Engines – Power

Duthiel-Chalmers 24 hp

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A two-cylinder Duthiel-Chalmers horizontal engine, rated 24 h.p. at 1200 r.p.m., had a 128 mm. (5,04 in.) bore, 130 mm. (5.12 in.) stroke, and a total displacement of 204.28 cu, in. This engine was said to weigh 132 lbs., or 5.5 lbs. per rated h.p.

Cylindrical sleeve valves in the cylinder head were operated mechanically. The cylinders were held by long studs passing through clamps over the cylinder head.

The water outlet and the spark plugs were located on top of the cylinder and the water inlet underneath. The crankshaft was fitted with a wire spoked flywheel, and the pistons were lubricated by special oil feeds run to the cylinder.

Duthiel-Chalmers

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The Duthiel-Chalmers engines were early French designs, in which the cylinders were all arranged horizontally.
Except for the first 20-h.p. air-cooled two-cylinder model used in Santos-Dumont’s Demoiselle, all of the later engines were water-cooled.

A series of Duthiel-Chalmers horizontal engines of two, four, and six cylinders and rated at 20, 40 and 60 h.p., respectively, were built with 125 mm. (4.92 in.) bore and 120 mm. (4.72 in.) stroke. The 20-h.p. engine, of 179.52 cu. in. total displacement, was said to weigh 165 lbs., or 8.25 lbs. per rated h.p. The four-cylinder 40-h.p. model had 359.04 cu. in. total displacement and weighed 264 lbs., or 6.6 lbs. per rated h.p. The six-cylinder engine of 538.56 cu. in. total displacement weighed 374 lbs., or 6.23 lbs. per rated h.p.

An interesting feature of these engines was the two spark plugs located in a valve. Either of the spark plugs could be removed while the engine was running by turning the internal tapered plug.

du Temple 1874 Monoplane / du Temple Canot planeur

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The du Temple Monoplane “Canot planeur” of 1874 might have been realized by Félix du Temple de la Croix (1823-1890) from his 1857 patent. The du Temple Monoplane was a steam-powered aircraft made of aluminium, built in Brest, France, by naval officer Félix du Temple.

The aircraft used a very compact, high-speed circulation steam engine for which Félix du Temple applied for a patent on 28 April 1876. The engine used very small pipes packed together to obtain the highest possible contact surface for the smallest possible volume.

When he began with the aid of his brother, M. Louis du Temple, to experiment on a large scale, the inadequacy of all motors then known became apparent. They first tried steam at very high pressures, then a hot-air engine, and finally built and patented, in 1876 a very light steam boiler weighing from 39 to 44 lb. to the horse power, which appears to have been the prototype of some of the light boilers which have since been constructed. It consisted in a series of very thin tubes less than 1/8 in. in internal diameter, through which water circulated very rapidly, and was flashed into steam by the surrounding flame.

This type of boiler, which boils the water instantly, has come to be known as a flash boiler. The engine design was later adopted by the French Navy for the propulsion of the first French torpedo boats.

Variously reported as steam powered or powered by a hot-air engine; fitted with a propeller of 12 blades or 6 blades or even 8 blades; and the undercarriage sometimes claimed as “retracting”.

A flight of the full-scale machine was attempted in 1874 in Brest, where it was launched from a ramp. Several trials were made with the aircraft, and it is generally recognized that it achieved lift-off – described by Dollfus as “short hop or leap” and in Flight International as “staggered briefly into the air” – (from a combination of its own power and running down an inclined ramp), glided for a short time and returned safely to the ground, making it the first successful powered flight in history though not the first self-powered one. Flight was not attained as the machine swiftly hit the ground and rolled over. Reports on who was in the pilot’s seat is given that du Temple at the controls – or, in other reports – a “young sailor” was the pilot.

Félix du Temple had been the first to build a heavier-than-air model (weight 700 g), which flew and landed safely in 1857.

It had a wingspan of 13 m (43 ft) and weighed 80 kg (180 lb) without the pilot.

