The Blackburne Tomtit was a 670 cc V-twin aero engine for light aircraft that was designed and produced by Burney and Blackburne Limited. Burney and Blackburne was based at Bookham, Surrey, England and was a former motorcycle manufacturer.
| Tomtit | |
|---|---|
| |
| The Shuttleworth Collection's Tomtit seen from the output (propeller) side. Valve pushrods can be glimpsed behind cylinder heads. | |
| Type | Air-cooled V-twin |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Burney and Blackburne, Ltd., Bookham, Surrey |
| First run | c.1922 |
Design and development
editThe Blackburne Tomtit engine was developed from Blackburne's motorcycle engines.[1] The first one adapted to aircraft use was the best performing engine at the Lympne light aircraft trials of 1923, despite its lack of refinement. The Tomtit was a modified version of the Lympne 696 cc V-twin, marketed specifically for flight.
The Tomtit could run upright or inverted and was the first British engine to fly inverted, in the ANEC I. The inverted configuration was more common, but the Avro 558 used it in the upright arrangement,[2] and the Avro 560 flew with both upright and inverted Tomtits.[3]
Applications (including early Lympne 1923 version)
editSpecifications
editData from Flight[1]
General characteristics
- Type: V-twin four-stroke piston engine
- Bore: 71 mm (2.80 in)
- Stroke: 88 mm (3.46 in)
- Displacement: 696 cc (42.5 cu in)
- Dry weight: 34 kg (75 lb)
Performance
- Power output: 16 hp (12 kW) at 2,400 rpm
- Specific fuel consumption: 0.58 pint (0.33 litre) per hp per hour
- Oil consumption: 0.035 pint (0.02 litre) per hp per hour
See also
editRelated lists
References
editNotes
edit- ^ a b Flight 1924, pp. 338
- ^ Jackson 1965, pp. 212
- ^ Jackson 1965, pp. 215
- ^ Cheranovsky, B. I. (6 April 1998). "BICh-3". Russian Aviation Museum. Archived from the original on 7 December 2012.
- ^ Flight 1925, pp. 371
- ^ Flight 1925, pp. 79–80
- ^ Jackson 1960, pp. 423
- ^ Jackson 1960, pp. 463
Bibliography
edit- "Light 'Plane Engines", Flight (29 May 1924): 581, archived from the original on 15 October 2012, retrieved 11 June 2009
- "Light 'Plane and Glider Notes", Flight (12 February 1925): 581, archived from the original on 29 September 2012, retrieved 12 June 2009
- "Darmstadt", Flight (18 June 1925): 371, archived from the original on 15 October 2012, retrieved 12 June 2009
- Jackson, A.J. (1965), Avro Aircraft since 1908, London: Putnam Publishing
- Jackson, A.J. (1960), British Civil Aircraft 1919-59, vol. 2, London: Putnam Publishing
Douglas Light Aero engines from Kingswood to Cathcart.Page 106 Brian Thorby 2010 Redcliffe Press, Bristol ISBN 978-1-906593-25-4