THREE FAMOUS EARLY AERO ENGINES — MEYER 367 



spark plugs, not much of anything but cylinders, pistons and connecting rods, 

 but it worked. 



SPECIFICATIONS 



Cylinders 4 horizontal in-line. 



Cooling Water. 



Carburetion Surface type — no float. 



Ignition Low-tension magneto with make-and-break 



spark. 



Horsepower 12.05 at 1,090 r.p.m. 



Bore and stroke 4 x 4 in. 



Displacement 201.1 cu. in. 



Dimensions 13% in. high x 23%2 in. wide x 301^6 iu. long. 



Weight Slightly over 200 pounds including cooling 



water. 



Weight/hp. ratio Approximately 16.6 lb. per hp. 



Country of manufacture U.S.A. 



In June of 1903 Orville Wright wrote to a friend: 



About Christmastime we began the construction of the motor, which is of 

 four cylinders, four-inch bore and four-inch stroke. We had estimated that we 

 would require a little over eight horsepower to carry our weight of 625 lbs. of 

 machine and man. At this weight we would be limited to two hundred lbs. for 

 our motor. Our motor on completion turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. 

 Instead of eight horsepower, for which we hoped but hardly expected, it has 

 given us 13 (non-continuous) horsepower on the brake, with a (dry) weight of 

 only 150 lbs. in the motor. 



In 1904 we built two more motors of the design of 1903, excepting that an extra 

 half inch of water was provided for over the cylinders. One of these motors was 

 of four-inch bore. . . . The four-inch bore motor was experimented with In 

 the shop in 1904, 1905, and 1906, and finally was developed to the point where 

 it would hold 24 to 25 horsepower continuously at 1,300 revolutions per minute. 

 This was just twice the power secured from the original motor of the same 

 size. . . . 



Although the 1903 Wright brothers' motor was heavier for the 

 horsepower it delivered than those of Santos Dumont or Professor 

 Langley (respectively two and four times as heavy), it nevertheless 

 fulfilled its function. On April 12, 1911, Orville Wright wrote : "We 

 look upon reliability in runnmg as of much more importance than 

 lightness of weight in aeroplane motors. We attempt to design our 

 flyers of such efficiency that extremely light motors are not needed." 



Since the Wright brothers did not liave the wealth of Santos Du- 

 mont or the Government grant of Langley, it was necessary for them 

 to build their own engine. It therefore had to be of practical and 

 simple design. A logical procedure was to adapt the automobile 

 engine to the requirements of the airplane, which is what they did. 



Following is a list of pre-World War I engines of the automobile 

 type which were similar to the Wright brothers' 1903 engine in that 

 they had four in-line cylinders, were water cooled, and were equipped 

 with large flywheels. 