Dusenbury Wright Flyer III

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On October 3, 2007, at Huffman Prairie, Ohio, USA, Mark Dusenberry flew his Wright Flyer III reproduction for 2min 10sec around the oval course where Wilbur Wright proved the practicality of powered flight in 1905.

Dusenberry’s flight was the longest achieved by a Wright III reproduction. It came during rehearsals for a series of educational events on October 5 to celebrate the 102nd anniversary of Wilbur’s flight, during which the pioneer flew 29 laps of the course, covering 24 miles in 39min.

Construction took Dusenberry 10,000hr over a 10yr period, using the same materials seen on the original, spruce and ash. He also built a reproduction 1905 engine, and carved the spruce propellers. The only departure from original construction was the polyester cloth covering.

The October 5 events were organised by the US National Parks Service, and 2,500 people assembled at the prairie to watch Dusenberry’s flight; it lasted only 40sec, ending when the starboard wingtip clipped the ground in a turn. Mark was unhurt in the impact, and said. “All I broke was a bunch of sticks, and put a few holes in the fabric. I will repair it, and should have it flying in about a year”

Durand Mark V

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The Durand biplane features a negative stagger configuration so that it does not produce a full stall, only a very short period of “nibbling” with little loss of altitude. The structure is rated + 3.8 and —1.5 G’s. Roll is produced by a combination of effects when a spoiler is activated, instead of by use of ailerons. According to its designer, a spoiler for roll control actually helps an airplane turn in the direction of the bank, while ailerons do not. The trailing edges of the wings are taken up by full-span flaps. With a standard 150-hp Lycoming, the Durand can carry two people with 128 pounds of baggage at 135 mph over a range of 520 miles. Cockpit controls are basic, with dual sticks in lieu of standard control wheels. The cabin features exceptional visibility by using a forward sliding canopy instead of side doors normally associated with high-wing and biplane cabin aircraft.

Engine 150-hp Lycomlng
HP range: 125-180.
Gross Wt. 1840 lb
Empty Wt. 1210 lb
Fuel capacity 24.5 USG
Wingspan 24 ft 6 in
Length 20 ft 3 in
Top speed 170 mph
Cruise 135 mph
Climb rate 1200 fpm
Ceiling 15,000 ft
Normal range 400 miles
Range with auxiliary tanks 520 mile
Takeoff run 550 ft
Landing roll 450 ft

Durand XD-85

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This was a 2-seat pusher designed and built by Mr. William H. Durand and the aircraft first flew during the Summer of 1948. The all-metal XD-85 was powered by an 85hp Continental C85-12J engine. The aircraft reportedly sustained wing damage in a hangar incident and was not rebuilt. Further development was halted, a fate not uncommon to many other (light) aircraft projects of the immediate post-war years.

Duruble Edelweiss RD 03

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This aircraft is a 4 seat aircraft with the prototype (F-PYIT) powered by a Lycoming O320 (160Hp) for the first flight in March 1982. Made available in plans form for home construction and developed from the earlier RD-02 two-seater.
Able to take up to 180hp, the propeller was a variable speed Hoffmann, and autoopilot (badin Crouzet), classified IFR in 1984.
With 23in and 2300rpm it can cruise about 140kt and use 32l per hour (100LL).

Windspan: 8.820m
Length: 6.875m
Wing area: 11.388sq.m
Airfoil: Naca 23019
socket Profil : Naca 23012
Marginal Profil : 6°30′
Dihedral: -3°
Twisted: +3°
Number of seats: 4
Power: 160 HP
Class: Utility
Max speed: 275 km/h
Cruise speed: 253 km/h
Stall speed clean: 105 km/h
Stall speed gear and flaps: 92 km/h
ROC: 5.9 m/s
Max ceiling: 5000 m
Empty weight: 485 kg
Fuel: 108 kg
Passager front weight: 172 kg
Passager rear weight: 154 kg
Luggage: 20 kg
max payload: 443 kg
MAUW: 928 kg
Wing loading: 81.49 kg/sq.m
Power loading: 6.19 kg/hp