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Wright R-790 Whirlwind

January 01, 1970

The Wright R-790 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical Corporation, with a total displacement of about 790 cubic inches (12.9 L) and around 200 horsepower (150 kW). These engines were the earliest members of the Wright Whirlwind engine family.

R-790 Whirlwind
Wright R-790 (J-5 Whirlwind) at National Air and Space Museum
Type Air-cooled 9-cylinder radial piston engine
National origin United States
Manufacturer Wright Aeronautical Corporation
Škoda Works (Czechoslovakia)
Avia (Poland)
First run 1923
Major applications Spirit of St. Louis
Fokker Trimotor
Ford Trimotor

Design and development edit

The R-790 Whirlwind began as the Lawrance J-1, a nine-cylinder air-cooled radial developed in 1921 by the Lawrance Aero Engine Company for the U.S. Navy. The Navy was very enthusiastic about air-cooled engines, which it considered better suited for naval use than liquid-cooled ones.[1] Lawrance was a small company, though, and the Navy doubted it could produce enough engines for its needs.[1] Despite urgings from the Navy, the major U.S. aircraft engine makers, Wright and Curtiss, were satisfied with their liquid-cooled engines and showed no interest in building air-cooled engines.[1] Since the Navy was already a major buyer of Wright engines, it pressured Wright into purchasing Lawrance and building the J-1 itself, by informing the company that the Navy would buy no more of its existing engines or spare parts.[1] To retain the Navy's business, Wright complied in 1923 and the Lawrance J-1 became the Wright J-1.[1]

By the time Lawrance merged with Wright, it had already developed the more powerful J-2, a version of the J-1 with slightly enlarged bore and displacement. However, Lawrance decided the J-1 was large enough, and the J-2 never went into production; only two examples were built.[1]

Over the next two years, Wright gradually refined the J-1 engine, introducing the J-3, J-4, J-4A, and J-4B. The changes improved the engine's reliability, cooling, and fuel consumption, but the basic design, dimensions, and performance were unaltered.[1]

The J-4 was the first engine to bear the Whirlwind name; previous engines used only the alphanumeric code.[1]

The J-5 Whirlwind, introduced in 1925, was a complete redesign of the engine with greatly improved cooling and breathing, further increasing its reliability and reducing fuel consumption. Among the visible changes was the much wider separation between the valves, for better cooling airflow, and completely enclosed, instead of exposed pushrods and rocker arms.[1]

The U.S. government later designated the J-5 Whirlwind as the R-790, but it did not apply this designation to the older engines.[2]

All these engines had a bore of 4.5 in (11.4 cm), a stroke of 5.5 in (14.0 cm), and a displacement of 788 in3 (12.91 L).

In a 1928 report on transcontinental aviation, the author disclosed the cost of a typical five-seat commercial aircraft as $12,500, of which $5,000 was for one of the 350 200 hp Whirlwind Engines available that year.[3] The J-5 was the last of the original nine-cylinder Whirlwinds. In 1928, it was replaced by the seven-cylinder Whirlwind J-6.

Operational history edit

Many Whirlwind engines were used in U.S. Navy aircraft, mostly in trainers, but also in some ship-based observation and fighter aircraft. As the engines were refined and their reputation for reliability grew, their use expanded to U.S. Army trainers and a wide range of U.S. civil aircraft, including the earliest versions of the Fokker Trimotor and Ford Trimotor airliners.

The reliability of J-5 Whirlwind engines also led aviators to use them for a number of record-setting distance and endurance flights. The most famous of these is Charles Lindbergh's solo transatlantic flight from New York City to Paris on May 20–21, 1927, in the Spirit of St. Louis, powered by a single Whirlwind J-5C. During Lindbergh's flight, the engine ran continuously for 33.5 hours. Lindbergh's achievement greatly boosted the Whirlwind's already good reputation.[4]

Some other historic long-duration flights made in aircraft powered by the J-5 Whirlwind:

Charles L. Lawrance, who developed the original Whirlwind series and became president of Wright, won the 1927 Collier Trophy for his work on air-cooled radial aircraft engines.

