History of AirplanesIn aviation, an in-line engine refers to an internal combustion engine with banks rather than rows of cylinders, including straight and V engines, but excluding radial and rotary engines
Usually found in 4- and 6-cylinder configurations, the straight engine has all cylinders aligned in one line, with no or only minimal offset. A straight engine is considerably easier to build than an otherwise equivalent V engine because the cylinder bank can be milled from a single metal casting and it requires fewer cylinder heads and camshafts. In-line engines are also much smaller in volume than designs like the radial, and can be mounted in any direction. Straight configurations are simpler than their V-shaped counterparts.
In a V engine, the cylinders and pistons are aligned, in two separate planes, so that they appear to be in a “V” when viewed along the axis of the crankshaft. The V configuration reduces the overall engine length, height and weight compared to an equivalent straight engine. It is common for V engines to be described with V# notation, where # is how many cylinders it has:
The American Navy dirigible or blimp C-5 left Montauk Point on May 14, 1919 in an attempt to cross the Atlantic by way of Halifax, where it arrived at 10 o’clock on the morning of May 16th, after being in the air almost 26 hours. A perfect landing was made at the Pleasantville base [...]
An attempt was made to cross the Atlantic in a Sopwith Atlantic biplane by Com. Mackenzie Grieve and Maj. Harry Hawker on 18 May 1919. This plane generally followed the design of Sopwith warplanes, and had a 46 feet wingspan and was 31 feet long, weighing 6000 pounds fully equipped for flight. It was supposed [...]
The British dirigible R-34 left East Fortune, near Edinburgh, Scotland, at 2 A.M., July 2, 1919 and proceeded via Newfoundland to Mineóla, New York, arriving at Roosevelt Field at 9 A.M., Sunday, July 6. To show that this was not merely good fortune, a return trip even more successful was made, leaving New York at [...]
The first non-stop flight from America to Europe was accomplished in 1919 by the Vickers “Vimy” Bomber, a bi-motored Rolls-Royce airplane, piloted by Captain John Alcock and navigated by Lieut. Arthur W. Brown.
The trip started at St. Johns, Newfoundland, at 12.13 P.M., New York time, on Saturday, June 14, 1919 and 16 hours and [...]
The year 1919 was memorable in the history of aviation for the first successful flight across the Atlantic, achieved by aviators of the United States Navy using NC flying boats, jointly developed by the United States Navy and the Curtiss Engineering Corporation, the N in the designation standing for navy and the C for Curtiss. [...]
In 1920, the Nieuport-Delage Ni-D 29 was the fastest airplane in the world. Designed by the Nieuport firm for the French Aviation Militaire in 1918, the Ni-D 29 appeared too late for combat in WWI. Following its record-breaking performance in the 1920 Gordon Bennett Trophy race, when it flew 168 miles per hour, it was [...]
The B.II, a two-seater reconnaissance plane, was the first airplane that established Albatros’ reputation, and was the forerunner of many successfaul craft from that manufacturer. Designed by Ernst Heinkel, it set an altitude record of 14,765 feet early in its career. It was produced in large numbers in the first half of the war.
The seating [...]
The A.E.G. B.II only saw service in the early months of the war, after which more modern types replaced it. It’s follow-on version, the A.E.G. C series was produced in larger numbers in 1915 and 1916, and served throughout the war.
Top Speed: n.a.
Manufacturer: A.E.G.
Year: 1914
Engine: 120 h.p.
Wingspan: 42 feet 7 inches
Weight: [...]
The Aviatik B. II was a reconnaissance aircraft widely used by the Germans and Austrians before 1916. Built by the Oesterreichische-Ungarische Flugzeugfabrik of Vienna, it developed from the Aviatik B.I produced by the German company Automobil Aviatik und Leipzig between 1914 and 1915.
The Austrian B.II (Series 32) produced in small numbers in 1915 was powered [...]
Fielded in 1916, the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I was a transitional aircraft of German design but Austrian manufacture. Its stability and visibility were so bad that the pilots called it ‘The Coffin.’ Altogether, about 200 were produced by Phönix and UFAG.
From its unusual appearance, Allied pilots called it the “Star Strutter.”
Top Speed: 116 m.p.h.
Manufacturer: [...]