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Blackburn Cubaroo

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A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer , used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation . While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage over a monoplane , it produces more drag than a monoplane wing. Improved structural techniques, better materials and higher speeds made the biplane configuration obsolete for most purposes by the late 1930s.

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117-541: The Blackburn T.4 Cubaroo was a British prototype biplane torpedo bomber of the 1920s. Built by Blackburn Aircraft and intended to carry a large 21 in (533 mm) torpedo , the Cubaroo was claimed to be the largest single-engined aircraft in the world at the time of its first flight. In 1921, the British Air Ministry issued Specification 8/21 (previously Directorate of Research type IX) to Blackburn for

234-422: A Coastal Defence Torpedo Aeroplane , for a long-range torpedo bomber with a range of over 800 mi (1,300 km) and the ability to carry a full size 21 in (533 mm) naval torpedo , which was at the time was thought capable of sinking the most heavily armoured warships. Previous torpedo bombers had used smaller, less capable torpedoes. Blackburn Aircraft's chief designer, Major F. A Bumpus, submitted

351-414: A carcinogen or "probable carcinogen" and is known to increase the risk of heart and respiratory diseases. In principle, a diesel engine does not require any sort of electrical system. However, most modern diesel engines are equipped with an electrical fuel pump, and an electronic engine control unit. However, there is no high-voltage electrical ignition system present in a diesel engine. This eliminates

468-646: A W shape cabane, however as it does not connect the wings to each other, it does not add to the number of bays. Large transport and bombing biplanes often needed still more bays to provide sufficient strength. These are often referred to as multi-bay biplanes . A small number of biplanes, such as the Zeppelin-Lindau D.I have no interplane struts and are referred to as being strutless . Because most biplanes do not have cantilever structures, they require rigging wires to maintain their rigidity. Early aircraft used simple wire (either braided or plain), however during

585-412: A biplane aircraft, two wings are placed one above the other. Each provides part of the lift, although they are not able to produce twice as much lift as a single wing of similar size and shape because the upper and the lower are working on nearly the same portion of the atmosphere and thus interfere with each other's behaviour. In a biplane configuration with no stagger from the upper wing to the lower wing,

702-459: A crutch under the fuselage, between them. Due to the change of British Air Ministry policy favouring twin-engine designs for the role, a new specification, 16/22 was drawn up, and the type was not ordered into service. Although drawings were made for three different versions with two engines, none of these were built. The first prototype (with serial N166 ) flew in secrecy in the summer of 1924, proving to have good handling characteristics, with

819-454: A curved radiator ahead of the engine in the nose, while the second, N167 , had a flat one. The Cubaroo, with a mainly steel tube metal structure, had an 11 ft (3.4 m) deep fuselage to accommodate the pilot who sat, with a navigator beside him, sitting over the engine. The rear of the fuselage had a triangle cross section to improve the gunner's fields of fire from hatches located near each lower wing root which permitted them to cover

936-448: A diesel engine drops at lower loads, however, it does not drop quite as fast as the Otto (spark ignition) engine's. Diesel engines are combustion engines and, therefore, emit combustion products in their exhaust gas . Due to incomplete combustion, diesel engine exhaust gases include carbon monoxide , hydrocarbons , particulate matter , and nitrogen oxides pollutants. About 90 per cent of

1053-608: A documented jet-kill, as one Lockheed F-94 Starfire was lost while slowing down to 161 km/h (100 mph) – below its stall speed – during an intercept in order to engage the low flying Po-2. Later biplane trainers included the de Havilland Tiger Moth in the Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and others and the Stampe SV.4 , which saw service postwar in the French and Belgian Air Forces. The Stearman PT-13

1170-509: A faster and more comfortable successor to the Dragon. As the available engine power and speed increased, the drag penalty of external bracing increasingly limited aircraft performance. To fly faster, it would be necessary to reduce external bracing to create an aerodynamically clean design; however, early cantilever designs were either too weak or too heavy. The 1917 Junkers J.I sesquiplane utilized corrugated aluminum for all flying surfaces, with

1287-516: A few degrees releasing the pressure and is controlled by a mechanical governor, consisting of weights rotating at engine speed constrained by springs and a lever. The injectors are held open by the fuel pressure. On high-speed engines the plunger pumps are together in one unit. The length of fuel lines from the pump to each injector is normally the same for each cylinder in order to obtain the same pressure delay. Direct injected diesel engines usually use orifice-type fuel injectors. Electronic control of

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1404-407: A finite area, and the net output of work during a cycle is positive. The fuel efficiency of diesel engines is better than most other types of combustion engines, due to their high compression ratio, high air–fuel equivalence ratio (λ) , and the lack of intake air restrictions (i.e. throttle valves). Theoretically, the highest possible efficiency for a diesel engine is 75%. However, in practice

1521-452: A fuel consumption of 519 g·kW ·h . However, despite proving the concept, the engine caused problems, and Diesel could not achieve any substantial progress. Therefore, Krupp considered rescinding the contract they had made with Diesel. Diesel was forced to improve the design of his engine and rushed to construct a third prototype engine. Between 8 November and 20 December 1895, the second prototype had successfully covered over 111 hours on

1638-409: A full set of valves, two-stroke diesel engines have simple intake ports, and exhaust ports (or exhaust valves). When the piston approaches bottom dead centre, both the intake and the exhaust ports are "open", which means that there is atmospheric pressure inside the cylinder. Therefore, some sort of pump is required to blow the air into the cylinder and the combustion gasses into the exhaust. This process

