The First V8

[Photon440]

Way back at the beginning of the 20th Century, a French engineer Léon Levavasseur decided that if powered aircraft were to succeed, they'd need a light but powerful engine. So he came up with a design with eight cylinders in a 90 degree V bank in 1902 and had it patented. With 487 cubic inches, it produced 80 horsepower and weighed only 209 pounds. Eschewing carburetors, Levavasseur used fuel injection on his engine.

It was used in some early French aircraft by 1906, but even before that, it became a popular engine for speed boat racing, with just about every winning speed boat by 1904 using one of these engines. By then he was even building V12 and V24 engines for marine use.

In 1910 he introduced a smaller 372 cubic inch engine for the De Dion-Bouton automobile company, with both a 470 version and 897 incher for the American market, introducing the first V8 cars. When they were shown at the 1912 New York Auto Show, Cadillac among others took note and took steps to start their own V8s.

A gifted engineer, Levavasseur went on to design variable wing surfaces for aircraft in 1918, winning a prize for "Safety In Aeroplanes", before dying in poverty in February 1922.

 

[kiwigtx]

hhhhh.....airplane talk......I'll just drop this here. My grandfather told me about this when I was a young boy, and I have never forgotten this pioneering Kiwi.....even though those who wrote the history books will never change the books to reflect the truth.

Richard Pearse - Wikipedia

 

[Road Rat]

But I thought Kiwi’s were flightless birds?

 

[kiwigtx]

But I thought Kiwi’s were flightless birds?

....yup.

 

[kiwigtx]

But I thought Kiwi’s were flightless birds?

From a long way back here at FBBO.... Curious about screen names?

Post #48......

OK, long story shortened with mathematics;
KiwiGTX = Kiwi + GTX

And now with visual aids;

The Kiwi is the official bird of New Zealand - a native and icon;

not to be confused with the kiwifruit (sometimes marketed overseas as a kiwi);

it grows on vast vines;

and is much tastier than it's distant predecessor....the Chinese Gooseberry which grew much like Blackberry vines and was considered a noxious weed;

...don't worry, New Zealand removed the Chinesium from the gooseberry and turned it into something edible and desirable

Now....this is a fruit;

and this is a GTX;

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oh, and this is a cat having a wee rest;

I have used the name elsewhere, and it kinda sticks now

 

[Photon440]

But I thought Kiwi’s were flightless birds?

Not when they're attached to the New Zealand Air Force.

 

[Geetex]

Pictures of the New Zealand Air Force on parade