Wright famille Whirlwind

The Wright Whirlwind, Wikipedia.en


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The Wright Whirlwind was a family of air-cooled [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] built by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (originally an independent company, later a division of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]).

The family began with nine-cylinder engines, and later expanded to include five-cylinder and seven-cylinder varieties.

Fourteen-cylinder [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] versions were also developed, but these were not commercially produced.

Description


The Whirlwind was a direct descendant of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], a nine-cylinder air-cooled radial built by the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] for the U.S. Navy.

Because the Navy was very enthusiastic about air-cooled radials, but was concerned that Lawrance could not produce
enough engines for its needs, it forced Wright to purchase the Lawrance company in 1923 and build the J-1 itself.

Wright's J-1 was the first engine in its nine-cylinder [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] series and was quickly followed by the J-3, J-4, J-4A, J-4B, and finally the popular and successful J-5 of 1925.

In 1928, Wright replaced the R-790 series with the J-6 Whirlwind family, in which a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] was added to boost engine power and the cylinders were enlarged by expanding the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

This family included three members: the nine-cylinder [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], the seven-cylinder [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], and the five-cylinder [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien],
providing a range of different power levels using the same basic design.

Of these, the R-975 proved the most popular, especially because of its use in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] during [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

During the mid-1930s, Wright also developed two fourteen-cylinder double-row versions of the Whirlwind, the R-1510 of 600 hp (450 kW), and the R-1670 of 800 hp (600 kW).

These were used in a number of military aircraft prototypes, but neither engine reached the production stage.

Air-cooled Whirlwinds were lighter and more reliable than liquid-cooled engines of similar power, since a liquid cooling system added weight and required extra maintenance.

Thanks to these advantages Whirlwind engines were used widely and were built in large numbers.

Licensed copies were produced by manufacturers such as [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The Whirlwind's success led to the development of other air-cooled radial engines throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s and these gradually eclipsed most liquid-cooled aircraft engines.

Wright 975

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A Continental-built R-975 from a Sherman tank

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