1755-422: A given wing area. However, interference between the airflow over each wing increases drag substantially, and biplanes generally need extensive bracing, which causes additional drag. Biplanes are distinguished from tandem wing arrangements, where the wings are placed forward and aft, instead of above and below. The term is also occasionally used in biology , to describe the wings of some flying animals . In

1872-403: A low-pressure loop at the bottom of the diagram. At 1 it is assumed that the exhaust and induction strokes have been completed, and the cylinder is again filled with air. The piston-cylinder system absorbs energy between 1 and 2 – this is the work needed to compress the air in the cylinder, and is provided by mechanical kinetic energy stored in the flywheel of the engine. Work output is done by

1989-507: A minimum of struts; however, it was relatively easy to damage the thin metal skin and required careful handling by ground crews. The 1918 Zeppelin-Lindau D.I fighter was an all-metal stressed-skin monocoque fully cantilevered biplane, but its arrival had come too late to see combat use in the conflict. By the 1930s, biplanes had reached their performance limits, and monoplanes become increasingly predominant, particularly in continental Europe where monoplanes had been increasingly common from

2106-532: A more efficient replacement for stationary steam engines . Since the 1910s, they have been used in submarines and ships. Use in locomotives , buses, trucks, heavy equipment , agricultural equipment and electricity generation plants followed later. In the 1930s, they slowly began to be used in some automobiles . Since the 1970s energy crisis , demand for higher fuel efficiency has resulted in most major automakers, at some point, offering diesel-powered models, even in very small cars. According to Konrad Reif (2012),

2223-678: A notable exception being the EMD 567 , 645 , and 710 engines, which are all two-stroke. The power output of medium-speed diesel engines can be as high as 21,870 kW, with the effective efficiency being around 47-48% (1982). Most larger medium-speed engines are started with compressed air direct on pistons, using an air distributor, as opposed to a pneumatic starting motor acting on the flywheel, which tends to be used for smaller engines. Medium-speed engines intended for marine applications are usually used to power ( ro-ro ) ferries, passenger ships or small freight ships. Using medium-speed engines reduces

2340-526: A petroleum engine with glow-tube ignition in the early 1890s; he claimed against his own better judgement that his glow-tube ignition engine worked the same way Diesel's engine did. His claims were unfounded and he lost a patent lawsuit against Diesel. Other engines, such as the Akroyd engine and the Brayton engine , also use an operating cycle that is different from the diesel engine cycle. Friedrich Sass says that

2457-415: A poorer power-to-mass ratio than an equivalent petrol engine. The lower engine speeds (RPM) of typical diesel engines results in a lower power output. Also, the mass of a diesel engine is typically higher, since the higher operating pressure inside the combustion chamber increases the internal forces, which requires stronger (and therefore heavier) parts to withstand these forces. The distinctive noise of

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2574-408: A regular trunk-piston. Two-stroke engines have a limited rotational frequency and their charge exchange is more difficult, which means that they are usually bigger than four-stroke engines and used to directly power a ship's propeller. Four-stroke engines on ships are usually used to power an electric generator. An electric motor powers the propeller. Both types are usually very undersquare , meaning

2691-435: A simple mechanical injection system since exact injection timing is not as critical. Most modern automotive engines are DI which have the benefits of greater efficiency and easier starting; however, IDI engines can still be found in the many ATV and small diesel applications. Indirect injected diesel engines use pintle-type fuel injectors. Early diesel engines injected fuel with the assistance of compressed air, which atomised

2808-533: A single orifice injector. The pre-chamber has the disadvantage of lowering efficiency due to increased heat loss to the engine's cooling system, restricting the combustion burn, thus reducing the efficiency by 5–10%. IDI engines are also more difficult to start and usually require the use of glow plugs. IDI engines may be cheaper to build but generally require a higher compression ratio than the DI counterpart. IDI also makes it easier to produce smooth, quieter running engines with

2925-527: A single speed for long periods. Two-stroke engines use a combustion cycle which is completed in two strokes instead of four strokes. Filling the cylinder with air and compressing it takes place in one stroke, and the power and exhaust strokes are combined. The compression in a two-stroke diesel engine is similar to the compression that takes place in a four-stroke diesel engine: As the piston passes through bottom centre and starts upward, compression commences, culminating in fuel injection and ignition. Instead of

3042-426: A small chamber called a swirl chamber, precombustion chamber, pre chamber or ante-chamber, which is connected to the cylinder by a narrow air passage. Generally the goal of the pre chamber is to create increased turbulence for better air / fuel mixing. This system also allows for a smoother, quieter running engine, and because fuel mixing is assisted by turbulence, injector pressures can be lower. Most IDI systems use

3159-463: A small degree, but more often was used to improve access to the cockpit. Many biplanes have staggered wings. Common examples include the de Havilland Tiger Moth , Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann and Travel Air 2000 . Alternatively, the lower wing can instead be moved ahead of the upper wing, giving negative stagger, and similar benefits. This is usually done in a given design for structural reasons, or to improve visibility. Examples of negative stagger include

3276-473: A somewhat unusual sesquiplane arrangement, possessing a more substantial lower wing with two spars that eliminated the flutter problems encountered by single-spar sesquiplanes. The stacking of wing planes was suggested by Sir George Cayley in 1843. Hiram Maxim adopted the idea for his steam-powered test rig, which lifted off but was held down by safety rails, in 1894. Otto Lilienthal designed and flew two different biplane hang gliders in 1895, though he

