Curtiss Modified Model L, V-8 Engine
date: label: Date
content: Circa 1910
name: label: Manufacturer
content: Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
notes: label: Physical Description
content: Type: Reciprocating, V-type, 8 cylinders, water-cooled
label: Physical Description
content: Power rating: 48.5 kW (65 hp) at 1,150 rpm
label: Physical Description
content: Displacement: 8.2 L (502.64 cu in)
label: Physical Description
content: Bore and Stroke: 102 mm (4 in.) x 127 mm (5 in.)
label: Physical Description
content: Weight: 129 kg (285 lb)
label: Summary
content: Curtiss was one of the most successful early American aircraft engine manufacturers. The first Curtiss engines were air cooled but, to achieve higher power, Curtiss began to develop liquid-cooled engines. Historical evidence suggests that this Model L artifact was one of two higher-performance engines built by Curtiss for his experimental monoplane that was shown, but not flown, at the 1910 Gordon Bennett Race held at Belmont Park, N.Y. Both engines were later assigned to Eugene Ely, a pilot for Curtiss, who used them in exhibition and demonstration flights. It is likely that one of those engines powered the aircraft which crashed in 1912 at Macon, Georgia, killing Ely.
label: Summary
content: Continued evolution of the Curtiss V-8 engine led to the OX-5, of which more than 10,000 were produced by the end of World War I in 1918. The U.S. government sold thousands of these to the public as surplus at a fraction of their original cost.
place: label: Country of Origin
content: United States of America
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Air and Space Museum Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Transferred from the Department of the Navy, Bureau of Aeronautics
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Air and Space Museum
identifier: label: Inventory Number
content: A19510059000
objectType: label: Type
content: PROPULSION-Reciprocating & Rotary
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Materials
content: Steel, Preservative coating, Paint, Aluminum, Brass
label: Dimensions
content: Depth 90.2 cm (35.5 in.), Length 109.2 cm (43 in.), Width 80.6 cm (31.75 in.)