1904 Test Engine

ever used on an airplane, the Wrights built a third engine in 1904. It had 201 cu in like the first, but with the mechanical improvements of the second. Used in the shop as a test-bed for engine experiments, this third motor eventually achieved 25 hp, twice that of the first motor of the same size.

The motor was last run in 1937 at the Henry Ford Museum for the dedication of the restored Wright Cycle Shop and Wright home in Greenfield Village. In 1946 or 1947, Orville borrowed its crankshaft to restore the engine of the 1905 Flyer III. This crankshaft was made new and replaced in 2002. The restored third motor is now on display at the Engineer's Club in Dayton, Ohio.

References:

Hobbs, 1971, pp 32-33.
Hobbs, Leonard S. The Wright Brothers' Engines and Their design. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1971, pp 32-33.

[Submitted by Joe W. McDaniel]

The 1904 test engine was never used on an airplane, but provided the Wrights with valuable experience in engine design and building.

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