3393-516: A source of radio frequency emissions (which can interfere with navigation and communication equipment), which is why only diesel-powered vehicles are allowed in some parts of the American National Radio Quiet Zone . To control the torque output at any given time (i.e. when the driver of a car adjusts the accelerator pedal ), a governor adjusts the amount of fuel injected into the engine. Mechanical governors have been used in

3510-400: A spark plug ( compression ignition rather than spark ignition ). In the diesel engine, only air is initially introduced into the combustion chamber. The air is then compressed with a compression ratio typically between 15:1 and 23:1. This high compression causes the temperature of the air to rise. At about the top of the compression stroke, fuel is injected directly into the compressed air in

3627-417: A swirl chamber or pre-chamber are called indirect injection (IDI) engines. Most direct injection diesel engines have a combustion cup in the top of the piston where the fuel is sprayed. Many different methods of injection can be used. Usually, an engine with helix-controlled mechanic direct injection has either an inline or a distributor injection pump. For each engine cylinder, the corresponding plunger in

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3744-422: A two-stroke ship diesel engine has a single-stage turbocharger with a turbine that has an axial inflow and a radial outflow. In general, there are three types of scavenging possible: Crossflow scavenging is incomplete and limits the stroke, yet some manufacturers used it. Reverse flow scavenging is a very simple way of scavenging, and it was popular amongst manufacturers until the early 1980s. Uniflow scavenging

3861-461: Is a combustion engine that is more efficient than a diesel engine, but due to its mass and dimensions, is unsuitable for many vehicles, including watercraft and some aircraft . The world's largest diesel engines put in service are 14-cylinder, two-stroke marine diesel engines; they produce a peak power of almost 100 MW each. Diesel engines may be designed with either two-stroke or four-stroke combustion cycles . They were originally used as

3978-423: Is a simplified and idealised representation of the events involved in a diesel engine cycle, arranged to illustrate the similarity with a Carnot cycle . Starting at 1, the piston is at bottom dead centre and both valves are closed at the start of the compression stroke; the cylinder contains air at atmospheric pressure. Between 1 and 2 the air is compressed adiabatically – that is without heat transfer to or from

4095-431: Is also avoided compared with non-direct-injection gasoline engines, as unburned fuel is not present during valve overlap, and therefore no fuel goes directly from the intake/injection to the exhaust. Low-speed diesel engines (as used in ships and other applications where overall engine weight is relatively unimportant) can reach effective efficiencies of up to 55%. The combined cycle gas turbine (Brayton and Rankine cycle)

4212-403: Is approximately 5 MW. Medium-speed engines are used in large electrical generators, railway diesel locomotives , ship propulsion and mechanical drive applications such as large compressors or pumps. Medium speed diesel engines operate on either diesel fuel or heavy fuel oil by direct injection in the same manner as low-speed engines. Usually, they are four-stroke engines with trunk pistons;

4329-547: Is better known for his monoplanes. By 1896 a group of young men in the United States, led by Octave Chanute , were flying hang gliders including biplanes and concluded that the externally braced biplane offered better prospects for powered flight than the monoplane. In 1903, the Wright Flyer biplane became the first successful powered aeroplane. Throughout the pioneer years, both biplanes and monoplanes were common, but by

4446-429: Is called scavenging . The pressure required is approximately 10-30 kPa. Due to the lack of discrete exhaust and intake strokes, all two-stroke diesel engines use a scavenge blower or some form of compressor to charge the cylinders with air and assist in scavenging. Roots-type superchargers were used for ship engines until the mid-1950s, however since 1955 they have been widely replaced by turbochargers. Usually,

4563-431: Is called a compression-ignition engine (CI engine). This contrasts with engines using spark plug -ignition of the air-fuel mixture, such as a petrol engine ( gasoline engine) or a gas engine (using a gaseous fuel like natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas ). Diesel engines work by compressing only air, or air combined with residual combustion gases from the exhaust (known as exhaust gas recirculation , "EGR"). Air

4680-492: Is controlled by manipulating the air-fuel ratio (λ) ; instead of throttling the intake air, the diesel engine relies on altering the amount of fuel that is injected, and thus the air-fuel ratio is usually high. The diesel engine has the highest thermal efficiency (see engine efficiency ) of any practical internal or external combustion engine due to its very high expansion ratio and inherent lean burn, which enables heat dissipation by excess air. A small efficiency loss

4797-404: Is done on the system to which the engine is connected. During this expansion phase the volume of the gas rises, and its temperature and pressure both fall. At 4 the exhaust valve opens, and the pressure falls abruptly to atmospheric (approximately). This is unresisted expansion and no useful work is done by it. Ideally the adiabatic expansion should continue, extending the line 3–4 to the right until

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4914-413: Is inducted into the chamber during the intake stroke, and compressed during the compression stroke. This increases air temperature inside the cylinder so that atomised diesel fuel injected into the combustion chamber ignites. With the fuel being injected into the air just before combustion, the dispersion of fuel is uneven; this is called a heterogeneous air-fuel mixture. The torque a diesel engine produces

5031-464: Is more complicated to make but allows the highest fuel efficiency; since the early 1980s, manufacturers such as MAN and Sulzer have switched to this system. It is standard for modern marine two-stroke diesel engines. So-called dual-fuel diesel engines or gas diesel engines burn two different types of fuel simultaneously , for instance, a gaseous fuel and diesel engine fuel. The diesel engine fuel auto-ignites due to compression ignition, and then ignites

