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A. B. C. Motors Gnat
The All British Engine Company, Ltd. of London, United Kingdom was founded in 1912. Later, the name was changed to A.B.C. Motors, Ltd. They built a variety of A.B.C. engine types until the end of WWI, including the unsuccessful Dragonfly radial. During WWI, the firm began development of horizontally-opposed auxiliary power units (APU) for aircraft…
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Allison J33
The General Electric Company developed the design for the J33 out of its work with the Frank Whittle jet engine during the Second World War. Originally developed for the Lockheed P-80 “Shooting Star”, the J33 engine is a direct descendant of the British Whittle engine of the early 1940s. The first J33 underwent static testing…
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Allison V-1710
This was the first engine to be produced by the Allison Division of General Motors. The prototype engine ran in 1931 with an output of 650 hp at 2400 RPM. By 1936 a major redesign resulted in 1000 hp at 2600 RPM. The Curtiss P-40 was the first production aircraft to use the V-1710, which…
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Avro Canada Orenda
The Avro Canada TR-5 Orenda was the first production jet engine from Avro Canada’s Gas Turbine Division. The Orenda outperformed its rivals in most ways, and the Orenda-powered Canadair Sabres were among the fastest of all first-generation jet fighters. Over 4,000 Orendas of various marks were delivered during the 1950s, Avro’s greatest engine success. Development…
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Bristol Mercury
The Mercury was developed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1925 as their Bristol Jupiter was reaching the end of its lifespan. With the widespread introduction of superchargers to the aviation industry in order to improve altitude performance, designer Roy Fedden felt it was reasonable to use a small amount of boost at all times…
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Continental A-65
Continental Motors started producing engines in 1905 and a radial aircraft engine was made in 1929. Production included automobiles, and engines for other manufacturers. They also produced gasoline and diesel engines for tanks in the 1950s. Continental started producing their well known 4-cylinder horizontally-opposed aircraft engines in the 1930s, followed by 6-cylinder engines after…
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Continental O-470
Continental Motors started producing engines in 1905 and a radial aircraft engine was made in 1929. Production included automobiles, and engines for other manufacturers. They also produced gasoline and diesel engines for battle tanks in the 1950s. Continental started producing their well known 4-cylinder opposed aircraft engines in the 1930s, followed by 6-cylinder engines after…
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de Havilland Gipsy I
The de Havilland Gipsy engine is a 4-cylinder, air-cooled, inline engine that was used in the popular series of Moth aircraft designed by Geoffrey de Havilland in the 1920s. The original Moth was powered by a Cirrus engine, but de Havilland was not satisfied with the engine, itself developed from WW1 engines. In 1927 de…
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de Havilland Gipsy Major
The de Havilland Gipsy Major is a 4-cylinder, air-cooled, inline engine that was used in a variety of light aircraft in the 1930s, including the famous Tiger Moth. The engine was a slightly modified Gipsy III that was effectively a de Havilland Gipsy engine modified to run inverted so that the cylinders pointed downwards below…
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de Havilland Gipsy Queen 30
The de Havilland Gipsy Queen is a British six-cylinder aero engine of 9 litres (550 cu in) capacity that was first run in 1936 by the de Havilland Engine Company. It was developed from the de Havilland Gipsy Six for military aircraft use. Produced between 1936 and 1950, around 5000 Gipsy Queen engines were built.…
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De Havilland Goblin 2
The de Havilland Goblin, originally the Halford H-1, was an early turbojet engine designed by Frank Halford. He had a long history of engine design, from the de Havilland Gipsy air-cooled piston engine to the 3,500 hp Napier engines. The Goblin was the second British jet engine to fly, powering the first flights of the…
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Garrett TPE331
Cliff Garrett started manufacturing heat exchangers for the aftercoolers of turbosupercharged World War 2 aircraft such as the B-17. This technology led to air-cycle refrigeration units for aircraft, and auxiliary power units for ground and airborne use. Initially installed on the C-130, the AiResearch APU became a standard for the Boeing 727, 737 and Douglas…