Once the largest independent manufacturer of automotive engines, Detroit’s Continental Motors Corporation purchased the rights to a single-sleeve valve engine design in 1925, believing this technology might replace poppet valves in aircraft engines. However, after considerable testing with U.S. Navy support, the company only became successful in aviation after reverting to poppet valves.
Continental’s future success began in 1931 when it began production of four cylinder horizontally opposed engines. For example, the Continental A-40 made the classic Piper Cub possible. Today the opposed engine design has replaced all other types of piston engines for various reasons, including fewer cylinders for equal power and smooth running. And Continental is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of general aviation engines.
The A-50 powered the Luscombe 8 high wing, side-by-side seating, monoplane. Built about 1939, this rare artifact trained mechanics and pilots for its owner, Victor ("Speed") G. Johnson, an early aviator.
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.