Avro Alpha
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| Avro Alpha | |
|---|---|
| File:Alpha-2 radial engine 1927.jpg | |
| 1927 Alpha-2 | |
| Type | radial engine |
| Manufacturer | Avro |
| Designed by | Charles Benjamin Redrup |
| First run | 1926 |
| Number built | 7 |
The Avro Alpha is a 5-cylinder radial aero engine designed by the British engineer Charles Benjamin Redrup and was first run in 1926.
Design and development[edit]
In the 1920s Avro were looking for a lighter and more modern fixed radial engine to replace the slightly erratic Gnome rotary engines that had been used in their Avro 504 biplane. Redrup was asked by Alliott Verdon Roe in 1926 to design a new engine for the Avro 504R Gosport.
The first prototype Alpha engine powered the 504R Gosport G-EBPH and was used in a successful publicity flight by Bert Hinkler to land on Helvellyn mountainside in Cumbria UK on December 22nd 1926.[1]
The engine was redesigned to a new Alpha-2 specification in 1927 with more robust valvegear and dedicated finned exhaust ports. In 1927 several of these were manufactured for Avro by Crossley Motors, which at that time had a controlling share in Avro. The prototype Alpha-2 powered the Avro Avian G-EBSD that was used in the Grosvenor cup race that year and also by Mary, Lady Heath in an altitude record attempt.[citation needed] A Crossley-built Alpha-2 was briefly fitted to the Avro 504 G-EBNF, and also two autogiros built by the Cierva Autogiro Company.
Controlling shares in Avro were acquired by Armstrong Siddeley in 1928, due to the conflict of interest Redrup was dismissed and several of the Alpha engines were destroyed.[2]
Applications[edit]
- Avro 504R Gosport
- Avro Avian
- Cierva C.17
- Cierva C12 hydrogiro
Specifications (Alpha-2)[edit]
- type= Five-cylinder, air-cooled, radial
- bore= 4.6 inches (117mm)
- stroke= 5 inches (127mm)
- displacement= 415 cu in (6.80 l)
- oil system= Circulating dry sump system
- cooling system= Air-cooled
- power= 100 hp (75 kW) at 1,900 rpm
Further reading[edit]
- Fairney, William (2009). The knife and fork man : the life and works of Charles Benjamin Redrup (2nd ed.). Hawkesbury Upton, Badminton, South Gloucestershire [England]: Diesel Pub. ISBN 978-0-9554455-2-1. OCLC 501179891. Search this book on
References[edit]
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