THREE FAMOUS EARLY AERO ENGINES — MEYER 365 



The valve lieads were made of cast iron. The stems were of steel. The Intake 

 valves operated automatically. Neither the cylinders nor the pistons vpere 

 ground. The connecting rods were seamless steel tubes screwed into brass big 

 ends. 



The motor was started with the aid of a dry-battery coil box. After starting, 

 ignition was provided by a low-tension magneto, friction-driven by the flywheel. 

 This magneto — permanent horseshoe magnets with exciting coils — weighed 18 

 pounds. Insulated ignition electrodes in the cylinder heads were connected by 

 a strap of copper. The speed of the motor was regulated on the ground by 

 retarding the spark, A small lever on the leg of the motor controlled the timing 

 of the spark by altering the position of the camshaft. There was no way to 

 regulate the speed of the motor in flight. 



Lubrication was supplied to the cylinders by a small oil pump driven by a 

 worm gear on the camshaft. No pump was used in the cooling system. The 

 vertical sheet-steel radiator was attached to the central forward upright. Gas 

 feed was controlled by a metering valve, not adjustable during flight, A shutoff 

 valve, made from an ordinary gaslight pet cock, was placed conveniently near 

 the operator. The fuel tank had a capacity of 0,4 gallon. The fuel line was 

 copper. 



The weight of the 1903 engine is given as 161 pounds dry in Orville 

 Wright's letter to Charles L. Lawrance, November 15, 1928, or 179 

 pounds with magneto. Complete with magneto, radiator, tank, water, 

 fuel, tubing, and accessories, the powerplant weighed a little over 200 

 pounds. 



Orville Wright gave some additional facts in his letter to Fred H. 

 Colvin, March 13, 1945 : 



It was entirely disassembled after the flights at Kitty Hawk in December 1903, 

 due to an accident to the crankcase, and was never reassembled until 1916, when 

 it was put together and exhibited with the 1903 plane at the dedication of the 

 new M.I.T, buildings. 



On January 9, 1906, Orville Wright wrote Carl Dienstbach in reply 

 to a request for an exhibit at the first Aero Club show in New York : 



We could not furnish the motor used on our original flyer. The water jacket 

 and the main frame have been very much changed ; the metal of the old frame 

 has been used in making new castings. We could send you the crankshaft and 

 flywheel of the original engine, but we do not think it would be worth while. 



The crankshaft and flywheel were sent, however, and on February 7, 

 1906, Orville Wright again wrote Dienstbach : 



We are pleased to present the photographs to the Club and would be glad to 

 leave with the Club some relic from our first flyer. We have no objection to the 

 Club's retaining the crank and flywheel for the present, though we wish the 

 privilege of claiming it if we should decide to set the original machine together 

 again, only a few parts of which are lacking. All of the parts of the engine 

 are still in existence excepting the body. 



The crankshaft and flywheel of the 1903 motor were not returned 

 by the Aero Club after the exhibit, and when a search was made for 

 them some years later they could not be found. Therefore when the 

 1903 aeroplane and motor were assembled for shipment to England 