5148-618: The Blackburn T.4 Cubaroo , which was a massive biplane powered by a 1,000 hp (750 kW) 3,681 cu in (60.32 L) Napier Cub X-16 engine . Avro submitted and then withdrew their similarly powered Type 556, and replaced it with the Avro 557 Ava to a revised 16/22 specification which differed mainly in calling for two engines. The Ava was also a large biplane, but powered by two 600 hp (450 kW) 2,137.5 cu in (35.027 L) Rolls-Royce Condor V-12 engines. To carry

5265-524: The Bristol M.1 , that caused even those with relatively high performance attributes to be overlooked in favour of 'orthodox' biplanes, and there was an allegedly widespread belief held at that time that monoplane aircraft were inherently unsafe during combat. Between the years of 1914 and 1925, a clear majority of new aircraft introduced were biplanes; however, during the latter years of the First World War,

5382-504: The EU average for diesel cars at the time accounted for half of newly registered cars. However, air pollution and overall emissions are more difficult to control in diesel engines compared to gasoline engines, and the use of diesel auto engines in the U.S. is now largely relegated to larger on-road and off-road vehicles . Though aviation has traditionally avoided using diesel engines, aircraft diesel engines have become increasingly available in

5499-638: The First World War -era Fokker D.VII fighter and the Second World War de Havilland Tiger Moth basic trainer. The larger two-seat Curtiss JN-4 Jenny is a two bay biplane , the extra bay being necessary as overlong bays are prone to flexing and can fail. The SPAD S.XIII fighter, while appearing to be a two bay biplane, has only one bay, but has the midpoints of the rigging braced with additional struts; however, these are not structurally contiguous from top to bottom wing. The Sopwith 1½ Strutter has

5616-684: The Grumman Ag Cat are available in upgraded versions with turboprop engines. The two most produced biplane designs were the 1913 British Avro 504 of which 11,303 were built, and the 1928 Soviet Polikarpov Po-2 of which over 20,000 were built, with the Po-2 being the direct replacement for the Soviet copy of the Avro 504. Both were widely used as trainers. The Antonov An-2 was very successful too, with more than 18,000 built. Although most ultralights are monoplanes,

5733-595: The Lite Flyer Biplane, the Sherwood Ranger , and the Murphy Renegade . The feathered dinosaur Microraptor gui glided, and perhaps even flew, on four wings, which may have been configured in a staggered sesquiplane arrangement. This was made possible by the presence of flight feathers on both forelimbs and hindlimbs, with the feathers on the forelimbs opening to a greater span. It has been suggested that

5850-539: The Nieuport-Delage NiD 42 / 52 / 62 series, Fokker C.Vd & e, and Potez 25 , all serving across a large number of air forces. In the general aviation sector, aircraft such as the Waco Custom Cabin series proved to be relatively popular. The Saro Windhover was a sesquiplane with the upper wing smaller than the lower, which was a much rarer configuration than the reverse. The Pfalz D.III also featured

5967-494: The Sopwith Dolphin , Breguet 14 and Beechcraft Staggerwing . However, positive (forward) stagger is much more common. The space enclosed by a set of interplane struts is called a bay (much as the architectural form is used), hence a biplane or triplane with one set of such struts connecting the wings on each side of the aircraft is a single-bay biplane . This provided sufficient strength for smaller aircraft such as

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6084-694: The United Kingdom , and the United States for "Method of and Apparatus for Converting Heat into Work". In 1894 and 1895, he filed patents and addenda in various countries for his engine; the first patents were issued in Spain (No. 16,654), France (No. 243,531) and Belgium (No. 113,139) in December 1894, and in Germany (No. 86,633) in 1895 and the United States (No. 608,845) in 1898. Diesel

6201-419: The lift coefficient is reduced by 10 to 15 percent compared to that of a monoplane using the same airfoil and aspect ratio . The lower wing is usually attached to the fuselage , while the upper wing is raised above the fuselage with an arrangement of cabane struts , although other arrangements have been used. Either or both of the main wings can support ailerons , while flaps are more usually positioned on

6318-416: The 21st century. Since the late 1990s, for various reasons—including the diesel's inherent advantages over gasoline engines, but also for recent issues peculiar to aviation—development and production of diesel engines for aircraft has surged, with over 5,000 such engines delivered worldwide between 2002 and 2018, particularly for light airplanes and unmanned aerial vehicles . In 1878, Rudolf Diesel , who

6435-503: The CR.42 was able to achieve success in the defensive night fighter role against RAF bombers that were striking industrial targets throughout northern Italy. The British Fleet Air Arm operated the Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber from its aircraft carriers, and used the type in the anti-submarine warfare role until the end of the conflict, largely due to their ability to operate from

6552-518: The Caribou , performed the first non-stop flight between the Canadian mainland and Britain in 30 hours 55 minutes, although the intended target for this long distance flight had originally been Baghdad , Iraq . Despite its relative success, British production of the Dragon was quickly ended when in favour of the more powerful and elegant de Havilland Dragon Rapide , which had been specifically designed to be

6669-450: The Carnot cycle. Diesel was also introduced to a fire piston , a traditional fire starter using rapid adiabatic compression principles which Linde had acquired from Southeast Asia . After several years of working on his ideas, Diesel published them in 1893 in the essay Theory and Construction of a Rational Heat Motor . Diesel was heavily criticised for his essay, but only a few found

6786-503: The First World War, the British Royal Aircraft Factory developed airfoil section wire named RAFwire in an effort to both increase the strength and reduce the drag. Four types of wires are used in the biplane wing structure. Drag wires inside the wings prevent the wings from being folded back against the fuselage, running inside a wing bay from the forward inboard corner to the rear outboard corner. Anti-drag wires prevent

