Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-07
A|R-COOLED ENGINE
.LAUDED BY EXPERTS
Navy Proud of Wright "WhirI-
wind" Tested in Recent
OveroCean Flights.

The remarkable dependability dis
played by the Wright "Whirlwind" air
! cooled radial engine, which carried
/ the B2llanca monoplane across the
ocean and into Germany, today was
! hailed by aeronautical engine experts
! in the military service here as prov
/ ing, beyond a reasonable doubt, the
! long-contended point of the air-cooled
! engine supporters that it is the only
| solution for a reliable aircraft power
| plant.
| This fact having been established
| therefore, the progress of aviation
! employing the air-cooled engine, will
go forward with leaps and bounds.
! they held, as the dreaded accident
! feature, so commonly believed to be
brought about by ''engine failure, .
will have been reduced to a satisfac-
tory minimum.
The Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy
Department, godfather" of the
Wright "Whirlwind" and originator of
q policy calling for the employment
of air-cooled engines in virtually all
of its planes, was jubilant today over
the latest of three startling successes
| since April IA, when Chamberlin, with
Bert AcOsta, landed the Bellanca at
| Roosevelt Field, Long Island, after
having remained in the air for 81
hours IL minutes and 25 seconds.
Further Proof Held Unnecessary.
Close on the heels of this flight came
the Notwithstanding Lindbergh venture
of 3312 hours, most Of it over water.
Now, with nonstop trip of AZ hours
on the record books, the officers asked
what mre proof is necessary as to it's
reliability and dependability.
The bureau was extremely proud
of the flight today because its person
mel recognized in it years of strug-
Cling against superstition and Skepti-
cism, which confronted it on all sides
when it deliberately abandoned the
water-cOoled engines in 1921, which
then were in a satisfactory state of
perfection.
Particularly gleeful today were
COmdr. Eugene E. Wilson, head Of
the design section, to which he recent
lv had been appointed after serving
nearly three years as head of the
engine section, and Lieut.. Comdr
Bruce G. Leighton, now aide to AS
sistant Secretary of the Navy
Warner
Comdr. Wilson today reviewed the
origin and development of the ''Whirl-
wind" which is known in the Navy as
the Us. Charles l.. Lawrence, now
president of the Wright Aeronautical
Corporation of Paterson, N. j., manu-
facturers of the engine, was a naval
aviator during the war and after it's
close he became interested in fixed
radiaP' engines. Up to that time only
the rotary air-cooled engines, with
cylinders revolving around the crank
shaft, had been in general use. Mr..
Lawrence, supported by Lieut.. Comdr.
Leighton, delivered a paper on air.
cooled engines in 1921 before an engi-
neering society and met with little en-
enlargement. Mr.. Lawrence then de-
veloped a three-cylinder 60-horsepower
aircooled plant which Comdr. Leigh
ton recognized as having excellent pos
SibilitieS.
Engine Known As il.
Rear Admiral William A. Moffett,
chief of the Bureau of AeronauticS
threw his whole-hearted support be-
hind the little power plant, and the
bureau conceived the idea of adding
six more cylinders and increasing it's
horsepower thereby 70 $50. This was
done and the engine was known as the
i'll
The engine was flown in the Detroit
races III 1879 anu performed SdLlSIdC-
torily. Once or twice cylinder dropped
off and fell to the ground, but the en-
CINE kept on going. This defect was
| remedied along with several other
bugs" that make their usual appear
| ance in new projects. In 1923 they
went into service use, and today there
are 900 Wright J-5s, or "Whirlwinds, !"
in use on observation planes aboard
cruisers, battleships and carriers.
Learning of their extreme reliability
in Navy's service, Canada, South
America and commercial interests here
picked up the plant for employment.
In the meantime the Navy continued
it's perfection of it, and in 1924 Comdr.
Wilson took over the office of chief of
the engine section. The horsepower
was increased from $50 to 200, and
now the nine-cylinder plant develops
as high as 220 horsepower.
Based on the success met with this