1903 Engine

he Wrights first tested this marvel of engineering on 12 Feb 1903, just three months after starting from scratch. It had 4 horizontal cylinders, displaced 201 cubic inches, weighed about 200 pounds fully equipped, and produced 12 horsepower. Instead of a distributor, it used a make-and-brake low-tension ignition powered by a 10 volt magneto friction driven off of the 15-inch, 26-LB flywheel. A small valve dripped gravity-fed fuel through a copper pipe into a tin can atop the motor, then onto the hot water jacket that vaporized it. Having no throttle, the motor only ran at full speed, tuned with a lever that adjusted the camshaft timing. A bicycle chain turned the camshaft which operating the spark breaker arms and exhaust valves, but the "automatic" intake valves were opened by suction. A splash system lubricated the bearings, but there is some controversy as to whether it had a pump that dripped oil into cylinders. After driving the Flyer on four flights at Kitty Hawk on 17 Dec 1903, the motor was seriously damaged when wind overturned the Flyer. Today, the cast aluminum housing of the original motor is displayed at the museum at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

References:

McFarland, 1953, pp 1210-1214, plates 225-226.
Hobbs, 1971, pp 9-28.
Lippincott, 1987, pp 82-86.
McFarland, Marvin W. (ed) The papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1953, pp 1210-1214, plates 225-226.
Hobbs, Leonard S. The Wright Brothers' Engines and Their design. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1971, pp 9-28.
Lippincott, Harvey H. Propulsion System of the Wright Brothers. In Wolko, Howard S. (editor), The Wright Flyer, an Engineering Perspective. The Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987, pp 82-86.

[Submitted by Joe W. McDaniel]

The 1903 engine mounted in the Wright Flyer. As the engine heated up, the firing chambers on the left side of the engine -- nearest the pilot -- would glow red hot.

1903 engine, looking at the left side.

The underside of the 1903 engine.

A cutaway drawing of the 1903 engine.

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