6903-565: The French Nieuport 17 and German Albatros D.III , offered lower drag than a conventional biplane while being stronger than a monoplane. During the Interwar period , numerous biplane airliners were introduced. The British de Havilland Dragon was a particularly successful aircraft, using straightforward design to could carry six passengers on busy routes, such as London-Paris services. During early August 1934, one such aircraft, named Trail of

7020-644: The Germans had been experimenting with a new generation of monoplanes, such as the Fokker D.VIII , that might have ended the biplane's advantages earlier had the conflict not ended when it had. The French were also introducing the Morane-Saulnier AI , a strut-braced parasol monoplane , although the type was quickly relegated to the advanced trainer role following the resolution of structural issues. Sesquiplane types, which were biplanes with abbreviated lower wings such as

7137-400: The amount of fuel injected into the engine. Due to the amount of air being constant (for a given RPM) while the amount of fuel varies, very high ("lean") air-fuel ratios are used in situations where minimal torque output is required. This differs from a petrol engine, where a throttle is used to also reduce the amount of intake air as part of regulating the engine's torque output. Controlling

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7254-407: The biplane naturally has a deep structure and is therefore easier to make both light and strong. Rigging wires on non-cantilevered monoplanes are at a much sharper angle, thus providing less tension to ensure stiffness of the outer wing. On a biplane, since the angles are closer to the ideal of being in direct line with the forces being opposed, the overall structure can then be made stiffer. Because of

7371-470: The bore is smaller than the stroke. Low-speed diesel engines (as used in ships and other applications where overall engine weight is relatively unimportant) often have an effective efficiency of up to 55%. Like medium-speed engines, low-speed engines are started with compressed air, and they use heavy oil as their primary fuel. Four-stroke engines use the combustion cycle described earlier. Most smaller diesels, for vehicular use, for instance, typically use

7488-448: The combustion chamber, the droplets continue to vaporise from their surfaces and burn, getting smaller, until all the fuel in the droplets has been burnt. Combustion occurs at a substantially constant pressure during the initial part of the power stroke. The start of vaporisation causes a delay before ignition and the characteristic diesel knocking sound as the vapour reaches ignition temperature and causes an abrupt increase in pressure above

7605-418: The combustion chamber. This may be into a (typically toroidal ) void in the top of the piston or a pre-chamber depending upon the design of the engine. The fuel injector ensures that the fuel is broken down into small droplets, and that the fuel is distributed evenly. The heat of the compressed air vaporises fuel from the surface of the droplets. The vapour is then ignited by the heat from the compressed air in

7722-598: The competition aerobatics role and format for such a biplane well-defined by the mid-1930s by the Udet U 12 Flamingo and Waco Taperwing . The Pitts Special dominated aerobatics for many years after World War II and is still in production. The vast majority of biplane designs have been fitted with reciprocating engines . Exceptions include the Antonov An-3 and WSK-Mielec M-15 Belphegor , fitted with turboprop and turbofan engines respectively. Some older biplane designs, such as

7839-425: The compressed gas. Combustion and heating occur between 2 and 3. In this interval the pressure remains constant since the piston descends, and the volume increases; the temperature rises as a consequence of the energy of combustion. At 3 fuel injection and combustion are complete, and the cylinder contains gas at a higher temperature than at 2. Between 3 and 4 this hot gas expands, again approximately adiabatically. Work

7956-452: The compression ratio in a spark-ignition engine where fuel and air are mixed before entry to the cylinder is limited by the need to prevent pre-ignition , which would cause engine damage. Since only air is compressed in a diesel engine, and fuel is not introduced into the cylinder until shortly before top dead centre ( TDC ), premature detonation is not a problem and compression ratios are much higher. The pressure–volume diagram (pV) diagram

8073-473: The compression required for his cycle: By June 1893, Diesel had realised his original cycle would not work, and he adopted the constant pressure cycle. Diesel describes the cycle in his 1895 patent application. Notice that there is no longer a mention of compression temperatures exceeding the temperature of combustion. Now it is simply stated that the compression must be sufficient to trigger ignition. In 1892, Diesel received patents in Germany , Switzerland ,

8190-416: The concept of air-blast injection from George B. Brayton , albeit that Diesel substantially improved the system. On 17 February 1894, the redesigned engine ran for 88 revolutions – one minute; with this news, Maschinenfabrik Augsburg's stock rose by 30%, indicative of the tremendous anticipated demands for a more efficient engine. On 26 June 1895, the engine achieved an effective efficiency of 16.6% and had

8307-424: The cost of smaller ships and increases their transport capacity. In addition to that, a single ship can use two smaller engines instead of one big engine, which increases the ship's safety. Low-speed diesel engines are usually very large in size and mostly used to power ships . There are two different types of low-speed engines that are commonly used: Two-stroke engines with a crosshead, and four-stroke engines with

8424-598: The diesel engine is Diesel's "very own work" and that any "Diesel myth" is " falsification of history ". Diesel sought out firms and factories that would build his engine. With the help of Moritz Schröter and Max Gutermuth  [ de ] , he succeeded in convincing both Krupp in Essen and the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg . Contracts were signed in April 1893, and in early summer 1893, Diesel's first prototype engine

8541-470: The drag from the number of struts used. The structural forces acting on the spars of a biplane wing tend to be lower as they are divided between four spars rather than two, so the wing can use less material to obtain the same overall strength and is therefore lighter. A given area of wing also tends to be shorter, reducing bending moments on the spars, which then allow them to be more lightly built as well. The biplane does however need extra struts to maintain