License-built versions edit

The J-5 Whirlwind was built by Hispano-Suiza in France.[5]

The Whirlwind J-5 was also produced under license in Poland by several makers. Among these were Polskie Zakłady Skody, the Polish branch of Škoda Works, which built about 350 to 400 engines from 1929 to 1931, and the Polish firm Avia, which manufactured a further 300 engines from 1935 to 1938. Polish-built J-5s were used in numerous Polish aircraft, mostly in military training, observation, and liaison aircraft.

Variants edit

  • J-1: Lawrance J-1 as built by Wright Aeronautical in 1923.
  • J-3: Wright's first refined version, 1923.
  • J-4: Improved version, 1924. First to be named "Whirlwind".
  • J-4A, J-4B: Further refinements of J-4.
  • J-5 (R-790): Complete redesign with improved reliability and performance, 1925.

Applications edit

U.S. aircraft edit

Polish aircraft, using Polish-built engines edit

Aircraft from other countries edit

Engines on display edit

Some museums which have J-5 Whirlwinds (or the military R-790 equivalents) on display:

Also on display at the San Francisco International Airport, International Terminal. Older Whirlwinds on display are harder to find. The National Museum of Naval Aviation has two J-4s, one of which is a cutaway.[10] The New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, has a Lawrance J-1, the Whirlwind's direct predecessor.[13][14]

Specifications (R-790 Whirlwind J-5) edit

Data from Type certificate data sheet for the Whirlwind J-5;[15] dimensions from "Model Designations of U.S.A.F. Aircraft Engines" [16]

General characteristics

Components

  • Valvetrain: 2 valves per cylinder, pushrod-actuated
  • Fuel system: single three-barrel carburetor[17]
  • Fuel type: 50 octane

Performance

See also edit

Related development

Related lists

References edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wright R-790.

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wright J-5 "Whirlwind" 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (PDF), by Kimble D. McCutcheon, from the Aircraft Engine Historical Society
  2. ^ Naval Aviation Chronology 1920–1929 2014-10-15 at the Wayback Machine, from the Naval Historical Center. See entries for 1928, February 1 and 28.
  3. ^ Florabel Muir (4 August 1928). "Blazing New Wing Trails". Liberty Magazine: 20.
  4. ^ Hardesty, Von (2002). Lindbergh: Flight's Enigmatic Hero. New York: Harcourt. p. 78. ISBN 9780151009732.
  5. ^ "Revue Hispano-Suiza" (PDF). dev.museesafran.com (in French). Societe Francais Hispano-Suiza. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  6. ^ Collections Database: Objects: A19791508000, retrieved 2008-09-06.
  7. ^ , archived from the original on 2013-04-04, retrieved 2017-07-17.
  8. ^ National Museum of the USAF, retrieved 2008-09-06. The section "Images from Gary Brossett" has a photo of the museum's R-790.
  9. ^ National Museum of the United States Air Force: Images by Tony Ward, retrieved 2008-09-06. This page has several photos of the museum's R-790.
  10. ^ a b Image Galleries by Gary and Janet Brossett: National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida, retrieved 2008-09-06. This page has photos of a J-5 and two J-4s, one a cutaway.
  11. ^ Image Galleries by Gary and Janet Brossett: Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Museum – Oshkosh, WI, retrieved 2008-09-06. This page has a photo of an R-790A.
  12. ^ Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome – Wright Whirlwind J-5, retrieved 2009-12-13.
  13. ^ New England Air Museum – Engine Profile: Lawrance J-1, retrieved 2009-12-13.
  14. ^ New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, retrieved 2009-12-13. The section "Images from Kimble D. McCutcheon" has photos of the museum's J-1.
  15. ^ Approved Type Certificate No. 13 (ATC 13) data sheet, available from the FAA's Regulatory and Guidance Library.
  16. ^ "Model Designations of U.S.A.F. Aircraft Engines", Section I, p. 11 (TIF image).
  17. ^ Machine Design (retrieved 30 May 2017)

Bibliography edit

  • McCutcheon, Kimble D., Wright J-5 "Whirlwind" (PDF), retrieved 2018-04-26. A detailed technical article on the Whirlwind's history and development up to the J-5, from the Aircraft Engine Historical Society.
  • "The Wright J-5 'Whirlwind': An American Engine Which Has Made History", Flight, vol. XIX, no. 24, pp. 390–392, June 16, 1927. A contemporary technical article on the features and performance of the J-5.

