CHAPTER X
[Power Plant Installation]—[Curtiss OX-2 Engine Mounting and Operating Rules]—[Standard S. A. E. Engine Bed Dimensions]—[Hall-Scott Engine Installation and Operation]—[Fuel System Rules]—[Ignition System]—[Water System]—[Preparations to Start Engine]—[Mounting Radial and Rotary Engines]—[Practical Hints to Locate Engine Troubles]—[All Engine Troubles Summarized]—[Location of Engine Troubles Made Easy].
The proper installation of the airplane power plant is more important than is generally supposed, as while these engines are usually well balanced and run with little vibration, it is necessary that they be securely anchored and that various connections to the auxiliary parts be carefully made in order to prevent breakage from vibration and that attendant risk of motor stoppage while in the air. The type of motor to be installed determines the method of installation to be followed. As a general rule six-cylinder vertical engine and eight-cylinder Vee type are mounted in substantially the same way. The radial, fixed cylinder forms and the radial, rotary cylinder Gnome and Le Rhone rotary types require an entirely different method of mounting. Some unconventional mountings have been devised, notably that shown at [Fig. 144], which is a six-cylinder German engine that is installed in just the opposite way to that commonly followed. The inverted cylinder construction is not generally followed because even with pressure feed, dry crank-case type lubricating system there is considerable danger of over-lubrication and of oil collecting and carbonizing in the combustion chamber and gumming up the valve action much quicker than would be the case if the engine was operated in the conventional upright position. The reason for mounting an engine in this way is to obtain a lower center of gravity and also to make for more perfect streamlining of the front end of the fuselage in some cases. It is rather doubtful if this slight advantage will compensate for the disadvantages introduced by this unusual construction. It is not used to any extent now but is presented merely to show one of the possible systems of installing an airplane engine.
Fig. 144.—Unconventional Mounting of German Inverted Cylinder Motor.
Fig. 145.—How Curtiss Model OX-2 Motor is Installed in Fuselage of Curtiss Tractor Biplane. Note Similarity of Mounting to Automobile Power Plant.