8658-417: The efficiency is much lower, with efficiencies of up to 43% for passenger car engines, up to 45% for large truck and bus engines, and up to 55% for large two-stroke marine engines. The average efficiency over a motor vehicle driving cycle is lower than the diesel engine's peak efficiency (for example, a 37% average efficiency for an engine with a peak efficiency of 44%). That is because the fuel efficiency of

8775-542: The end of World War I . At the start of World War II , several air forces still had biplane combat aircraft in front line service but they were no longer competitive, and most were used in niche roles, such as training or shipboard operation, until shortly after the end of the war. The British Gloster Gladiator biplane, the Italian Fiat CR.42 Falco and Soviet I-153 sesquiplane fighters were all still operational after 1939. According to aviation author Gianni Cattaneo,

8892-531: The engine not causing problems, as the Napier Cub had already been test flown in an Avro Aldershot . It was then fitted with a metal, three-blade adjustable-pitch propeller and was delivered for testing at RAF Martlesham Heath but was written off after its undercarriage collapsed on 2 February 1925. A second prototype flew in 1925, but the Air Ministry had by then lost interest in single-engine heavy bombers , so

9009-408: The environment – by the rising piston. (This is only approximately true since there will be some heat exchange with the cylinder walls .) During this compression, the volume is reduced, the pressure and temperature both rise. At or slightly before 2 (TDC) fuel is injected and burns in the compressed hot air. Chemical energy is released and this constitutes an injection of thermal energy (heat) into

9126-463: The four-stroke cycle. This is due to several factors, such as the two-stroke design's narrow powerband which is not particularly suitable for automotive use and the necessity for complicated and expensive built-in lubrication systems and scavenging measures. The cost effectiveness (and proportion of added weight) of these technologies has less of an impact on larger, more expensive engines, while engines intended for shipping or stationary use can be run at

9243-612: The fuel and forced it into the engine through a nozzle (a similar principle to an aerosol spray). The nozzle opening was closed by a pin valve actuated by the camshaft . Although the engine was also required to drive an air compressor used for air-blast injection, the efficiency was nonetheless better than other combustion engines of the time. However the system was heavy and it was slow to react to changing torque demands, making it unsuitable for road vehicles. A unit injector system, also known as "Pumpe-Düse" ( pump-nozzle in German) combines

9360-652: The fuel injection transformed the direct injection engine by allowing much greater control over the combustion. Common rail (CR) direct injection systems do not have the fuel metering, pressure-raising and delivery functions in a single unit, as in the case of a Bosch distributor-type pump, for example. A high-pressure pump supplies the CR. The requirements of each cylinder injector are supplied from this common high pressure reservoir of fuel. An Electronic Diesel Control (EDC) controls both rail pressure and injections depending on engine operating conditions. The injectors of older CR systems have solenoid -driven plungers for lifting

9477-405: The fuel pump measures out the correct amount of fuel and determines the timing of each injection. These engines use injectors that are very precise spring-loaded valves that open and close at a specific fuel pressure. Separate high-pressure fuel lines connect the fuel pump with each cylinder. Fuel volume for each single combustion is controlled by a slanted groove in the plunger which rotates only

9594-416: The gap between the wings, which add both weight and drag. The low power supplied by the engines available in the first years of aviation limited aeroplanes to fairly low speeds. This required an even lower stalling speed, which in turn required a low wing loading , combining both large wing area with light weight. Obtaining a large enough wing area without the wings being long, and thus dangerously flexible

9711-461: The gaseous fuel. Such engines do not require any type of spark ignition and operate similar to regular diesel engines. The fuel is injected at high pressure into either the combustion chamber , "swirl chamber" or "pre-chamber," unlike petrol engines where the fuel is often added in the inlet manifold or carburetor . Engines where the fuel is injected into the main combustion chamber are called direct injection (DI) engines, while those which use

9828-408: The heavy torpedo weighing over 2,000 lb (910 kg) for the required range, the Cubaroo was massive. With a wingspan of 88 ft 0 in (26.82 m), it was claimed at the time to be the largest single-engine military aircraft built, and it had the most powerful aircraft engine then available, the Napier Cub, which weighed over a ton, excluding the radiator . The first example, N166 , had

9945-462: The hind limbs could not have opened out sideways but in flight would have hung below and slightly behind the fore limbs. Diesel engine The diesel engine , named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel , is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression ; thus, the diesel engine

10062-419: The injection needle, whilst newer CR injectors use plungers driven by piezoelectric actuators that have less moving mass and therefore allow even more injections in a very short period of time. Early common rail system were controlled by mechanical means. The injection pressure of modern CR systems ranges from 140 MPa to 270 MPa. An indirect diesel injection system (IDI) engine delivers fuel into

10179-553: The injector and fuel pump into a single component, which is positioned above each cylinder. This eliminates the high-pressure fuel lines and achieves a more consistent injection. Under full load, the injection pressure can reach up to 220 MPa. Unit injectors are operated by a cam and the quantity of fuel injected is controlled either mechanically (by a rack or lever) or electronically. Due to increased performance requirements, unit injectors have been largely replaced by common rail injection systems. The average diesel engine has

10296-612: The low speeds and simple construction involved have inspired a small number of biplane ultralights, such as Larry Mauro's Easy Riser (1975–). Mauro also made a version powered with solar cells driving an electric motor called the Solar Riser . Mauro's Easy Riser was used by "Father Goose", Bill Lishman . Other biplane ultralights include the Belgian-designed Aviasud Mistral , the German FK12 Comet (1997–),

