Wright R-540

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Wright Aeronautical
Wright R-540 Whirlwind in a Travel Air 16E

Wright R-540 Whirlwind in a Travel Air 16E
R-540 Whirlwind
Production period: 1929-1937
Manufacturer: Wright Aeronautical
Developing country: United StatesUnited States United States
Working principle: Otto
Motor design: Radial engine
Cylinder: 5
Drilling: 127 mm
Hub: 140 mm
Displacement: 8850 cm 3
Mixture preparation: Carburetor
Engine charging: compressor
Cooling system: Air cooling
Power: 123-130 kW
Dimensions: 191 kg
Previous model: J-5
Successor: none

Wright R-540 Whirlwind is a series of air-cooled five-cylinder star engines for aircraft that was built by the US manufacturer Wright Aeronautical , a subsidiary of Curtiss-Wright . The engines had a displacement of 8850 cm³ and outputs between 165  PS (121  kW ) and 175 PS (129 kW). This makes them the smallest models in the Whirlwind motor family.

The Wright R-540 is not to be confused with the similar Kinner R-540 from Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation .

development and construction

Wright introduced the J-6 Whirlwind series in 1928 as the successor to the nine-cylinder R-790 series. It includes models with five, seven and nine cylinders . The five-cylinder model was originally called the J-6 Whirlwind Five (J-6-5 for short). However, the US government gave the engine the designation R-540, which was later adopted by Wright.

Like all models in the J-6 Whirlwind series, the R-540 also has larger cylinders than the R-790. The Hub indeed remained at 5.5  in (139.7  mm ) unchanged, but the cylinder bore was the R-790 extended from 4.5 (mm 114.3) in at 5.0 inches (127 mm). While the R-790 is a purely naturally aspirated engine , the R-540, like other J-6 engines, has a charge compressor .

Wright changed the R-540 successively and designated the different versions with appended letters. For example, the R-540A developed 165  HP (121  kW ) while the R-540E from 1931 had an output of 175 HP (129 kW) thanks to revised cylinder heads . Wright sometimes named the engines after their performance, for example Whirlwind 165 or Whirlwind 175.

The engine was also built under license in Spain as Hispano-Suiza 5Q and Hispano-Wright 5Q.

Usage history

The R-540 was the smallest and weakest model in the Whirlwind family and was intended for use in small aircraft . One of the more popular aircraft in which it was used was the Curtiss Robin , a small, civilian universal aircraft . It was also used in some prototypes of military training aircraft for the US Army , but these did not go into series production .

Initially, the R-540 sold well with over 400 units built in 1929 alone.

With the onset of the global economic crisis, however, the sales figures collapsed and only one hundred more copies were built over the next eight years. Wright finally stopped producing the five-cylinder Whirlwinds in 1937 and focused on building larger engines. It left the business with smaller radial engines to manufacturers such as Kinner and Warner .

Since R-540 engines were used exclusively on small aircraft, they were not often used on groundbreaking flights. There are a few notable exceptions, however, due to the engines' reputation for reliability. In 1935, Brothers Al and Fred Key set a new record of 653 hours and 24 minutes in a Curtiss Robin J-1 flying in circles over Meridian , Mississippi between June 4th and July 1st . The aircraft was refueled in the air and loaded with supplies. In addition, the pilots could carry out simple maintenance work by moving on a small walkway between the cabin and the engine. Even Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan Curtiss Robin, with whom he his famous transatlantic flight from New York City to Dublin carried out on 17 and 18 July 1938 was powered by a R-540.

use

Issued copies

Wright R-540 engines on display are rare. However, there is one in the Strategic Air and Space Museum near Ashland , Nebraska . Another is on display at the Shannon Air Museum in Fredericksburg , Virginia .

Web links

Commons : Wright R-540 Whirlwind  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wright Engines - Past and Present. (pdf) Aircraft Engine Historical Society, accessed on February 2, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Manual location: Hispano Suiza in Aeronautics . SAE International, Warrendale 2004, ISBN 0-7680-0997-9 , pp. 152-163 (English).
  3. ↑ a b c Summary of Wright Engine Shipments 1920 - 1930. Aircraft Engine Historical Society, accessed on February 2, 2020 (English).