ADC Cirrus

The ADC Cirrus is a series of British aero engines manufactured using surplus Renault parts by the Aircraft Disposal Company (ADC) in the 1920s.

Cirrus
ADC Cirrus II at the Science Museum, London
Type Air-cooled 4-cylinder inline piston engine
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Aircraft Disposal Company (ADC)
First run 1925
Major applications de Havilland DH.60 Moth
Avro Avian

The engines were air-cooled, four-cylinder inline types. They were widely used for private and light aircraft.

Design and development

The Cirrus engine originated in Geoffrey de Havilland's 1924 quest for a powerplant suited to a light two-seat sports biplane which would become the de Havilland Moth. No suitable engine existed at the time, with both an appropriate level of power and light weight. The Aircraft Disposal Company, also known as Airdisco and ADC, were producing the low-cost Airdisco V8 which had been developed by Frank Halford from their large stocks of war surplus Renault V8 aero engines. De Havilland realised that half of this engine would make an air-cooled four-cylinder inline engine of just the right size and at low cost. He persuaded Halford to undertake its design and development.

The cylinders, pistons, con-rods and gearing were taken from the Renault, with the valve gear based on the Airdisco, and a new five-bearing crankshaft and cast crankcase were designed.[1] It became the first Cirrus engine, and the first air-cooled four-cylinder inline aero engine to go into quantity production.

The original ADC Cirrus engines were all designed by Halford and built by ADC. The 90 hp (67 kW) Cirrus I, passed its 50-hour type rating in 1925. De Havilland launched his product as the Cirrus Moth and it proved a winning formula. The engine was soon adopted for other aircraft. Later versions named the Cirrus II, and Cirrus III were produced, each with slightly greater displacement and power (Cirrus II - 85 hp, Cirrus III - 90 hp).[2][3]

ADC ceased manufacture when it ran out of surplus Renault engines around 1928.

Subsequent manufacture
Main article: Cirrus aero engines

When ADC ran out of parts, manufacture of the Cirrus III was taken up by Cirrus Aero Engines, also based at Croydon.

The Cirrus III was also adapted and improved by American Cirrus Engines, who manufactured it under license.[4][5]

Variants
Cirrus III engine on the right
Cirrus I
(1925)
Cirrus II
(1926)
Cirrus III
(1929)

Applications

List from Lumsden[6] except where noted. The list includes trial installations where a different engine was principally adopted.

Cirrus I

Cirrus II

Cirrus III

Engines on display
  • A preserved ADC Cirrus II is on display at the Science Museum (London).

Specifications (Cirrus I)
Cirrus III fitted to a de Havilland DH.60 Moth

Data from Lumsden.[8]

General characteristics

  • Type: Inline, air-cooled, upright 4-cylinder piston engine
  • Bore: 4.13 in (105 mm)
  • Stroke: 5.12 in (130 mm)
  • Displacement: 274.36 cu in (4.5 L)
  • Length: 45.8 in (116.3 cm)
  • Width: 18.26 in (46.4 cm)
  • Height: 34.3 in (87.1 cm)
  • Dry weight: lb ( kg)

Components

  • Valvetrain: 1 inlet and 1 exhaust valve per cylinder
  • Fuel system: 1 Claudel carburettor
  • Fuel type: 70 octane
  • Cooling system: air

Performance

See also

Comparable engines

Related lists

References

Notes
  1. Taylor 1999, pp.74-5.
  2. Taylor 1999, p.76
  3. Gunston 1989
  4. R. Cheyne Stout; "The Development of the Cirrus Engine", U.S. Air Services, Volume 14, Number 4, April 1929. pp.53-4.
  5. Aviation Ancestry (1929)
  6. Lumsden 2003, pp. 130-132.
  7. Jackson p.190 1973
  8. Lumsden 2003, p. 130.

Bibliography
  • The Aviation Ancestry Database of British Aviation Advertisements 1909–1990. Cirrus advertisements (retrieved 23 April 2020).
  • Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9
  • Frachet, André (12 June 1930). "Le monoplan Koolhoven F.K.42". Les Ailes (469): 3.
  • Jackson, A.J. (1973). British Civil Aircraft 1919-72. 2. London: Putnam Publishing. ISBN 0 85177 813 5.
  • Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.
  • Taylor, Douglas R. Boxkite to Jet: The Remarkable Career of Frank B. Halford. Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust. 1999. ISBN 1 872922 16 3.
  • Wesselink, Theo; Postma, Thijs (1982). De Nederlandse vliegtuigen. Haarlem: Romem. ISBN 90 228 3792 0.
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