10413-519: The lower wing. Bracing is nearly always added between the upper and lower wings, in the form of interplane struts positioned symmetrically on either side of the fuselage and bracing wires to keep the structure from flexing, where the wings are not themselves cantilever structures. The primary advantage of the biplane over a monoplane is its ability to combine greater stiffness with lower weight. Stiffness requires structural depth and where early monoplanes had to have this provided with external bracing,

10530-476: The mistake that he made; his rational heat motor was supposed to utilise a constant temperature cycle (with isothermal compression) that would require a much higher level of compression than that needed for compression ignition. Diesel's idea was to compress the air so tightly that the temperature of the air would exceed that of combustion. However, such an engine could never perform any usable work. In his 1892 US patent (granted in 1895) #542846, Diesel describes

10647-512: The most famed copies was the Siemens-Schuckert D.I . The Albatros D.III and D.V , which had also copied the general layout from Nieuport, similarly provided the backbone of the German forces during the First World War. The Albatros sesquiplanes were widely acclaimed by their aircrews for their maneuverability and high rate of climb. During interwar period , the sesquiplane configuration continued to be popular, with numerous types such as

10764-588: The night ground attack role throughout the Second World War. In the case of the Po-2, production of the aircraft continued even after the end of the conflict, not ending until around 1952. A significant number of Po-2s were fielded by the Korean People's Air Force during the Korean War , inflicting serious damage during night raids on United Nations bases. The Po-2 is also the only biplane to be credited with

10881-483: The outbreak of the First World War biplanes had gained favour after several monoplane structural failures resulted in the RFC's "Monoplane Ban" when all monoplanes in military service were grounded, while the French also withdrew most monoplanes from combat roles and relegated them to training. Figures such as aviation author Bruce observed that there was an apparent prejudice held even against newly-designed monoplanes, such as

10998-534: The past, however electronic governors are more common on modern engines. Mechanical governors are usually driven by the engine's accessory belt or a gear-drive system and use a combination of springs and weights to control fuel delivery relative to both load and speed. Electronically governed engines use an electronic control unit (ECU) or electronic control module (ECM) to control the fuel delivery. The ECM/ECU uses various sensors (such as engine speed signal, intake manifold pressure and fuel temperature) to determine

11115-477: The piston (not shown on the P-V indicator diagram). When combustion is complete the combustion gases expand as the piston descends further; the high pressure in the cylinder drives the piston downward, supplying power to the crankshaft. As well as the high level of compression allowing combustion to take place without a separate ignition system, a high compression ratio greatly increases the engine's efficiency. Increasing

11232-403: The piston-cylinder combination between 2 and 4. The difference between these two increments of work is the indicated work output per cycle, and is represented by the area enclosed by the pV loop. The adiabatic expansion is in a higher pressure range than that of the compression because the gas in the cylinder is hotter during expansion than during compression. It is for this reason that the loop has

11349-417: The pollutants can be removed from the exhaust gas using exhaust gas treatment technology. Road vehicle diesel engines have no sulfur dioxide emissions, because motor vehicle diesel fuel has been sulfur-free since 2003. Helmut Tschöke argues that particulate matter emitted from motor vehicles has negative impacts on human health. The particulate matter in diesel exhaust emissions is sometimes classified as

11466-408: The pressure falls to that of the surrounding air, but the loss of efficiency caused by this unresisted expansion is justified by the practical difficulties involved in recovering it (the engine would have to be much larger). After the opening of the exhaust valve, the exhaust stroke follows, but this (and the following induction stroke) are not shown on the diagram. If shown, they would be represented by

11583-424: The reduced stiffness, wire braced monoplanes often had multiple sets of flying and landing wires where a biplane could easily be built with one bay, with one set of landing and flying wires. The extra drag from the wires was not enough to offset the aerodynamic disadvantages from having two airfoils interfering with each other however. Strut braced monoplanes were tried but none of them were successful, not least due to

11700-634: The relatively compact decks of escort carriers . Its low stall speed and inherently tough design made it ideal for operations even in the often severe mid-Atlantic weather conditions. By the end of the conflict, the Swordfish held the distinction of having caused the destruction of a greater tonnage of Axis shipping than any other Allied aircraft. Both the German Heinkel He 50 and the Soviet Polikarpov Po-2 were used with relative success in

11817-547: The second prototype was used as an engine testbed, flying with the experimental 1,100 hp (820 kW) Beardmore Simoon diesel engine . [REDACTED]   United Kingdom Data from The British Bomber since 1914 General characteristics Performance Armament and Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Biplane Biplanes offer several advantages over conventional cantilever monoplane designs: they permit lighter wing structures, low wing loading and smaller span for

11934-700: The series of Nieuport military aircraft—from the Nieuport 10 through to the Nieuport 27 which formed the backbone of the Allied air forces between 1915 and 1917. The performance of the Nieuport sesquiplanes was so impressive that the Idflieg (the German Inspectorate of flying troops) requested their aircraft manufacturers to produce copies, an effort which was aided by several captured aircraft and detailed drawings; one of

12051-401: The span. The empennage consisted of three balanced rudders, with the outer two having small fins, and an adjustable biplane horizontal stabilizer with a balanced elevator. To carry the torpedo, the Cubaroo was fitted with a split undercarriage attached to the lower wings, each comprising two sets of two 4 ft (1.2 m) diameter Palmer wheels, with the torpedo or bombs being carried on

