Because the Wright Brothers’ initial and primary objective was demonstration of heavier-than-air flight, their early engines, which they designed and manufactured themselves, were very similar and rudimentary. For example, they did not have carburetors. This Wright Vertical 4, the oldest existing U.S. Navy aircraft engine, powered the Navy's first Wright airplane, the B-1 hydro-aero plane. In 1912 the B-1 crashed in San Diego Bay during a training flight. Navy mechanics repaired the heavily damaged aircraft and its engine. However, attempts to solder and weld the aluminum fragments to the crankcase proved impossible, so an electrician fabricated a sheet metal patch and bolted it to the lower side of the crankcase.
This engine is the only known artifact to have survived from the Navy's first aviation training program, during which routine flights and accidents resulted in a cycle of repair and reconstruction of aircraft and overhaul of many engines.
Display Status
This object is on display in Boeing Aviation Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.
Object Details
Date
1911
Country of Origin
United States of America
Type
PROPULSION-Reciprocating & Rotary
Designer
Orville Wright
Manufacturer
Wright Company (Dayton, Ohio)
Physical Description
Type: Reciprocating, in-line, 4 cylinders, liquid cooled
Power rating: Normal 22.4 kW (30 hp) at 1,200 rpm, Maximum 29.1 kW (39 hp) at 1,600 rpm
Displacement: 3.95 L (241 cu in)
Bore and Stroke: 111 mm (4.375 in.) x 102 mm (4.0 in.)
Weight: 81.7 kg (180 lb)
Dimensions
Length 88.9 cm (35 in.), Height 63.5 cm (25 in.), Width 35.6 cm (14 in.)
Inventory Number
A19520108000
Credit Line
Transferred from the Department of the Navy, Bureau of Aeronautics
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
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