GB494576A - An improved method of and means for mounting air-cooled engines on aircraft - Google Patents

Abstract

494,576. Aircraft; power plant; cooling cylinders; driving-gear. RICHARD, P. A. March 24, 1937, No. 8719. Convention date, March 10, 1937. [A Specification was laid open to inspection under Sect. 91 of the Acts, Sept. 25, 1937.] [Class 4] [Also in Group XXVII] In aircraft having engines 2 in the wing cooled by air pass. ing through the wing, fans 20 are arranged in the wing to the rear of the engines in order to increase the pressure of the cooling air after it has performed its cooling function. In Fig. 1, the engines are arranged fanwise in conduits of a housing 4, and drive the propeller by gears 12. The air inlet 5 may have an adjustable aperture and contain a fan 17. The fan 20 has an output which is adjustable by means of byepass valves 22, the discharged gases from which can be used to supercharge the engines. The conduit 8 terminates in a slot in the wing which may be adjustable and the hot gases discharged therefrom improve the aerodynamic qualities of the wing. The fans may be driven through clutches and be of variable pitch. In a modification, eight engines are shown arranged on the circumference of a circle, and a fan is arranged on the central shaft 11<1>. In a further modification, two groups of engines arranged on different arcs drive the propeller shaft, through different gears, and this arrangement may be used for two propellers driven in opposite directions. In further modifications, the invention is shown adapted for aircraft having only one and two engines respectively and in which the walls of the outlet surround part of the fuselage to improve the aerodynamical properties thereof. In the case of one engine, it is mounted in the conduit 8. The fans may be used for propulsion. The engine exhaust gases may be evacuated through radiators, the hot air from which may be used to heat the leading edge of the wing or the cabin or to supercharge the engines or feed air to the cabin at high altitudes. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 described, an aeroplane with groups of four engines 2, Fig. 2 (Cancelled), arranged side-by-side, separated by streamlined partitions and driving a propeller 1 by gearing 12, and each group arranged in a housing 4. A fan 17 draws in air through conduit 5 and out through adjustable slot 9, Fig. 3 (Cancelled). In Fig. 8 (Cancelled), two engines 2 are arranged in conduits 16. In a modification of this form, one engine is mounted at the junction of the conduits. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.