January 01, 1970
wright, whirlwind, series, nine, cylinder, cooled, radial, aircraft, engines, built, wright, aeronautical, corporation, with, total, displacement, about, cubic, inches, around, horsepower, these, engines, were, earliest, members, wright, whirlwind, engine, fam. The Wright R 790 Whirlwind was a series of nine cylinder air cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical Corporation with a total displacement of about 790 cubic inches 12 9 L and around 200 horsepower 150 kW These engines were the earliest members of the Wright Whirlwind engine family R 790 Whirlwind Wright R 790 J 5 Whirlwind at National Air and Space Museum Type Air cooled 9 cylinder radial piston engine National origin United States Manufacturer Wright Aeronautical CorporationSkoda Works Czechoslovakia Avia Poland First run 1923 Major applications Spirit of St LouisFokker TrimotorFord Trimotor Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 3 License built versions 4 Variants 5 Applications 5 1 U S aircraft 5 2 Polish aircraft using Polish built engines 5 3 Aircraft from other countries 6 Engines on display 7 Specifications R 790 Whirlwind J 5 7 1 General characteristics 7 2 Components 7 3 Performance 8 See also 9 References 9 1 Notes 9 2 BibliographyDesign and development editThe R 790 Whirlwind began as the Lawrance J 1 a nine cylinder air cooled radial developed in 1921 by the Lawrance Aero Engine Company for the U S Navy The Navy was very enthusiastic about air cooled engines which it considered better suited for naval use than liquid cooled ones 1 Lawrance was a small company though and the Navy doubted it could produce enough engines for its needs 1 Despite urgings from the Navy the major U S aircraft engine makers Wright and Curtiss were satisfied with their liquid cooled engines and showed no interest in building air cooled engines 1 Since the Navy was already a major buyer of Wright engines it pressured Wright into purchasing Lawrance and building the J 1 itself by informing the company that the Navy would buy no more of its existing engines or spare parts 1 To retain the Navy s business Wright complied in 1923 and the Lawrance J 1 became the Wright J 1 1 By the time Lawrance merged with Wright it had already developed the more powerful J 2 a version of the J 1 with slightly enlarged bore and displacement However Lawrance decided the J 1 was large enough and the J 2 never went into production only two examples were built 1 Over the next two years Wright gradually refined the J 1 engine introducing the J 3 J 4 J 4A and J 4B The changes improved the engine s reliability cooling and fuel consumption but the basic design dimensions and performance were unaltered 1 The J 4 was the first engine to bear the Whirlwind name previous engines used only the alphanumeric code 1 The J 5 Whirlwind introduced in 1925 was a complete redesign of the engine with greatly improved cooling and breathing further increasing its reliability and reducing fuel consumption Among the visible changes was the much wider separation between the valves for better cooling airflow and completely enclosed instead of exposed pushrods and rocker arms 1 The U S government later designated the J 5 Whirlwind as the R 790 but it did not apply this designation to the older engines 2 All these engines had a bore of 4 5 in 11 4 cm a stroke of 5 5 in 14 0 cm and a displacement of 788 in3 12 91 L In a 1928 report on transcontinental aviation the author disclosed the cost of a typical five seat commercial aircraft as 12 500 of which 5 000 was for one of the 350 200 hp Whirlwind Engines available that year 3 The J 5 was the last of the original nine cylinder Whirlwinds In 1928 it was replaced by the seven cylinder Whirlwind J 6 nbsp Partially sectioned Wright J 4B at Canada Aviation Museum nbsp Side view of the USAF museum s R 790 J 5 Operational history editMany Whirlwind engines were used in U S Navy aircraft mostly in trainers but also in some ship based observation and fighter aircraft As the engines were refined and their reputation for reliability grew their use expanded to U S Army trainers