12168-415: The structural problems associated with monoplanes, but offered little improvement for biplanes. The default design for a biplane has the wings positioned directly one above the other. Moving the upper wing forward relative to the lower one is called positive stagger or, more often, simply stagger. It can increase lift and reduce drag by reducing the aerodynamic interference effects between the two wings by

12285-539: The test bench. In the January 1896 report, this was considered a success. In February 1896, Diesel considered supercharging the third prototype. Imanuel Lauster , who was ordered to draw the third prototype " Motor 250/400 ", had finished the drawings by 30 April 1896. During summer that year the engine was built, it was completed on 6 October 1896. Tests were conducted until early 1897. First public tests began on 1 February 1897. Moritz Schröter 's test on 17 February 1897

12402-890: The timing of the start of injection of fuel into the cylinder is similar to controlling the ignition timing in a petrol engine. It is therefore a key factor in controlling the power output, fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. There are several different ways of categorising diesel engines, as outlined in the following sections. Günter Mau categorises diesel engines by their rotational speeds into three groups: High-speed engines are used to power trucks (lorries), buses , tractors , cars , yachts , compressors , pumps and small electrical generators . As of 2018, most high-speed engines have direct injection . Many modern engines, particularly in on-highway applications, have common rail direct injection . On bigger ships, high-speed diesel engines are often used for powering electric generators. The highest power output of high-speed diesel engines

12519-665: The two planes when the high pressure air under the top wing and the low pressure air above the lower wing cancel each other out. This means that a biplane does not in practice obtain twice the lift of the similarly-sized monoplane. The farther apart the wings are spaced the less the interference, but the spacing struts must be longer, and the gap must be extremely large to reduce it appreciably. As engine power and speeds rose late in World War I , thick cantilever wings with inherently lower drag and higher wing loading became practical, which in turn made monoplanes more attractive as it helped solve

12636-560: The underside of the tail. Bomb aiming was accomplished through a hatch in the floor of the cabin that also contained radio equipment and a navigational chart table. A passage ran aft to a ladder, which led up to another gunner's position, with a gun ring mounted on top of the fuselage just aft of the wing trailing edge. The 88 ft 0 in (26.82 m) span, 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m) constant chord folding , two-bay wings had dihedral, and semi-circular wing tips, with inset unbalanced ailerons on all four wings running for about half

12753-400: The upper and lower wings together. The sesquiplane is a type of biplane where one wing (usually the lower) is significantly smaller than the other. The word, from Latin, means "one-and-a-half wings". The arrangement can reduce drag and weight while retaining the biplane's structural advantages. The lower wing may have a significantly shorter span, or a reduced chord . Examples include

12870-434: The wings from folding up, and run from the underside of the outer wing to the lower wing root. Conversely, landing wires prevent the wings from sagging, and resist the forces when an aircraft is landing, and run from the upper wing centre section to outboard on the lower wings. Additional drag and anti-drag wires may be used to brace the cabane struts which connect the fuselage to the wings, and interplane struts, which connect

12987-421: The wings from moving forward when the aircraft stops and run the opposite direction to the drag wires. Both of these are usually hidden within the wings, and if the structure is sufficiently stiff otherwise, may be omitted in some designs. Indeed many early aircraft relied on the fabric covering of the wing to provide this rigidity, until higher speeds and forces made this inadequate. Externally, lift wires prevent

13104-524: Was a student at the "Polytechnikum" in Munich , attended the lectures of Carl von Linde . Linde explained that steam engines are capable of converting just 6–10% of the heat energy into work, but that the Carnot cycle allows conversion of much more of the heat energy into work by means of isothermal change in condition. According to Diesel, this ignited the idea of creating a highly efficient engine that could work on

13221-488: Was attacked and criticised over several years. Critics claimed that Diesel never invented a new motor and that the invention of the diesel engine is fraud. Otto Köhler and Emil Capitaine  [ de ] were two of the most prominent critics of Diesel's time. Köhler had published an essay in 1887, in which he describes an engine similar to the engine Diesel describes in his 1893 essay. Köhler figured that such an engine could not perform any work. Emil Capitaine had built

13338-472: Was built in Augsburg . On 10 August 1893, the first ignition took place, the fuel used was petrol. In winter 1893/1894, Diesel redesigned the existing engine, and by 18 January 1894, his mechanics had converted it into the second prototype. During January that year, an air-blast injection system was added to the engine's cylinder head and tested. Friedrich Sass argues that, it can be presumed that Diesel copied

13455-404: Was more readily accomplished with a biplane. The smaller biplane wing allows greater maneuverability . Following World War I, this helped extend the era of the biplane and, despite the performance disadvantages, most fighter aircraft were biplanes as late as the mid-1930s. Specialist sports aerobatic biplanes are still made in small numbers. Biplanes suffer aerodynamic interference between

13572-424: Was the main test of Diesel's engine. The engine was rated 13.1 kW with a specific fuel consumption of 324 g·kW ·h , resulting in an effective efficiency of 26.2%. By 1898, Diesel had become a millionaire. The characteristics of a diesel engine are The diesel internal combustion engine differs from the gasoline powered Otto cycle by using highly compressed hot air to ignite the fuel rather than using

13689-741: Was widely used by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) while the US Navy operated the Naval Aircraft Factory N3N . In later civilian use in the US, the Stearman became particularly associated with stunt flying such as wing-walking , and with crop dusting, where its compactness worked well at low levels, where it had to dodge obstacles. Modern biplane designs still exist in specialist roles such as aerobatics and agricultural aircraft with

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