Steam aircraft

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

Steam aircraft are aircraft that are propelled by steam engines. They were unusual devices because of the difficulty in producing a powerplant with a high enough power to weight ratio to be practical. They are distinct from airships that use steam as their lifting gas which are known as thermal airships.

[edit] History

  • The Aerial Steam Carriage of William Samuel Henson and John Stringfellow was patented in 1842 but was never successful, although a steam-powered model was flown in 1848.
  • The first powered aircraft was Henri Giffard's 3 horsepower (2 kW) steam dirigible which he flew over Paris in 1852.
  • Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (inventor of the Maxim Gun) built and tested a large steam powered aircraft in 1894. The machine generated sufficient lift and thrust to break free of the test rig and fly but was never operated as a piloted aircraft.
  • Engineer Gagnon flew a steam helicopter in BC in 1902. It also crashed.
  • During the 1930s, George D. Besler and William J. Besler's prototype steam biplane, based on a Travel Air 2000, flew several times at Oakland airport. It was powered by a two-cylinder, 90 hp reciprocating engine weighing about 500 lbs[1] and was capable of STOL operation due to the ease of reversing the thrust[2].
  • A steam-powered version of the Messerschmitt Me 264a was mooted during the Second World War but never constructed [3]. This was to have been powered by a steam turbine developing over 6,000 horsepower and driving a 5.3 meter (17' 6") diameter propeller. The fuel would have been a mixture of powdered coal and petroleum. The main advantages to this powerplant were considered to be constant power at all altitudes and simple maintenance.

During the 1960s some work was also done by Don Johnson of Thermodynamic Systems Inc. Newport Beach, CA on creating a steam-powered helicopter by installing a steam engine of 150 horsepower into a Hughes 300 helicopter. The steam engine was a compact cylindrical double-acting uniflow [similar in layout to the Dyna-Cam Aero engine] built by Controlled Steam Dynamics, Inc.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • The Lore of Flight, 1986, The First Powered Hops, Historical Section, pg 38. Taylor, John William Ransom [Ed.], Crescent Books, New York ISBN 0-517-18348-X
  • Air Progress magazine, July 1969; Aeronews, p. 20 Steamed Up Over Chopper Power
  • Daily Pilot, Thursday October 9, 1969 pg. 3 Speedy Steam Engine by Arthur R. Vinsel


Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../s/t/e/Steam_aircraft.html"