and a wide range of U S civil aircraft including the earliest versions of the Fokker Trimotor and Ford Trimotor airliners The reliability of J 5 Whirlwind engines also led aviators to use them for a number of record setting distance and endurance flights The most famous of these is Charles Lindbergh s solo transatlantic flight from New York City to Paris on May 20 21 1927 in the Spirit of St Louis powered by a single Whirlwind J 5C During Lindbergh s flight the engine ran continuously for 33 5 hours Lindbergh s achievement greatly boosted the Whirlwind s already good reputation 4 Some other historic long duration flights made in aircraft powered by the J 5 Whirlwind Clarence Chamberlin and Bert Acosta made a record endurance flight of 51 hours 11 minutes 25 seconds in a single engined Wright Bellanca WB 2 over New York City in April 1927 Chamberlin and Charles Levine flew nonstop from New York City to Eisleben Germany in the same Wright Bellanca on June 4 6 1927 in a flight lasting 42 5 hours 3 920 mi The first successful flight from the continental U S to Hawaii was made by Albert Hegenberger and Lester Maitland in the Fokker C 2 Bird of Paradise from Oakland California to Honolulu Hawaii on June 28 29 1927 lasting 25 hours 50 minutes 2 400 mi The first flight across the Pacific was made by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith in the Fokker Trimotor Southern Cross from Oakland to Brisbane Australia with stops in Hawaii and Fiji from May 31 to June 9 1928 The leg from Hawaii to Fiji lasted 34 5 hours over 3 100 mi 5 000 km of open ocean A record endurance flight of 150 hours 40 minutes and 14 seconds was made by U S Army fliers in the Fokker C 2A Question Mark trimotor over Southern California on January 1 7 1929 Achieved with the help of aerial refueling this flight ended only when valvetrain failures stopped the portside engine and excessive valvetrain wear was slowing the nose and starboard side radials Charles L Lawrance who developed the original Whirlwind series and became president of Wright won the 1927 Collier Trophy for his work on air cooled radial aircraft engines License built versions editThe J 5 Whirlwind was built by Hispano Suiza in France 5 The Whirlwind J 5 was also produced under license in Poland by several makers Among these were Polskie Zaklady Skody the Polish branch of Skoda Works which built about 350 to 400 engines from 1929 to 1931 and the Polish firm Avia which manufactured a further 300 engines from 1935 to 1938 Polish built J 5s were used in numerous Polish aircraft mostly in military training observation and liaison aircraft Variants editJ 1 Lawrance J 1 as built by Wright Aeronautical in 1923 J 3 Wright s first refined version 1923 J 4 Improved version 1924 First to be named Whirlwind J 4A J 4B Further refinements of J 4 J 5 R 790 Complete redesign with improved reliability and performance 1925 Applications editU S aircraft edit Boeing NB Buhl Verville CA 3 Airster J 4 Buhl Verville CA 3A Airster J 5 Consolidated NY Consolidated O 17 Consolidated PT 3 Curtiss AT 5 Hawk Curtiss N2C 1 Fledgling Curtiss Wright CW 14 Osprey Fairchild FC 2 Fokker F VII Fokker Universal Ford Trimotor 4 AT Keystone Pronto Lockheed Vega Hamilton H 18 Naval Aircraft Factory N3N 1 Canary New Standard D 25 Pitcairn Mailwing Ryan B 1 Brougham Spirit of St Louis Stearman NS 1 Stearman C2B Stearman C3B Stinson Detroiter SB 1 and SM 1 Stinson Junior SM 2AB Swallow New Swallow Texas Temple Aero C 4 Texas Temple Commercial Wing Travel Air 2000 Travel Air 3000 Travel Air 4000 Vought FU Vought UO Waco 10 Polish aircraft using Polish built engines edit Bartel BM 5d Lublin R X Lublin R XIII PWS 18 PWS 26 PZL L 2 Aircraft from other countries edit Heinkel HD 20 Nieuport Delage NiD 640Engines on display editSome museums which have J 5 Whirlwinds or the military R 790 equivalents on display National Air and Space Museum in Washington D C 6 National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton Ohio 7 8 9 This engine also pictured above was one of the three used by Bird of Paradise on its flight to Hawaii National Museum of Naval Aviation