeing all of the planes was cool, but planes aren’t something I am terribly interested in. The scale of many of the planes was incredible. I have never flown before, so I have nothing to compare them to. Even the smaller planes from the early 1900s seemed massive to me. The engines and technical specifications of each plane were by far the most interesting aspect to me.
The next engine I enjoyed was the King Bugatti U 16. It was two inline eights put together with a gear driving output shaft. I was looking at the front of the engine and was very confused how both banks of cylinders could drive a single output, but upon looking at the back, I saw there were two crankshafts. Apparently, the output shaft is gear driven by both crankshafts. One of the benefits to the dual crankshaft approach is that there is now a cavity going through the middle of the crankcase to shoot through. This was needed due to the fact that the engine was used in World War 1 planes. Having an aerodynamic and functional way to shoot and power the plane was essential.
The last interesting engine to me was an inverted V12. In general, the combustion chamber is above the crankcase. In this engine, the combustion chamber was below the crankcase. This was done to improve visibility for the pilot but has drawbacks. The biggest drawback is oiling. In a typical engine, the oil is allowed to drain from the top of the engine to the bottom into the oil pan. In this engine, the oil must be collected after use. Another drawback of the inverted style engine is that oil can flow into the combustion chamber instead of flowing out. If too much oil flows in, the engine could hydrolock and cause damage. I would like to have seen how development occurred. The sign mentioned that initial attempts to invert the engine failed, but not why.
Overall, it was a fun trip. Seeing all of the planes was cool, but planes aren’t something I am terribly interested in. The scale of many of the planes was incredible. I have never flown before, so I have nothing to compare them to. Even the smaller planes from the early 1900s seemed massive to me. The engines and technical specifications of each plane were by far the most interesting aspect to me.
Danny! I know nothing about engines but your insight on all the planes was very fascinating. I've been to the Dayton Air Force museum too many times to count since my dad was a fighter pilot when I was a kid. I honestly can't remember the planes you are talking about from the museum but they sound interesting! You did say you've never been able to fly a plane before, but if you get the chance take. My dad also flies little airplanes as a hobby and sometimes he takes me up to fly it myself. I don't really think the activity is for me since by the second hour I feel nauseous but you would definitely enjoy it!
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