near Pensacola Florida 10 EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh Wisconsin 11 Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Rhinebeck New York 12 as one powers the museum s recently completed Spirit of St Louis airworthy Ryan NYP reproduction A Wright J 5 CA is on public display at the Aerospace Museum of California Also on display at the San Francisco International Airport International Terminal Older Whirlwinds on display are harder to find The National Museum of Naval Aviation has two J 4s one of which is a cutaway 10 The New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks Connecticut has a Lawrance J 1 the Whirlwind s direct predecessor 13 14 Specifications R 790 Whirlwind J 5 editData from Type certificate data sheet for the Whirlwind J 5 15 dimensions from Model Designations of U S A F Aircraft Engines 16 General characteristics Type 9 cylinder naturally aspirated air cooled radial piston engine Bore 4 5 in 114 mm Stroke 5 5 in 140 mm Displacement 788 cu in 12 91 L Length 34 to 40 in 86 to 102 cm Diameter 45 in 114 cm Dry weight 520 lb 236 kg Components Valvetrain 2 valves per cylinder pushrod actuated Fuel system single three barrel carburetor 17 Fuel type 50 octane Performance Power output 220 hp 164 kW at 2 000 rpm Specific power 0 279 hp cu in 12 7 kW L Compression ratio 5 1 1 Power to weight ratio 0 423 hp lb 0 696 kW kg See also editWright Whirlwind Related development Wright J 6 5 R 540 Wright J 6 7 R 760 Wright J 6 9 R 975 Related lists List of aircraft enginesReferences edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wright R 790 Notes edit a b c d e f g h i Wright J 5 Whirlwind Archived 2016 03 04 at the Wayback Machine PDF by Kimble D McCutcheon from the Aircraft Engine Historical Society Naval Aviation Chronology 1920 1929 Archived 2014 10 15 at the Wayback Machine from the Naval Historical Center See entries for 1928 February 1 and 28 Florabel Muir 4 August 1928 Blazing New Wing Trails Liberty Magazine 20 Hardesty Von 2002 Lindbergh Flight s Enigmatic Hero New York Harcourt p 78 ISBN 9780151009732 Revue Hispano Suiza PDF dev museesafran com in French Societe Francais Hispano Suiza Retrieved 20 October 2014 Collections Database Objects A19791508000 retrieved 2008 09 06 Wright R 790 Radial archived from the original on 2013 04 04 retrieved 2017 07 17 National Museum of the USAF retrieved 2008 09 06 The section Images from Gary Brossett has a photo of the museum s R 790 National Museum of the United States Air Force Images by Tony Ward retrieved 2008 09 06 This page has several photos of the museum s R 790 a b Image Galleries by Gary and Janet Brossett National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola Florida retrieved 2008 09 06 This page has photos of a J 5 and two J 4s one a cutaway Image Galleries by Gary and Janet Brossett Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Museum Oshkosh WI retrieved 2008 09 06 This page has a photo of an R 790A Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Wright Whirlwind J 5 retrieved 2009 12 13 New England Air Museum Engine Profile Lawrance J 1 retrieved 2009 12 13 New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks Connecticut retrieved 2009 12 13 The section Images from Kimble D McCutcheon has photos of the museum s J 1 Approved Type Certificate No 13 ATC 13 data sheet available from the FAA s Regulatory and Guidance Library Model Designations of U S A F Aircraft Engines Section I p 11 TIF image Machine Design retrieved 30 May 2017 Bibliography edit McCutcheon Kimble D Wright J 5 Whirlwind PDF retrieved 2018 04 26 A detailed technical article on the Whirlwind s history and development up to the J 5 from the Aircraft Engine Historical Society The Wright J 5 Whirlwind An American Engine Which Has Made History Flight vol XIX no 24 pp 390 392 June 16 1927 A contemporary technical article on the features and performance of the J 5 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wright R 790 Whirlwind amp oldid 1129687636, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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